"Kutaisi" K'alak'i K'ut'aisi by rjaparidze

Kutaisi is considered western capital of Georgia, though because of different reasons this city is not as important at it used to.

During the long history, Kutaisi was the capital of Kolchi, Egris-Lazika, Abkhazeti and the United Georgia. In the period of feudal dispersion, Kutaisi became the capital of Imereti Kingdom. Kutaisi reached the top in 975-1014 years-during the reign of the king of the United Georgia Bagrati III.

In 11th century Kutaisi remained the capital of Georgia, until Georgia's iconic King David the Builder managed to rout Arabs and move the capital to Tbilisi. In the post soviet times Kutaisi became some type of backwater...

Recent declaration of the President Saakashvili that Kutaisi must be rebuilt gives some hope that things may change...

One of the Churches in Kutaisi

There are several sites that I want to point out if someone decides to stay here. If one asks me, there is no point of spending night here as everything may be seen during day-time. If after restoration things may change - another topic, but so far just go, see and leave...

The best way to get understanding of the city probably is to visit first www.kutaisi.gov.ge

Among the most worthy sites I would like to point out:

1. Gelati - truly beautiful church (UN Heritage List)
2. Motsameta Church - on the way to Gelati
3. Bagrati - UN Heritage site though I have big question marks why it is in the heritage list :-); and
4. Sataplia Protected Area (located about 4-5 kms from the city) - site of big cave with dinosaurs imprints

• Pros:Main city on one's way to the West and Gelati Monastery
• Cons:Needs a lot of repair
• In a nutshell:do not stop for too long...