Guidebook for Tbilisi

Our next route begins with Sololaki region. It is one of the most ecologically clean parts of the city. This district begins from Freedom square and ends at the mount Mtatsminda. According to the story the Arabs built a canal in this area to water the gardens. Canal in Arabian language is "sululakh" and since that period the place is called Sololaki. While going along Sololaki street you can understand why Tbilisi has been called "Caucasian Paris" - it is thanks to this special atmosphere of peace, language mix, cosmopolitan architecture of the 19-20th centuries. Tbilisi houses of that period by their splendour and quality could be compared with patterns of Euro-pean "modern": ambitious owners ordered the construction of their mansions to the best architects of the city. By the end of the 19th century Sololaki had become a prestigious district, built by bourgeoisie with fashionable residences and profitable houses in "modern" style. It is worth mentioning that today's Sololaki looks like exactly as it did in those remote times and on some doorways decorated with marble crumbles, one can read the Latin writing SALVE ("Welcome") or surnames of the former owners. Some old people do remember the names of the clerks, major manufacturers, bankers and merchants, whom these wonderful hou-ses belonged to. During this walk we'd like to acquaint you with the best patters of Tbilisi architecture of 19-20th centuries in "modern" style and other ones. In these streets you can prove yourself that you see a "piece" of old Tbi-lisi and understand that "the old" when spe-aking about Tbilisi is referred first of all to the style, to its recurrence in spite of all fu-rther reconstructions and alterations. The-se houses contain more information about Tbilisi than any book on history.