On March 31, 2017, the presentation of the book “Батуми: История в лицах” (Batumi: History in Faces) by Bagrat Zurab Tavberidze-Matinyan took place.

The author briefly presented the content of the book, and the difficult story of its creation, and expressed his deepest gratitude to the sponsors and the organizers.

Both Aram Grigoryan, the former Consul of Armenia in Adjara, currently the Head of the Department of the the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, and Nino Antziauri, the first Secretary of the Ambassador of Georgia to Armenia, delivered warm words at the event. It is noteworthy that the latter, being a Georgian, presented the speech to visitors and guests in perfect Armenian. Then Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, the Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia, made a speech. He also welcomed and praised Bagrat Tavberidze for his huge work. He noted that the “Haytun” cultural center after Alexander Mantashyan was opened in Batumi with the support of Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia which can unite the ancient Armenian community of Batumi.

Many of the Batumi Armenians present in the hall were excited and eager to express their gratitude to the author of the book while remembering the contributions of their ancestors and parents in the process of preserving the Armenian identity in Batumi. Marieta Kondakchyan, the granddaughter of Garnik Manavazyan, the principal of the first Armenian school in Batumi, recalled with excitement her grandfather, who had educated many Armenian children in a foreign land for 25 years. Aristakes Barseghyan, the son-in-law of Batumi-Armenian architect Bogdan Kirakosyan, mentioned that the buildings designed by the architect still stand for both the residents of the city and thousands of tourists.

Nerses Ter-Vardanyan, the Deputy Minister of Culture of the RA, Araksya Dilanyan, the daughter of honored Batumi-Armenian doctor Stepan Dilanyan, and many others greeted the event with their words.