We had a bit of a lie in as Helen still wasn't feeling too well. There had been a tempest through the night with Caliban doing his best to tear this holiday resort apart.
When we walked down the promenade there were kiosks blown over and large rocks scattered around from the beach.
Batumi is very much place of contrasts. There are huge luxury hotels like Sheraton,Radisson Blue, Hilton and many others. The main draw seems to be the Casinos. Being surrounded by Muslim countries has its advantages. On the other hand there is a lot of ex-Soviet scruffy, worn out tenement blocks with seedy shops and beggars hanging around. On the third hand (if I can borrow one) there is masses of new build development, some of which is ultra modern and very zany. Even the new stuff is starting to fall apart. Where the buyers are going to come from I haven't a clue. This looks like oil money speculation that might well go bad. The pity is that the state has not yet invested in the public infastructure. The state of the roads, for example, is dreadful. Even new development like our hotel in the local tennis club, whilst a wonderful facility is already falling apart through lack of maintenance. Lots of workers generating insufficient income.
When we walked down the promenade there were kiosks blown over and large rocks scattered around from the beach.
Batumi is very much place of contrasts. There are huge luxury hotels like Sheraton,Radisson Blue, Hilton and many others. The main draw seems to be the Casinos. Being surrounded by Muslim countries has its advantages. On the other hand there is a lot of ex-Soviet scruffy, worn out tenement blocks with seedy shops and beggars hanging around. On the third hand (if I can borrow one) there is masses of new build development, some of which is ultra modern and very zany. Even the new stuff is starting to fall apart. Where the buyers are going to come from I haven't a clue. This looks like oil money speculation that might well go bad. The pity is that the state has not yet invested in the public infastructure. The state of the roads, for example, is dreadful. Even new development like our hotel in the local tennis club, whilst a wonderful facility is already falling apart through lack of maintenance. Lots of workers generating insufficient income.
Batumi has been a free port for several hundred years and is still very busy. The port flourished at the end of the 19th century when the Nobles and Rothschild empire invested in oil from the Caspian Sea with a pipeline and rail link taking it West.
This is the new Black Sea Business Tower. It is unoccupied, and yes that really is a Ferris wheel built into it near the top. The tower is huge with massive TV screens at present showing the Georgian and Adjara flags.
How about this for some zany architecture. We are on a major fault line here, so earthquakes are quite frequent. Somebody else has built an upside down version of the White House. It's a restaurant and you can google it.
This is European Square. The statue is of Medea (Jason's unfortunate wife, remember?) and she is holding the Golden fleece.
Another symbolic piece of sculpture. This one is brilliant. It is called Ali and Nino. The two figures, male and female gradually move apart then come together to make one. The movement is nearly imperceptible and the whole process takes ten minutes. We went out for our evening meal to the local Cafe in the Gardens. This place was great and I'll tell you about it tomorrow.
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