The Legend of Tbilisi

According to the legend, the king of ancient Iberia, Vakhtang I Gorgasali, once hunted in the forests near the first capital of Georgia – Mtskheta. After some time, he saw a pheasant, then shot and killed the bird. The king sent his falcon to find the prey. The falcon flew away, and after a while, the king lost sight of him. In search of the birds, Vakhtang Gorgasali with his hunters came upon the source and saw that both the falcon and the pheasant got into its waters. The source turned to be hot. And amazed with this find Vakhtang I decided to found here the city realizing a great advantage of that location. In addition, to the hot sources, the location had many important for the city construction factors: a protected position between the mountains, location on a trade route, strategically favorable factors. Thus, according to the legend, the city of Tbilisi was founded. The word «tbili» is translated from Georgian as «warm». Tbilisi is a city of warm sources.