Abastumani

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Abastumani is a small town and climatic spa in Adigeni Municipality, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Georgia. It is located on the southern slopes of the Meskheti Range , in the small river valley of Otskhe, 25 km northeast of Adigeni and 28 km west of Akhaltsikhe. As of the 2002 census, it had a population of 1,368. The Georgian National Astrophysical Observatory is located at Abastumani. In medieval Georgia, the area of modern-day Abastumani was part of the district of Odzrkhe so named after a fortress whose ruins survive near the townlet. In the 16th century, it fell to the Ottoman Empire under whose rule the area was deserted, but its hot springs were appreciated and frequented by locals. Under the Russian rule, a short-lived German colony of Friedenthal emerged there in 1842. In the 1850s, it was recolonized by the Russians under the patronage of Viceroy of the Caucasus Mikhail Vorontsov. The new settlement acquired the name Abbas-Tuman after a nearby located village and became popular for its climate and thermal waters.

Its development as a resort is chiefly associated with Grand Duke George Alexandrovich, a member of the Russian imperial family, who had retired there due to his ill-health. Abastumani acquired the status of an urban-type settlement  under the Soviet Union in 1926. Tourism infrastructure has been renovated since the mid-2000s. Abastumani possesses a moderately dry mountainous climate, with relative humidity reaching 50% only in summer. The annual average number of hours of sunlight is 3,000. Average annual precipitation is 626 mm. Average annual temperature is 6.4 to 6.5 °C (44 to 44 °F) in January and 17.2 °C (63 °F) in July. Abastumani's three hyperthermic springs (39-48.5 °C) are little mineralized, rich in sulfate-sodium chloride waters. They have long been used in the treatment of tuberculosis. Abastumani is also a starting point for hikes into the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park.

Georgian National Astrophysical Observatory (GENAO) currently renamed again as Abastumani Astrophysical Observatory was founded in 1932 by Academician Eugene Kharadze on Mount Kanobili, near resort Abastumani. Altitude of Mt.Kanobili varies between 1650-1700 m. above sea level. The observatory is located ~250 km from Tbilisi, capital of Georgia; being distant from the air pollution and sky illumination together with excellent natural conditions makes this place being among the best observatories at the same altitude range. Weather is stable, no harsh and sudden changes. The Observatory is running wide-profile research, spanning different fields of Astronomy, Astrophysics and investigation of the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere.