Mestia

Mestia მესტია
Townlet
Illuminated towers in Mestia
Mestia მესტია Location of Mestia in Georgia
Coordinates: 43°02′44″N 42°43′47″E / 43.04556°N 42.72972°E / 43.04556; 42.72972
Country	Georgia
Mkhare	Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
Population (2002)
• Townlet	2,600
• Metro	14,248
Time zone	Georgian Time (UTC+4)

Mestia (Georgian: მესტია IPA: [mɛstʼiɑ]) is a highland townlet (daba) in northwest Georgia, at an elevation of 1,500 metres (4,921 feet) in the Caucasus Mountains.

General information

Mestia is located in the Svaneti region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti province (mkhare), some 128 kilometres (80 miles) northeast of the regional capital of Zugdidi. Mestia and the adjoining 132 villages form Mestia District (raioni). Its area is 30,444 square kilometres (11,754 sq mi) ; and its population is 14,248 (2,600 in the town itself), according to the 2002 Georgia census. It was granted the status of a townlet (Georgian: daba) in 1968.

Historically and ethnographically, Mestia has always been regarded a chief community of Zemo, or Upper Svaneti province. It was formerly known as Seti (სეთი). The population is mostly Svans, a cultural and linguistic subgroup of the Georgians. Despite its small size, the townlet was an important centre of Georgian culture for centuries and contains a number of medieval monuments, such as churches and forts, included in a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Mestia is served by the Queen Tamar Airport, which is operated by the state-owned company United Airports Georgia, since 2010.

Architecture and attractions

The townlet is dominated by stone defensive towers of a type seen in Ushguli ("Svan towers"). A typical Svan fortified dwelling consisted of a tower, an adjacent house (machub) and some other household structures encircled by a defensive wall.

Unique icons and manuscripts are kept in Mestia Historical-Ethnographic Museum. Mestia is also a center of mountaineer tourism and alpinism.

Gallery

• 
  Mestia in autumn
• 
  Hotel and Place in town
• 
  Mestia airport
• 
  Mestia in winter
• 
  1890 photo of the village of Mestia
• 
  Mestia in autumn

Twin towns

Born in Mestia

• Mikheil Khergiani (1932–1969), a mountain climber
• Subdivisions of Georgia
• List of World Heritage Sites in Asia and Australasia

See also

• Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mestia.

• Mestia travel guide from Wikivoyage
• (in German) Frescos and icons from Svaneti

Coordinates: 43°02′44″N 42°43′47″E / 43.04556°N 42.72972°E / 43.04556; 42.72972