Samtskhe-Javakheti

Samtskhe-Javakheti comprises sax admeenistrative destricts: Akhaltsikhe, Adigeni, Aspindza, Borjomi, Akhalkalaki an Ninotsminda. Thare are 5 cities, 7 tounlets, 67 community an veelage sakrebulos (assemblies), an 258 veelages in the region. It is bordered bi Guria an Imereti tae the north, Kartli (Shida Kartli an Kvemo Kartli) tae the north-east an tae the east, Armenie an Turkey tae the sooth an Ajara tae the wast. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan ile pipeline an the Sooth Caucasus naitural gas pipeline pass throu this region.

Samtskhe-Javakheti სამცხე-ჯავახეთის მხარე Samtskhe-Javakhetis mkhare
Mkhare (region)
Kintra	Georgie
Seat	Akhaltsikhe
Subdiveesions	6 regions
Govrenment
• Govrenor	Besik Amiranashvili
Area
• Total	6413 km2 (2,476 sq mi)
Population  (2014)
• Total	160,504
• Density	25/km2 (65/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+4
ISO 3166 code	GE-SJ

Accordin tae the 2014 census, ethnic Armenies (chiefly concentratit in Akhalkalaki an Ninotsminda districts), are the majority in the region, makin up aboot 50,5% o the population. Thay share the region wi Georgies 48,3%, Pontian Greeks an Osseties. Currently, thay are unnerrepresentit in aw spheres o public life, especially govrenment. Anerlie three o the govrenor’s 26 staff members are Armenie (11 per cent). The same is true for the territorial depairtments o the various meenistries. For instance, anerlie saxteen o 82 staff members (19.5 per cent) o the tax depairtment in Samtskhe-Javakheti are Armenie. Lack o dialogue atween local Armenies an the naitional govrenment in Tbilisi adds tae perceptions o discrimination an alienation. Thare hae been demonstrations, polis brutality an killins in this region.

Meskhetian Turks (or simply Meskhetians) are the umwhile Muslim indwallers o Meskheti (nou kent as Samtskhe) in Georgie, alang the border wi Turkey. Frae 15 November tae 25 November 1944, thay wur deportit in cattle-trucks tae Central Asie bi the order o Stalin an settled athin an aurie that owerlaps the bundaries o the modren naitions o Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, an Uzbekistan. The day, mony are still dispersed athort those kintras. O the 100,000 forcibly deportit, a tot o 10,000 perished.

Twa o the major tourist attractions are the cave monasteries o Vardzia (which wis foondit bi Queen Tamar in 1185) an Vanis Kvabebi (which dates frae the 8t century). Thay are locatit near the toun o Aspindza.

• Meskhetian Turks
• Meskheti