And then they continued - first to Batumi in Georgia

  • Written by Portal Editor

In Greece we had met for the first time and because there was some work to be done on their really special "Camper mobile home", the intermediate stay of Philipp and Micha extended to a few days.

No problem for the two, they had planned about 2 years travel time, time to get to know each other better, to exchange ideas and thoughts, to do one or the other joint excursions and maybe to develop one or the other perspective for the future. Of course, first of all the own destination of the two should be followed, which is still far away: Mongolia!

So what was more obvious than to address the subject of travel reports, which was only partially important to the two: they wanted more impressions and experiences for themselves, less for the general public? An interim solution and idea were then short reports on what's up and some pictures, which we will continue to give to our readers accordingly. Through Turkey, it first should go to Alanya, where the winter time should be partially bridged. Of course, we organized plenty of intermediate targets that we could arrange for them on the way. Thus, the intermediate and wintering Alanya was reached, where they should rest for some days with excursions into the surrounding areas. Of course, we had also informed some friends on site, so that locally some contacts were arranged. Unfortunately, our home pitch was so badly passable due to a storm of his time that the stay was not possible there. Meanwhile, the problem is settled, the stop is usable, thanks to

From Alanya they first went along the coast to Kizkalesi, then on towards Cappadocia and Trabzon. Since there are numerous articles about Turkey on alaturka.info, we concentrate on the next stopover in Batumi in Georgia which should be explained in more details with texts and pictures Philipp and Micha have sent.

Stopover is Batumi in Georgia - still cold in winter

Georgia, like Turkey, is a state at the interface between Europe and Asia. The former Soviet republic includes idyllic mountain villages in the Caucasus as well as beautiful beaches on the Black Sea. Famous are the sprawling Vardzia Cave Monastery from the 12th century and the ancient wine-growing region of Kakheti. The capital of Tbilisi, touristic even partially discovered, shows a diverse architecture and a labyrinth-like old town with cobblestone streets.

 

Border town Batumi - the proximity to Turkey is recognizable everywhere

Batumi is, comparable to Trabzon, also a port city on the Black Sea. As the capital of the province of Ajaria Batumi lies in southwestern Georgia and is the second largest city in the country. Batumi is still a diocese of the Georgian Orthodox Church and an important science location with colleges, university, marine faculty and agricultural institutes.

In the age of ancient Greece, Batumi was founded as a colony of colonists with the name Batis. The name derives from the Greek words bathis limin, which means deep harbor. In 1564 the then guric city was annexed by the Ottoman Empire and later on annexed to Russia after the Russo-Ottoman War with the Berlin Treaty of 1878. In 1901 Josef Stalin organized strikes in Batumi. After the peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the city was first part of Turkey in April of 1918, then occupied in December for 19 months by Great Britain. After the conclusion of the Orient Treaty between Soviet Russia and Turkey, Batumi fell to Georgia on 18th March 1921 and thus to the subsequent Soviet Union and became the capital of Adjara.

Batumi - Important port for petroleum, cotton and manganese

Already in the 1870s Batumi was an important export port for the handling of wool, cotton, wood, silk cocoons and manganese. Since 1883, the city has also been a major trading center for oil, after it  had got access to the railway Poti-Baku. The Georgian Railway and a pipeline transport crude oil and petroleum products from Azerbaijani Baku on the Caspian Sea to Batumi.

Far beyond the country's borders known is the 800-meter-long palm-lined Primorski Boulevard on the Black Sea beach. There, palaces and casinos of American hotel companies line up. The Adzharia State Museum displays treasures from Greek antiquity, including a colchicum bronze crown, vases and gold and silver jewelry.

In the north of the city, on the Green Cape, lies the botanical garden of Batumi. It offers a dendrological collection of about 3,270 tree species on 114 hectares. The cliff side terrace complex offers spectacular views over Batumi Bay.

The late Roman fortress Gonio - south of Batumi

A popular destination is Gonio, a late Roman fortress about ten kilometers south of Batumi. The grounds are well preserved and the walls can be climbed. The Gonio Fortress, formerly Apsaros, is a Roman fortress on the beach of the Black Sea, near the mouth of the Chorochi River. The oldest reference to the fortress dates from Pliny the Elder and is mentioned in the Naturalis Historia from the 1st century AD. In the Greek and Roman sources Gonio is known by the name Apsaros or Apsaruntos; today's name Gonio dates back to the 12th century.

In the 2nd century AD, Apsaros was a well-fortified Roman city in the Georgian Empire of Colchis. In the city there was also a theater and a hippodrome. The layout of the fortress is a rectangle measuring 195 × 245 meters, almost like a Central European castrum. Each side has an entrance gate. The wall is attached with 18 towers. The towers in the corners are more powerful than the wall towers. The fortress Gonio was entirely built of stone, whether there were precursors of wood archaeologically has not been explored. Later, Gonio came under Byzantine influence. Near the city there was also a Genoese trading facility.

In 1547 Gonio was occupied by the Ottomans. They held the city until 1878. In that year Adscharien became part of the Russian Empire through the San-Stephano Treaty.

In July 2007, the Medea Memorial was inaugurated on Freedom Square in the center of Batumi Old Town. It is reminiscent of the famous Greek legend of the Golden Fleece and at the same time symbolizes Georgia's historic claim to this part of the Black Sea coast.

Next destination of the two travelers Philipp and Micha on the way to Mongolia is Tbilisi.

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