Batumi

Black Sea port and capital of the autonomous republic of Adjaria, in southwestern Georgia; population (2001 est) 143,800. Key industries include oil refining and transhipment, shipbuilding, food canning, engineering, and the manufacture of clothing and pharmaceuticals. Batumi receives its crude oil via a pipeline running from the oilfields at Baku in Azerbaijan. Tea and citrus fruits are grown in the region around the city.

Batumi lies on the site of an ancient Greek settlement. It was part of the Ottoman empire from the 16th century until 1878, when it became Russian. In 1918–20, during the Russian Civil War, the city was occupied by British forces.

Batumi has a botanical garden, founded in 1912.