Telavi is known throughout Georgia as a place where amazing tasty Kakheti wine is produced. Yet this city is famous for the fact that here, in spite of the highly developed industry, the air is fresh and clear. Telavi, like many cities in the Caucasus, is surrounded by majestic mountains and slopes with small rivers, lakes and springs. The city's name - "Telavi" - comes from the name of trees - "elms", which here form the whole forest.”Elm” in Georgian means "tela".
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On the par with Tbilisi or Kutaisi, Telavi can be considered one of the oldest Georgian settlements. The first documentary mention of the city dates back far I century AD. For a long time this settlement was one of the main economic centers of ancient Georgia, as here many trade routes crossed from East to West and vice versa. At the same time, Telavi became the capital of Kakheti, remains to this day.