The houses are large, and tastefully ornamented with facades and columns, and covered with sheet iron or bricks.  The Erivanski Place is very handsome.  Among the buildings the Palace of the governor, the Greek and Armenian seminaries, and several barracks are conspicuous.  The large theatre, in the centre of the Erivanski Place, was not then finished.  It is evident that the old town must give place to the new one.  Everywhere houses are being pulled down, and new ones built; the narrow streets will soon only be known by tradition, and the only remains of the Oriental architecture, are the Greek and Armenian houses.  The churches are far inferior in splendour and magnitude to the other buildings; the towers are low, round, and generally covered with green glazed tiles.  The oldest Christian church stands upon a high rock in the fortress, and is used only for the prisoners.

The bazaars and chan present no features worthy of notice; moreover, there are already here, as in all European towns, shops and stores in all the streets.  Several wide bridges are thrown over the Kurry.  The town contains numerous warm sulphuretted springs, from which, indeed, it derives its name:  Tiflis or Ibilissi, meaning “warm town.”  Unfortunately, the greater number of the many baths are in the worst condition.  The buildings, within which the springs are enclosed, are surmounted by small cupolas with windows.  The reservoirs, the floor, and walls, are for the most part covered with large stone slabs; very little marble is to be seen.  There are private and public baths, and men are not allowed to enter the buildings where the women assemble; however, they are not nearly so strict here as in the East.  The gentleman who was so kind as to accompany me to one of these baths, was permitted to come into the anteroom, although it was separated from the bathing-place only by a simple wooden partition.

Not far from the baths lies the Botanic Garden, which has been laid out, at great expense, on the declivity of a mountain.  The terraces, which had to be artificially cut, are supported by masonry and filled with earth.  Why such an unsuitable place was chosen I cannot imagine; the less so as I saw only a few rare plants and shrubs, and everywhere nothing but grape-vines; I fancied myself in a vineyard.  The most remarkable things in this garden are two vine-stocks, whose stems were each a foot in diameter.  They are so extended in groves and long rows that they form pleasant walks.  More than a thousand flasks of wine are annually obtained from these two vines.

A large grotto has been excavated in one of the upper terraces whose whole front side is open, and forms a high-arched hall.  In the fine summer evenings there is music, dancing, and even theatrical performances.

On Sundays and festivals the pretty gardens of the governor are opened to the public.  There are swings and winding-paths, and two bands of music.  The music executed by the Russian military was not so good as that which I heard by the blacks in Rio Janeiro.