Formerly the holiday haunt of the privileged elite of the Soviet Union,
Georgia is blessed with
stunning scenery, a
balmy climate and a rich variety of
flora and fauna. Enclosed high valleys, wide basins, health spas with
famous mineral waters, caves and waterfalls combine in this land of varied landscapes and striking beauty.
With its stone houses built around
vine-draped courtyards, and winding streets, the capital,
Tbilisi, has a lively, Mediterranean atmosphere.
Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia in the far northwest of Georgia, was
until civil unrest began a relaxed, sunny port/resort, renowned for its
beaches fringed with palms and eucalyptus trees, lively open-air cafes and cosmopolitan population. Peace has been restored since the city was involved in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s, but the city is less ethnically diverse than it once was.
Georgia became
independent from the Soviet Union after an overwhelming majority voted in favor of independence in a referendum held in April 1991.
Apart from the dire state of the Georgian economy, the country’s main problems have been the secessionist revolts in the outlying Georgian provinces of
Abkhazia on the Black Sea coast (where Gamsakhurdia was located) and
South Ossetia in the north.
In 1994, after two years of sporadic fighting, South Ossetia was brought back into the fold, but the Abkhazia problem has proved quite intractable. The only existing mediation effort, on the part of the UN, is at a standstill and Abkhazia is now effectively isolated from the rest of Georgia. The government also faces problems in the
Pankisi Gorge region, which is reputed to be a haven for Islamic militants.
GeographyGeorgia is a mountainous country bordered by the Russian Federation in the north, Turkey in the southeast, Armenia in the south, Azerbaijan in the east and by the Black Sea in the west, which forms a 330km- (206-mile-) long coastline. It includes the two autonomous republics Abkhazia and Ajaria. The state is crossed by the ranges of the Greater Caucasus (highest peak: Mt Kazbek, 5,047m/16,554ft). Enclosed high valleys, wide basins, health spas with famous mineral waters, caves and waterfalls combine in this land of varied landscapes and striking beauty.
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