2018 General Assembly

Batumi

Batumi is the second-largest city of Georgia, located on the coast of the Black Sea in the country's southwest. Situated in a subtropical zone near the foot of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, Batumi is a popular tourist destination known for its varying weather-it is a bustling seaside resort during warm seasons, but it can get entirely covered in snow during winter.

Much of Batumi's economy revolves around tourism and gambling, but the city is also an important sea port and includes industries like shipbuilding, food processing and light manufacturing. Since 2010, Batumi has been transformed by the construction of modern high-rise buildings, as well as the restoration of classical 19th-century edifices lining its historic Old Town.

See the Georgia-Adjaria-Batumi Guide

What to see in Batumi

Dolphinarium Dolphinarium is a must visit: an amazing 45 minute show, suitable for children and adults, watching very smart and intelligent dolphins. The Dolphinarium is home to 8 Bottlenose Dolphins and several California Sea Lions. The dolphin demonstration is an educational performance as well as an opportunity to show off the dolphins love of play: the dolphins perform dances, play with rings and balls, and balance on their tails. Visitors also have an opportunity to swim with the dolphins. During the Summer there are three shows per day at 14:00, 17:00 and 21:00. Reach the place at least 45 minutes before the start of the show, since most of the time the show is full.

Batumi Boulevard The Boulevard is spread along miles through the shore of Black sea: a very beautiful and well maintained walk area with parks, sculptures, theater, etc. Lots of street performances and vendors can be seen all over. You can spend a lot of time relaxing. Whether it's early morning or late evening, it's always relaxing to watch fishermen, boats and other interesting attractions, or just sit on a bench and enjoy the blue seaview.

Ethnographic Museum "Borjgalo" An excellent, intimate and personal on-site tour that takes the visitor from a man and his family's Georgian roots in the rural mountains to modern life through his woodworking and working life. You will not find uninterested museum docents or guides, but real family members with a passion and knowledge for Georgian history. The first thing you will admire here is the friendliness, good-heartedness, openness of the people. From the very beginning you feel like a guest in a typical georgian village with all its hospitability! The museum presents the ordinary life style of people through the ages. All museum´s items are made by its owner, Kemal Turmanidze, a prominent master of a special woodcarving technique and guardian of the distinctive traditions of Georgian heritage. Every exhibit item has its own story behind. You will have a tour with a competent guide, who will tell you a lot of interesting things about georgian people, culture, traditions, customs, life. And the end of the tour you get a possibility to craft and to pick up your masterpiece as a souvenir.

Botanical Gardens A huge garden where you can see plants from different parts of the world. This is the perfect place where you can spend your all day with your friends or family. After a walk in the garden you can go down to the Green Cape beach and swim in black sea or take a rest. Restaurants near this place offer local cuisine like the traditional adjarian khachapuri.

Monument Ali and Nino One of the amazing things to see in Batumi: two metal statues of man and woman moving towards each other then merging for a short embrace, before leaving each other behind. The two figures represent a Muslim boy, Ali, and a Georgian princess, Nino, from a famous 1937 novel by Azerbaijani author Kurban Said. The tragic story ends with the lovers separated by the invasion of Soviet Russia.

Europe Square This square is in the middle (walking distance) of all worth seeing sight seeing in Batumi (except botanical gardens). A mix of old and new buildings surrounds this square. You can see the statue of Midea of Argonauts on a column (Batumi was the place were Jason went from Greece-Volos to get the golden fleece according to mythology). This place stands out of all other squares in Batumi, it really looks like its in Europe.

Astronomical Clock This astrological clock looks just as nice and impressive as the ones you can see in Prague or in Messina, Sicily. The clock tower is set in a well-groomed and pretty area of the city, and the mix of old and new buildings and parks and plazas all around the clock make this attraction definitely worth visiting.

Salon Workshop of Kemal Turmanidze A private studio owed by Kemal Turmanidze, a prominent master of a special woodcarving technique and a guardian of the distinctive traditions of living Georgian heritage. Some of Kemal’s works are kept at the Ajara State Museum and his best works have been internationally exhibited. The master will show you his studio and his works, and will demonstrate the techniques for you.

Khariton Akhvlediani Adjara State Museum Renovated building with excellent collection of archeological artefacts from stone age up to the present era. Explanations in Georgian, English and Russian languages.

Modern Architecture Batumi's skyline has been transformed since 2007 with remarkable buildings and monuments of contemporary architecture: Sheraton Hotel, designed in the style of the Great Lighthouse at Alexandria, Egypt Alphabetic Tower (145 metres (476 ft) high), celebrating Georgian script and writing Piazza, a mixed-used development in the form of an Italian piazza Buildings designed in the style of a lighthouse, the Acropolis, and an upside-down White House

Piazza Square This charming place, hidden within the old city, has a unique charm to itself, has a good sitting area, is beautifully designed and worth visiting. Here you really have the feeling of being in Italy. A lot of souvenir shops, coffee shops, restaurants. Good atmosphere and very recommended to visit.

Alphabetic Tower The Alphabetic Tower, a 130 meter- high structure, symbolizes the uniqueness of the Georgian alphabet and people. The structure combines the design of DNA, in its familiar double helix pattern. Two helix bands rise up the tower holding 33 letters of the Georgian alphabet, each 4 meters tall and made of aluminum. The tower is composed of eleven modules of cantilever trusses of steel tubes which make up two bodies, the interior containing the communication core panoramic elevators and stairs, the exterior which supports the whole structure and defines the skin with the big characters. Each of the 10.8 m. cores is bonded by diaphragms in a star pattern. At the top stands a glass sphere made of triangle elements fixed over steel profiles and sealed. The sphere consists of a hollow circular section structure. This light space hosts several rooms, distributed on different floors within the sphere. In the middle of the building is an exposed elevator shaft leading to the very top of the building, in the crown of the structure, where a colossal silver ball is located.

Sheraton Hotel, designed in the style of the Great Lighthouse at Alexandria, Egypt. Acropolis, whith the classic structure of a Greek temple. White House, an upside-down structure.

Future Architecture Alliance Privilege: a look to the future In 2018, the Alliance Group began preparatory works on its new exclusive project in Batumi - Alliance Privilege. The complex will be located in the Batumi Boulevard, on the seaside. It will feature ultra-modern architecture, and will include the five-star Marriott Hotel, as well as exclusive apartments. Construction of the exclusive project is due to be completed in 2020, while the 160-room Marriott Hotel is due to begin operating in 2021. As with the company’s other projects, management and rental activities at Alliance Privilege will be entrusted to an international company. The new project will be managed by the US-based McInerney Hospitality International.