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Scenic spot
Batumi
Gürcistan
Priority Stop
The Alphabetic Tower (Georgian: ანბანის კოშკი) is a 130-metre landmark rising above Batumi's Miracle Park seafront and has become the most recognisable symbol of the city's rapid modernisation over the past fifteen years.
History & Design
Construction began in October 2010 and the exterior was completed in December 2011. It was designed by the Spanish engineering firm CMD Ingenieros, with Alberto Domingo Cabo and Carlos Lázaro as principal designers, at a cost of roughly 65 million US dollars. The tower's most striking feature is the pair of steel bands that spiral up the shaft in a DNA-like double helix. Mounted on these bands are the 33 letters of the Georgian Mkhedruli script, each about four metres tall and fabricated in aluminium with integrated LED lighting. In this way the structure fuses two ideas at once: the national identity carried by the ancient Georgian alphabet and the genetic code of life itself, a dual symbolism that makes it one of the most original contemporary monuments in the region.
Architecture & Interior
At the summit, a hollow sphere formed of triangular glass panels contains a panoramic restaurant that rotates a full 360 degrees over 60 minutes, an open viewing terrace and a small observatory, while lower floors house a television studio and a display of the tuned mass damper that stabilises the tower.
Visiting & Best Photo Spots
Agencies favour the tower in their Batumi itineraries because its photogenic silhouette captures the city's identity in a single frame and because it sits as a natural stop along the seafront boulevard walk. A typical visit lasts 20-30 minutes as an exterior photo stop, or 60-90 minutes if guests ascend to the restaurant or terrace. On guided tours it is usually combined into the same walking route as Batumi Boulevard, the Ali and Nino statue, the Piazza and Europe Square. The best photographs are taken at golden hour and after dark, when the letters and the helix glow with LED illumination; favoured angles include the seaward side near the Ali and Nino sculpture and the palm-lined paths of the boulevard.
Best Time to Visit
The exterior can be visited year-round, but the most comfortable season is May to October with its mild weather and long evenings, while July and August mark the peak tourist period.
Visit & Logistics
Visit & Logistics- Getting thereAbout 20 km (30-40 minutes) by car from the Sarp border crossing; a 10-15 minute walk along the boulevard from central Batumi; easily reached by city taxi or minibus (marshrutka).
- ParkingRoadside and nearby car parks are available around Miracle Park and the boulevard; the seafront parking areas can fill up during peak season.
- Coach accessTour buses can pull up on the wide roads beside the boulevard/Miracle Park; passengers reach the tower with a short walk. Being close to the centre makes drop-off and pick-up easy.
- AccessibilityThe surrounding boulevard and square have flat, wheelchair-friendly ground; the tower's upper floors are reached by lift, and the exterior area is fully accessible.
- Photo spotsGolden-hour light and night LED illumination from the seaward side; the double helix and letters seen beside the Ali and Nino statue; the full silhouette from the boulevard's palm-lined paths; a panorama of Batumi and the Black Sea from the glass sphere at the top.
- Suggested routeOn the Batumi seafront walk, right after Batumi Boulevard and the Ali and Nino statue, as a late-afternoon/sunset stop; on the same route as the Piazza and Europe Square.
Tours that include this place