Tbilisi

According to an old legend, the present-day territory of Tbilisi was covered by forests as late as the 5th century A.D. One day King Vakhtang I Gorgasali of Georgia went hunting in the heavily wooded region with a falcon. The King's falcon allegedly caught/injured a pheasant during the hunt, after which both birds fell into a nearby hot spring and died (from the burns received in the hot water). King Vakhtang became so impressed with the hot springs that he decided to cut down the forest and build a city on the location. The name Tbilisi derives from the Georgian word "Tbili", meaning warm.

from earth to heaven

Uploaded on January 17, 2007 by makunia