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The sulfur baths of Tbilisi, Georgia


The sulphur baths of Tbilisi are a popular tourist attraction: one of the indulgent pleasures of the region, much like the hammams of Turkey and the Middle East.

Legend says that King Gorgasali was hunting deer and shot one that fell into a hot sulphur spring. The deer strangely and miraculously healed and this is how the restorative powers of the sulphur springs was discovered. Tbilisi means warm springs.

Situated near the river in Old Tbilisi, the sulfur baths are eye-catching. There is an entire street (Abanos kucha) of public bathhouses that use the hot sulphurous waters (abano means "bath", ubani means "district). The baths are underground, but their domes are visible above ground. Occassionally blasts of steam spurt out of the vents in the domes spreading a scent of slightly eggy sulphurous gas in the air.


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