Baghdati

Baghdati is a town of 3,700 people in the Imereti region of western Georgia, at the edge of the Ajameti forest on the river Khanistsqali, a tributary of the Rioni.

Geography

The town is located at the edge of the Ajameti forest on the left bank of the river Khanistsqali, about west-northwest of Tbilisi and south-southeast of Kutaisi.
The climate of Baghdati can be classified as moderately humid subtropical.

History

Baghdati is one of the oldest villages in the historical Imereti region. Its name shares the same origins as the name of the capital of Iraq, Baghdād: Bagh 'god' and dāti 'given', which can be translated as "God-given" or "God's gift" in the Pahlavi language. When Georgia was part of the Russian Empire and during the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, its name was changed to Baghdadi. In 1940, it was renamed Mayakovsky, after the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky who was born here in 1893. In 1981, Mayakovsky was granted town status. In 1991, the original name, slightly modified, was restored.

Demographics

Notable people

Vladimir Mayakovsky, poet