Sulphur baths, balconies and a great wine culture
Tbilisi tumbles down the slopes of the Mtkvari river gorge, its old town a mix of crumbling houses with carved wooden balconies, Orthodox churches, a mosque and a synagogue. In Abanotubani, brick domes cover the sulphur bathhouses that gave the city its name, which comes from the Georgian word for warm. A cable car climbs to Narikala Fortress and the Mother of Georgia statue. Georgian food is a revelation: khachapuri cheese bread, khinkali dumplings and amber wines made in clay qvevri jars.