GREAT SYNAGOGUE

Driving up Leselidizis Street(aka Kota Abkhazis) from Méïdan, the first major building on the left is Tbilisi's main synagogue. It's a brick building dating from 1910, with a seven-branched chandelier on its roof. On the second floor, you can visit the meeting room, where you'll be shown the Torah. In the past, Tbilisi had a very large Jewish community, which has declined sharply over the last century due to Soviet persecution and economic hardship. It used to be a lively Jewish quarter.