JULIUS von KLAPROTH'S OBSERVATIONS ON TBILISI

In the early part of nineteenth century Julius Von Klaproth (1783- 1835), who made important contributions to development of orientalism in Europe, published more than 300 works. As a German historian and linguist, Klaproth's Caucasian studies are on geographical, historical and linguistics. He joined the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences in 1805 and continued his studies there. His notes about the trip he organized to Caucasia and Georgia in 1807-1808 were published in Germany in 1814. This travel book is the first work related to the historical geography of the Caucasus. The work, which is mentioned in detail from the language groups and tribes in the Caucasus, allowed Europe and the Russians to know and understand the Caucasus more closely. This work, which includes the first comprehensive observations and evaluations that will help us understand the socio-cultural and economic structure of the Caucasus, is different from other travel books in terms of chronically mentioning Russia's relations with the Caucasus and Georgia. The geographical descriptions of Klaproth about Georgia are very successful. In his travel book, he described Tbilisi with its historical, geographical, socio-cultural and economic structure. The author, who had the opportunity to get to know the Georgians closely during his time in Tbilisi, gives important information about the Georgian culture. In particular, he talked about the general appearance of Tbilisi, and to what extent the wars destroyed the streets and houses. Even today, he talked about the healing waters of Tbilisi, which is famous for its sulfur baths, and described the culture of bath and its understanding of cleanliness. Touching on the trade and religious structure in Tbilisi, he gave information about the socio-cultural structure of Georgia in the example of Tbilisi.