About This Heritage Home

Access & Amenities

• Washing Machine
• Air conditioning
• Heating System
• Wifi
• Pets allowed
• Drinkable tap water

Location

About Abanotubani

The main attraction of Abanotubni was and still is the baths, which gave the name to this district. They are built on natural hot sulphur springs. According to the legend of the founding of Tbilisi, it was these sources that prompted King Vakhtang Gorgasali to build a city here. It is thought that the baths were built immediately after the foundation of the city, already in the 6th century. During the heyday of Tbilisi, the number of baths was much higher than it is today. According to Najib Hamadan, a Persian author of the second half of the 12th century, there were 40 baths in the city during his time. In the following years, their number increased even more. The work "Wonders of the World" written by an unknown Persian geographer in the 1220s informs us: "There are sixty-five baths in the city. The high God created the water of each of them hot without fire“. Most of the baths date back to the 17th-18th centuries and have preserved their original appearance despite later renovations. Their architecture is closely related to Islamic architectural traditions. The general structure of the baths is the same: the central large chamber is covered with a dome. A lantern is cut in the middle of the dome. A large stone bath below the dome is surrounded by deep carved niches. As a rule, bath buildings sit half in the ground and have essentially no facades. Only the hemispheres of the dome are raised from the flat roof. Orbeliani bath (at the end of Abano Street) stands out with a more elaborate solution. Its facade, which dates back to the 1890s, is a typical example of "oriental" stylization, the facade is completely covered with glazed tiles of different colours. Baths were always open to visitors. There was no set bathing time either, and people could stay there until dawn. The bath sometimes served as a hotel for peasants coming from the villages. Women were given a few days a week to go to the bathhouse. They brought laundry with them stayed in the bath all day, and had breakfast and dinner there. It was a place where women could display their toiletries and precious jewellery. Men were not allowed to enter the women's communal bath. However, as the Austrian traveller Ida Pfeiffer points out, the rules in Tbilisi baths were not as strict as in the East. Today, all the remaining baths are operational and are frequented by both locals and tourists. Although Abanotubani is one of the main must-see sites in Tbilisi, meanwhile, it is a quiet residential area where old houses, archaeological remains, stunning views and chill coming from Tsavkisistskhali waterfall please amuse its dwellers and guests.