Guria

Guria (Georgian: გურია) is a region (mkhare) in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 143,357 (2002) and Ozurgeti is a regional capital. Guria is bordered by Samegrelo to the north-west, Imereti to the north, Samtskhe-Javakheti to the east, Ajaria to the south, and the Black Sea to the west. The province has an area of 2,003 km². Guria is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude. Guria consists of three administrative districts: The toponym "Guria" is first attested in the c. 800 Georgian chronicle of Pseudo-Juansher. Guria first appears c. 1352 as a fief of the house of Vardanidze-Dadiani; and after 1463 it became a sovereign...