Mestia

Mestia (Georgian: მესტია) is a highland small town (daba) in northwest Georgia, at an elevation of 1,500 meters in the Caucasus Mountains. According to the current administrative subdivision of Georgia, Mestia is located in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region (mkhare), some 128 km northeast of the regional capital of Zugdidi. Mestia and the adjoining 132 villages form Mestia District (raioni). Its area is 3,044 km²; population – 14,248 (2,600 in the town itself; 2002 Georgia census). The population is mostly Svans, a cultural and linguistic subgroup of the Georgians. In Mestia is Queen Tamar Airport since 2010 and the airport is operated by the state-owned company United Airports Georgia. Historically and ethnographically, Mestia has...