Welcome to your online resources for when you are planning to go Exploring the wonderful, friendly & hospitable country that is Georgia!
Where in the world is Georgia located?
The Caucuses Mountains in the north separate Georgia from Russia and is home to Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe at 5,642 metres above sea level. The Lesser Caucuses Mountains, Caucuses Minor, in the south separate Georgia from Turkey. Across the plains to the Southeast and East Georgia borders Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Georgia is divided into 9 Regions, 1 Autonomous Republic (Adjara) , 1 breakaway Region (Abkhazia) and 1 City (Tbilisi). Municipalities which include at least some settlements in Abkhazia & South Ossetia, currently outside Georgia’s control, are defined by Georgia as “occupied territories” as of 2015.
- Abkhazia
- Region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
- Region of Guria
- Autonomous Republic of Adjara
- Region of Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti
- Region of Imereti
- Region of Samtskhe-Javakheti
- Region of Shida Kartli
- Region of Mtskheta-Mtianeti
- Region of Kvemo Kartli
- Region of Kakheti
- City of Tbilisi
Municipalities which include at least some settlements in Abkhazia & South Ossetia, currently outside Georgia’s control, are defined by Georgia as “occupied territories” as of 2015.
Name of Georgia
Georgia is the Western exonym for the country in the Caucasus natively known as Sakartvelo (/sʌkʌrtvɛlɔː/ Georgian: საქართველო ).
The Russian exonym is Gruziya (/ɡrʊziːjʌ/ Russian: Грузия).
Both endonym and exonym for the country are derived from the same state-forming core and central Georgian region of Kartli, known as Iberia to the Classical and Byzantine sources around which the early medieval cultural and political unity of the Georgians was formed.
External Western and Russian exonyms are likely derived from gurğān, the Persian designation of the Georgians, evolving from Middle Persian wurğān/wirucān and Old Persian varkân meaning “the land of the wolves”. This is also reflected in Old Armenian virk’ (վիրք), it being a source of Ancient Greek iberia (ιβηρία), that entered Latin as Hiberia.
The full, official name of the country in English is “Georgia”, as specified in the Georgian constitution which reads “Georgia shall be the name of the state of Georgia.”
Before the 1995 constitution came into force the country’s name was the Republic of Georgia. Since 2005 the Georgian Government works actively to remove Russian-derived exonym Gruziya from usage around the world
Exploring
a) to go searching and discovering (about something):- to go Exploring Georgia
ie. The best way to go exploring the countryside is on foot.
ie. The children have gone exploring in the woods.
b) to think or talk about something in order to find out more about it:
ie. Let’s try explore this issue/idea more fully.
Visit Experiencing Georgia for a different perspective.