Ajaria

A mountainous semi-autonomous region of Georgia, is situated on the Black Sea coast on Georgia's southwestern border with Turkey.

Its narrow band of coastal lowland has a lush sub-tropical climate while high in the mountains there can be snow for six months of the year.

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The port in the capital, Batumi, is used for the shipment of oil from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Its oil refinery handles Caspian oil from Azerbaijan which arrives by pipeline to Supsa port and is transported from there to Batumi by rail.

Batumi is also an important gateway for the shipment of goods heading into Georgia, Azerbaijan and landlocked Armenia. The n capital is a centre for shipbuilding and manufacturing. has good land for growing tea, citrus fruits and tobacco.

History

The people of are overwhelmingly Georgians. Under Ottoman rule from the 17th until the 19th century Islam predominated. The word n came to mean a Georgian Muslim.