Akhtala (Gurjaani)
Akhtala
ახტალა | |
|---|---|
Spa | |
 Akhtala mud bathes | |
  Akhtala Location of Akhtala | |
| Coordinates: 41°44′44″N 45°47′40″E / 41.74556°N 45.79444°E | |
| Country |  Georgia |
| Region | Kakheti |
| Municipality |  Gurjaani |
| Elevation | 412 m (1,352 ft) |
| Website | akhtala.ge |
Akhtala (Georgian: ახტალა) is a spa in the town of Gurjaani, in Georgia's easternmost region of Kakheti, known for its mud bathes of volcanic origin.
History
[edit]According to the Georgian scholar Prince Vakhushti's geography of Georgia, finalized in 1745, Akhtala "is said to be a former village and buried by wrath; tar is discharged, steaming, and brings on the surface spoons, jars, and peasants' commodities".[1] By the time the British diplomat Oliver Wardrop visited Georgia in 1887, Akhtala had already been used as a spa, "a muddy hollow in which are slime baths, resorted to by persons suffering from rheumatism, scrofula, and many other diseases; the baths are simply round holes full of mud, in the middle of which an evil-smelling gas slowly bubbles up; the largest bath of all is reserved for cattle".[2]
Beginning in the 1920s, Akhtala's potential for balneotherapy was studied and exploited by the Georgian Institute of Resorts and Physiotherapy. In the 1990s, the Akhtala spa became a joint stock company. In 2006, descendants of the noble family of Andronikashvili attempted to claim the resort, fruitlessly, as their patrimonial estate lost to the Soviet state in 1924.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Gamkrelidze, Gela; Mindorashvili, Davit; Bragvadze, Zurab; Kvatsadze, Marine, eds. (2013). "ახტალა [Akhtala]". ქართლის ცხოვრების ტოპოარქეოლოგიური ლექსიკონი [Topoarchaeological dictionary of Kartlis tskhovreba (The history of Georgia)] (PDF) (in Georgian) (1st ed.). Tbilisi: Georgian National Museum. p. 82. ISBN 978-9941-15-896-4.
- ^ Wardrop, Oliver (2010). The Kingdom of Georgia: Travel in a Land of Women, Wine, and Song. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 101–102. ISBN 978-1136211652.
- ^ "Selling "Akhtala" is a Way Out". Humanrights.ge. 26 January 2006. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
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