Tbilisi is the capital and largest city of Georgia, located on the Kura River. It has served as Georgia's capital for nearly 1500 years and is an important cultural and economic center. The climate is moderately humid subtropical, influenced by both dry eastern and humid western air masses. Tbilisi has a population over 1.4 million people from many ethnic groups, though Georgians make up around 89% of residents.

1. The capital of Georgia

2. Tbilisi is the capi tal and th e largest city of
Georgia, lying o n the banks of the Kura
River. The name is derived from an early
Georgian form T` pilisi and it was officially
known as Tbilisi or Tiflis until 1936.The
city covers an area of 726 km2 and has
1,480,000 inhabitants.

4. • Founded in the 5th century by Vakhtang
Gorgasali, the monarch of Georgia's precursor
Kingdom of Iberia, Tbilisi has served, with various
intervals, as Georgia's capital for nearly 1500
years and represents a significant industrial,
social, and cultural center of the country Tbilisi's
varied history is reflected in its architecture,
which is a mix of medieval, classical, and Soviet
structures.

5. Climate
• The climate of Tbilisi can be classified as moderately
humid subtropical . The city's climate is influenced
both by dry air masses from the east and humid
subtropical air masses from the west. Tbilisi
experiences relatively cold winters and hot
summers. Because the city is bounded on most
sides by mountain ranges, the close proximity to
large bodies of water and the fact that the Greater
Caucasus Mountain Range blocks the intrusion of
cold air masses from Russia, Tbilisi has a relatively
mild micro-climate compared to other cities that
possess a similar continental climate along the same
latitudes.

6. Demographics
• Tbilisi is a multicultural city. The city is home to more
than 100 different ethnic groups. Around 89% of the
population is ethnically Georgian, with significant
populations of other ethnic groups such as Armenians,
Russians, and Azeris. Along with the above mentioned
groups, Tbilisi is also home to various other ethnic
groups including Ossetians, Abkhazians, Ukrainians,
Greeks, Germans, Jews, Estonians, Kurds, Assyrians, and
others.

7. Religion
More than 95% of the residents of Tbilisi practise various forms of
Christianity. The Russian Orthodox Church, which is in Full communion with
the Georgian, and the Armenian Apostolic Church have significant following
within the city as well. A large minority of the population practises Islam .
Judaism is also common, but to a lesser extent . Tbilisi has been historically
known for religious tolerance. This is especially
evident in the city's Old Town, where a mosque,
synagogue, and Eastern and Oriental Orthodox
churches can all be found within less 500 meters
from each other.

8. Sports
• Tbilisi has a fairly rich sports history. Like many other towns
of the Near East with strong Asian cultural influences, Tbilisi
historically had a special area of town that was designated
for sports competitions.The present-day districts of
Saburtalo and Didube were the most common areas where
such competitions were held. Up until the beginning of the
19th century, sports such as horse-riding, wrestling, boxing,
and marksmanship were the most popular city sports.

9. . At present, the largest stadium in Tbilisi is the Dinamo
Arena and the second largest is the Mikheil Meskhi
Stadium . The Sports Palace which usually hosts
basketball games with high attendance and tennis
tournaments can seat up to approximately 11,000
people.

10. Main sights
• Tbilisi has a number of important landmarks and sightseeing
locations. The Parliament and the government buildings of
Georgia, as well as the Supreme Court of Georgia, are all
located in Tbilisi. The city also has important cultural
landmarks such as the Tbilisi State Conservatoire, Tbilisi
Opera and Ballet Theatre, Shota Rustaveli State Academic
Theatre, Marjanishvili State Academic Theatre, the
Sameba Cathedral, the Vorontsov's Palace , many state
museums, the National Public Library of the Parliament of
Georgia, the National Bank of Georgia and other important
institutions. During the Soviet times, Tbilisi continuously
ranked in the top 4 cities in the Soviet Union for the number
of museums.

11. • Out of the city's historic landmarks, the most
notable locations are the Narikala fortress
(4th–17th century), Anchiskhati Church (6th
century, built up in the 16th century), Sioni
Cathedral (8th century, later rebuilt), Church
of Metekhi (13th century), etc.

12. Education
• Tbilisi is home to several major institutions of higher
education: The biggest Georgian university is Tbilisi
State University which was established on 8 February
1918. Tbilisi is also home to the largest medical
university in Caucasus region — Tbilisi State Medical
University. Georgia's main and largest technical
university, Georgian Technical University, is in Tbilisi. The
two most popular private higher educational institution in
Georgia — Caucasus University and Free University of
Tbilisi — are in Tbilisi.