Batumi
[key], city (2021 est. pop. 121,806), capital of Adjarian Autonomous
Republic, in W Georgia, on the Black Sea near the Turkish
border. A major port and trade center, it is also the terminus of the
Trans-Caucasian RR and an oil pipeline. Batumi is an important
petroleum-shipping port and has oil refineries, shipyards, and
food-processing plants. Batumi is also a seaside resort, with a botanical
garden and neighboring national park. Site of the ancient Greek colony of
Batis, the city belonged to Georgia in the Middle Ages, fell to the Turks in
the late 16th cent., and passed to Russia in 1878.
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