We share the most interesting facts about Georgia, collected on a two-week trip through the transcontinental country
Georgia may as well be called “Georgia, the country” thanks to its famous American counterpart. Unlike the US state, the country still feels uncharted. Bordered by Russia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, Armenia and Turkey to the south, and the Black Sea to the west, Georgia is a land of deep green gorges, snow-capped summits and implausibly-placed medieval churches.
It’s also a place of rich culture and history, as Peter discovered on his recent trip through the country. Below, he shares the most interesting facts about Georgia gathered on his two-week journey.
Interesting facts about Georgia
Georgia was home to Europe’s first known humans
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, archaeologists found 1.8m-year-old human skulls in the town of Dmanisi in Georgia – the oldest anywhere in the world outside of Africa. In 2022, they found a 1.8m-year-old tooth in the region, cementing Georgia as home to the first known humans in Europe (and indeed anywhere outside Africa).
(Source: The Guardian)
The world’s deepest-known cave is in Georgia
Veryovkina Cave in the Gagra Mountain range of the western Caucasus is the deepest cave in the word, reaching a mind-boggling depth of 2,212m (7,257ft).
(Source: National Geographic)
Georgia is the birthplace of wine
Stone Age farmers in southern Georgia were the world’s earliest-known winemakers. Analysis shows that they were producing wine on a large scale as early as 6,000 BC. To put this in context, prehistoric humans of the time were still using tools made from stone and bone.
(Source: National Geographic)
Georgia has a coveted position between Europe and Asia
Georgia sits at a strategic crossroads between two continents and, as such, has been fought over by Persia, Turkey and Russia. It was annexed by Russia in 1801-04 and gained independence nearly two centuries later in 1991.
(Source: BBC)
Georgia has two breakaway republics
Georgia’s troubles did not end with independence. It has two breakaway regions: Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Georgian government and most United Nations member states consider both regions legally a part of Georgia. Only Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria consider them sovereign states.
(Source: BBC, GOV.UK)
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