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Banknotemaniac
Sukhumi (Аҟәа in Abkhaz, სოხუმი in Georgian, Сухум in Russian) is
a 65,439
inhabitants city by the Black Sea, being the de facto capital of the unrecognised country of Abkhazia and de iure capital of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, part of Georgia. It's also the capital of Sukhumi District. Sukhumi has a vibe similar to some cities in Italy, with a gorgeous setting on a bay, hills on its back and semitropical vegetation. although it has many buildings ruined and in very poor conditions. The town had 119 150 residents in 1989 but after the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict (1992–93), ethnic cleansing of Georgians and other circunstances its population was importantly reduced.
How do I arrive to Sukhumi?
Sukhumi is good base to explore Abkhazia, both because of being its largest city and being in the center.
- Plane: there's an airport, Sukhumi Babushara Airport, but it doesn't offer flights to international destinations.
- Train: there are trains that link Sukhumi with Moscow (aprox. 1 day 18 hours) via Sochi. In summer trains runs between Sukhumi and St. Petersburg or Sukhumi
and Belgorod, stopping at Rostov-on-Don and Voronezh. Another choice is
reaching Adler (aprox. 24 hours) and crossing the border in minibus. There used to be a train line that connected Abkhazia and Georgia but it was damaged during the war. As for the local railway network, a train connects Sukhumi with Novy Afon, Gudauta, Tsandripsh and Gagra.
- Bus: there are buses from Sukhumi to cities in Russia like Sochi, Tuapse and Vladikavkaz. There are also often marshrutkas from Sukhumi to Novi Afon (aprox. 30 minutes), Ochamchire (aprox. 1 hour), Gagra (aprox. 2 hours) and the border with Russia (aprox. 2 hours 30 minutes).
- Car: if you have a car from Sukhumi it can be reached places in Abkhazia like Gulrpishi (aprox. 15 minutes), Novi Afon (aprox. 30 minutes), Gudauta and Ochamchire (aprox. 50 minutes), Gali (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes), Tkvarcheli (aprox. 1 hour 15 minutes), Gagra (aprox. 1 hour 25 minutes), Pitsunda (aprox. 1 hour 30 minutes) or Ritsa Relict National Park (aprox. 1 hour 50 minutes). It can also be reached from places in Russia such as Adler or Sochi and places in Georgia like Zugdidi (aprox. 1 hour 30 minutes), Poti (aprox. 2 hours 30 minutes) in the Kolkheti National Park or Kutaisi (aprox. 3 hours 15 minutes).
History
The history of the city began in the mid-6th century BC when a previous settlement of local Colchian tribes was replaced by Dioscurias, a Greek colony of Miletus. It became engaged in commerce between Greece and the indigenous tribes (importing wares and exporting salt, Caucasian timber, linen, slaves and hemp), flourishing until its conquest by Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus. Under the Roman emperor Augustus the city assumed the name of Sebastopolis but its past prosperity had already disappeared (though it kept existing during the times of Arrian). There were already Christians in Sukhumi in the late 4th century. In 542 the Romans evacuated and demolished the town to prevent it from being captured by Sasanian Empire but in 565, the Byzantine emperor Justinian I restored the fort and Sebastopolis continued to remain one of the Byzantine strongholds in Colchis (until being sacked by the Arab conqueror Marwan II in 736). Restored by the kings of Abkhazia from the Arab devastation, it particularly flourished during the Georgian Golden Age (12th-13th centuries) when Tskhumi became a center of traffic with the European maritime powers and the Republic of Genoa established their short-lived trading factory at Tskhumi in 14th century. Tskhumi became the summer residence of the Georgian kings, as well as a cultural and administrative center. (later it served as capital of the Odishi-Megrelian rulers). Contested between the princes of Abkhazia and Mingrelia, Tskhumi finally fell to the Turks in the 1570s, (calling it Sohumkale) and fortifying it. Sukhumi was declared the seaport (1847) and was directly annexed to the Russian Empire after the ruling Shervashidze princely dynasty was ousted. During the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) it was temporarily controlled by the Ottoman forces and Abkhaz-Adyghe rebels. The town and Abkhazia in general were engulfed in the chaos of the Russian Civil War, being incorporated into the Democratic Republic of Georgia as the autonomous People's Council of Abkhazia but the Red Army and the local revolutionaries took the city in 1921. Sukhumi became the capital of the Abkhazian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Georgian SSR and by 1989 it was one of the most prosperous cities of Georgia. Sukhumi was a center of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, severely damaged, and a full-scale campaign of ethnic cleansing against its majority Georgian population took place. Since then the city has not regained its earlier population and ethnic diversity.
What can I visit in Sukhumi?
There are not very many interesting sites and attractions in Sukhumi and most of them aren't very well preserved (in fact, there are many ruined buildings and sightseeing points). The promenade of Sukhumi is probably the nicest in the whole of Abkhazia with clean waterfront, entertainment and shops. It also has the inscription Ye Sukhum, piers, sculptures...
These are Sukhumi's main attractions:
- Former Building of the Council of Ministers
: building built in 1960 by Soviet builders to host the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, one of the most significant historical places of Sukhumi. It stands out because in Sukhumi there are almost no multi-storey buildings but it's in a very poor situation because it was gutted during Georgian-Abkhazian conflict and set in fire when the Abkhaz army took the city in September 1993. In 2018 it was installed a large awning to mark 25 years of Victory. The visitor can get into the ruined building, having the possibility of walking around.
Former Building of
the Council of Ministers - Freedom Park: park that is one of the main publi spaces in the city of Sukhumi, having a monument that honours fighters for Abkhaz independence. The park has the flags of all the countries that officially recognise Abkhazia as an independent country.
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Sukhumi Abkhaz
Orthodox Cathedral - Sukhumi Abkhaz Orthodox Cathedral: Neo-Byzantine style cathedral built between 1909 and 1915 for the vibrant Greek community that lived in Sukhumi. It was then consecrated in the name of St. Nicholas and was, therefore, popularly referred to as Greek Nicholas Church. In the 1940s (when most of the Greeks were expellled by the Soviet government), the church passed to the Georgian Orthodox Church, remaining as one of the few functioning churches in autonomous Abkhazia throughout the Soviet period. As a result of the War in Abkhazia the church was left to the unrecognised Abkhazian Orthodox Church.
- St. Johannes Lutheran Church: church built in 1915 for the German community that lived in Sukhumi and Abkhazia during the Russian Empire.
Entrance to the Botanical
Garden of Sukhumi - Botanical Garden of Sukhumi (8-18; 250₽/ 50₽/ free adults/ kids under 12/ kids under 8): botanical garden founded in 1838, one of the oldest in the Caucasus, used for military purposes (to provide the soldiers with fresh vegetables and occupy their free time) as well as the introduction of new plants in the region (particularly tea and citrus fruits). It was ravaged by Turkish forces in the course of the Russo-Turkish wars and continued to develop during the Soviet rule, transformed into the research institute of botany of the Academy of Sciences (suffering greatly during the Georgian-Abkhazian War). Today it has more than 4,500 species were collected in the garden, including 1,200 tropical ones.
- Sukhumi Monkey Nursery (11-19; 250₽/ 50₽/ free adults/ kids under 12/ kids under 8): reserve from 1927 that acts both as a zoo and part of scientific research as part of the Academy of Sciences of Abkhazia. In the past it reached 2000 individuals but after the war it was reduced to 27. Today the Institute and the nursery is again restored,
although reaching its normal state is still very far away (old cells, unkempt grounds, dirt...).
Exhibition at Abkhazian
State Museum - Abkhazian State Museum (10-17 Tue-Sun; 100₽): museum that shows the history and life in Abkhazia, considered its only major museum. It has interesting exhibitions, particulary a very good one about archaeology,and other sections about WW2 and the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict or even a collection of stuffed animals. The museum is surprisingly renovated but its signals are only in Russian.
- Abkhazia State Philharmonic Hall: threater that is the seat of the Abkhaz State Philharmonic, built in 1947. Famous figures and creative teams of Abkhazia, Russia, the republics of the former Soviet Union and abroad have performed here. As many buildings in the city, it suffered greatly during the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict.
- Sukhumi hosts the embassies of the countries that recognise its independence but, without any kind of doubt, the most impressing one is the Embassy of Russia in Sukhumi.
- Abkhazian State Art Gallery (8-20): art gallery with more than 3,000 works.
Its collection presents beautiful copies of frescoes of Lykhny Cathedral, works of the Soviet era and the paintings of one of the most important Ankhaz artists, A. K. Chachba. Every year the gallery hosts a retrospective and thematic exhibitions.
Abkhazia State Drama Threater - Abkhazia State Drama Threater: threater with a whimsical and beautiful architecturefirst built in 1930 which is today the main drama theater of Abkhazia. The building was burned down in 1943 because of a German bombing and reconstructed in 1952, uniting its original Art Nouveau style with Stalinist Empire style. The auditorium has 700 seats and its plays are on Abkhaz language (available headphones with simultaneous Russian translation). On its square there's a picturesque fountain with mythical griffins.
Hotel Abkhazia - Sukhumi used to have many luxurous hotelsd uring the Soviet times. Some of the most prominent ones were Hotel Abkhazia (currently defunct and empty) and Hotel Ritsa.
- Ruins of Sukhumi Fortress: remnants of the fortress built by the Turks in 1724, although almost nothing has been preserved and archaeological excavations and restoration haven't taken place. It is said that the ruins of the ancient Greek town of Dioskurias are located close to this point.
- Sukhumi Central Beach: 2 km long pebbly beach with muddy water that divided into sections by concrete breakwaters from the Soviet period. Its area is one of the most developed in the city and here the visitor can practice water sports or enjoy its cafes.
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Sukhumi Central Beach - Sukhumi Lighthouse:
37 m high lighthouse made in France by Ernest Goüin et Cie and brought
and installed in Sukhumi in 1861. It stopped working in the year 2000,
being restored some time later. In front of it there's Sukhumi Lighthouse Beach, a pebbly beach with a length of 5 km that doesn't have breakwaters and is considered the most pure in Sukhumi. Cotinuing by the sea the visitor can reach Gumista Beach, a wild beach outside Sukhumi with pebbles and some sand that is less crowded than others in the city.
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Castle of Bagrat - Castle of Bagrat: ruined medieval castle from the late-10th century built in the times of Abkhaz and Georgian king Bagrat III to protect the south of Sukhumi and the harbour in the estuary of river Basla. It also functioned as a shelter for the local elite (including the Shervashidze family) and it was abandoned when the town was moved west in the 16th century. The surviving structures are walls and remains of fortified structures, wine jars, jugs, glazed pottery and other items found on archaeological digs..
- Mocha Beach: beach that is considered the best in Sukhumi because it's mostly made of sand (although still having pebbles). It's known as the youth and the rave beach.
Besleti Bridge - Kelasuri Walls: remains of the former Great Abkhazian Wall, a stone wall that is thought to have been first built by Byzantines in the 6th century (although most of the remnants that can be seen today are from the 17th century, when Prince of Mingrelia Levan II Dadiani to protect his lands from the Abkhaz invasions). The wall used to consist in about 300 towers, most of them now entirely or largely ruined.
- Besleti Bridge: single-arch stone bridge that crosses the small river Besletka located 6 km from the center of Sukhumi. It dates back to the late-12th century and it's one of the most illustrative examples of the medieval bridge design popular during the reign of Tamar of Georgia. It had inscriptions in Georgian (destroyed during the war in the 1990s) and next to it there are ruins of other medieval towers
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