An island for Batumi
A personal note about Georgia’s first reclaimed island and how a city can change without losing itself.
Do you know what I think about when I look at the island being built in Batumi?
It is Georgia’s first reclaimed island — a vast project with towers, promenades, parks and a marina. A new piece of land in the middle of the sea, where until very recently there was none. The scale is impressive, of course. Projects like this are noticed and talked about; their images travel around the world. Perhaps one day the island really will become a new emblem of Batumi.
And yet, whenever I look at it, I cannot quite decide: is it truly a bold step into the future, or simply a nod to the fashion for megaprojects by the water?
I have always felt that Batumi’s charm lies not in trying to astonish. It lives in the old balconies, in streets still wet after the rain, in unhurried conversations over coffee. In the sea that begins just beyond the boulevard and never tries to be anything other than itself. This city has never needed anything monumental for you to feel how special it is.
The island will probably make a loud statement about Batumi. But will that statement take away a small part of the cosy city we love? Will its silhouette become a little taller, brighter and more modern — and a little further removed from itself?
I am not against change. Cities cannot remain the same forever. Still, as Batumi changes, I want it to keep its own intonation. This is the Georgian Riviera — warm, a little wistful, imperfect in places and therefore real. It is not a Dubai on the Black Sea.
Sometimes a city, just like a person, does not need to become louder to be loved more deeply.