Akhtala (Gurjaani) Explained

Official Name:Akhtala
Native Name:ახტალა
Native Name Lang:geo
Settlement Type:Spa
Pushpin Map:Georgia (country)
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Mapsize:300
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Akhtala
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Kakheti
Subdivision Type2:Municipality
Subdivision Name2: Gurjaani
Established Title:Spa
Coordinates:41.7456°N 45.7944°W
Elevation M:412
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

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]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Gamkrelidze. Gela. Mindorashvili. Davit. Bragvadze. Zurab. Kvatsadze. Marine. ქართლის ცხოვრების ტოპოარქეოლოგიური ლექსიკონი [Topoarchaeological dictionary of Kartlis tskhovreba (The history of Georgia)]]. 2013. Georgian National Museum. Tbilisi. 978-9941-15-896-4. 82. 1st. Georgian. ახტალა [Akhtala].
  2. Book: Wardrop. Oliver. The Kingdom of Georgia: Travel in a Land of Women, Wine, and Song. 2010. Routledge. London and New York. 978-1136211652. 101–102.
  3. News: Selling "Akhtala" is a Way Out. 22 October 2016. Humanrights.ge. 26 January 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20161023051611/http://www.humanrights.ge/blue/index.php?a=main&pid=6044&lang=eng. 23 October 2016. dead.