Baghdati

Baghdati ბაღდათი
Town
Baghdati Baghdati
Coordinates:
Country	Georgia
Region	Imereti
District	Baghdati
Elevation	250 m (820 ft)
Population (2009)
• Total	4,800
Time zone	Georgian Time (UTC+4)
Climate	Cfa

Baghdati (Georgian: ბაღდათი) is a town of 4,800 people in the Imereti region of western Georgia, at the edge of the Ajameti forest on the river Khanistsqali, a tributary of the Rioni.

Geography

The town is located at the edge of the Ajameti forest on the left bank of the Khanistsqali River, about 170 kilometres (110 mi) west-northwest of Tbilisi and 25 kilometres (16 mi) south-southeast of Kutaisi.

Climate

The climate of Baghdati can be classified as moderately humid subtropical (Köppen climate classification Cfa).

History

Baghdati is one of the oldest villages in the historical Imereti region. Its name shares the same origins as the name of the capital of Iraq, Baghdad: هدیه Bag "god" and خدا dāti "given", which can be translated as "God-given" or "God's gift" in old Persian. When Georgia was part of the Russian Empire and during the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, its name was changed to Baghdadi (Russian: Багдади). In 1940, it was renamed Mayakovsky (Georgian: მაიაკოვსკი; Russian: Маяковский), after the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky who was born here in 1893. In 1981, Mayakovsky was granted town status. In 1991, slightly modified original name was restored.

Demographics

Year	Population
1959	4586
1970	4609
1979	4831
1989	5465
2002	4714
2009	4800

Note: Census data 1959–2002, 2009.

Economy

In Baghdati there is a furniture factory and companies in the food industry (canned food, wine). The nearest railway stations are located in Rioni and Kutaisi.

Culture

Baghdati has the Vladimir Mayakovsky Museum and a National Theatre.

Notable people

• Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893–1930), poet

References

File:Храм в Багдати (Photo A. Muhranoff).jpg

A church in Baghdati

Sources

• Е. М. Поспелов (Ye. M. Pospelov). "Имена городов: вчера и сегодня (1917–1992). Топонимический словарь." (City Names: Yesterday and Today (1917–1992). Toponymic Dictionary.) Москва, "Русские словари", 1993.