Presently there are 402 comprehensive schools, 49 pre-school establishments and 23 kindergartens, the Batumi State University, Polytechnic Institute, Agricultural Institute, Fine Arts Institute, Marine Academy, 16 Private higher educational establishments of different profiles and a college in Ajara. The State Conservatory was opened last year. Research activity is coordinated by the Ajar center of the Academy of Sciences of Georgia. 14 research institutes are presently functioning. The sanctuary-museum Gonio-Apsaros, the Batumi Archeological museum and others have been opened recently. Ajara has made a great contribution to the development of national heritage: in the XI-XII centuries, the famous writer and astronomer Abuseridze Tbeli worked here. According to his thesis, the Pope made an amendment to the church calendar.

	In spite of the complicated situation that has been existing in Georgia since the early 90s, Ajar art and culture are successfully developing. The Opera and Ballet Theater has been founded. Its performances have already acquired international recognition. The State Cappella has been opened. The State Drama Theatre, the Symphonic Orchestra and a number of ensembles are a great success. The Fine Arts Museum has been opened. International Contests have been held in Batumi, where recognized musicians have been invited. Painters of Ajara and other people involved in creative professions are efficiently working in the sphere of art. In the Batumi Opera and Ballet State Theater there have been two ballet first-night performances. These performances of the newly born company received a great approval of the audience, guests and experts. A wide network of museums, clubs and libraries has been founded. There are 210 libraries, 157 clubs, regionalstudies museums, cultural and educational institutions, and 28 art schools of different profiles available to the Ajar population. The development of modern Georgian literature is closely connected with the name of the outstanding writer, statesman and prominent public figure Memed Abashidze. The works of Ajara writers were translated into different languages. 34 magazines and newspapers are published. There are local TV and radio stations here.

	Ajara is a region with many religions and nationalities. The followers of Orthodox and Catholic churches, Islam, Judaism and other religions represent a broad range of faiths practiced here. The Ajar Constitution guarantees the followers of each faith the right to freedom of practice and the according conditions have been created. There is a functioning mosque, orthodox churches, a synagogue, and a Gregorian church in Batumi. The cult constructions, which were used for different purposes during the communist regime, have been returned to their proper followers in the recent years. They have been given an opportunity to build new chapels for worshiping. The Cathedral of Mother of the God has been reconstructed, the minaret has been rebuilt on the mosque. The restoration of other churches is under way. In September 1998 the 26th centenary anniversary of Jews residing in Georgia was celebrated. In connection with this fact the building of the synagogue was fully renewed and renovated, its yard was paved. A new refectory, a shower room and a room for recreation were built. A new church has been built in the highland region of Ajara-Hulo. The church of Saint Nicolas has been repaired. The fundamental reconstruction of the Gregorian church is under way.

	18 sport schools, 152 sport gyms, more than 400 playgrounds of different types, widely recognized Batumi tennis courts and the stadium, which meet the world's modern standards, contribute much to the development of physical training. Ajara has fostered not only champions of Georgia but also world champions and winners of European and World cups and prizes. The most distinctive feature of Ajara's nature is that the relief, climate, soil, and vegetation change miraculously within a strip of land 100 to 150 km. wide from the seacoast to the mountains. Ajara, with its relatively small area, amazes the visitors with the variety and thickness of vegetation. Being on the whole a mountainous region, Ajara is particularly characterized by the diversity of the natural components in the vertical direction. The seacoast looks like a big greenhouse created by nature in which plants typical for Florida and California, Java and Sumatra, China and Japan, South America and Italy grow and the Alpine and Sub-Alpine zones are no worse than the corresponding ones in Switzerland. Pure mountain rivers createpicturesque landscapes. There are waterfalls in many places. Amateur fishing and river tourism are allowed. In the mountainous regions of Ajara, the traditional roads beneficial for the development of equine tourism have been preserved. At the end of the 1980s, hundreds of thousands of people not only from the USSR but also from the states of Western and Central Europe went on holidays to Ajara every year. The main centers of tourism and health resorts are located at the seaside region of Ajara. Health resorts, hotels, recreational centers, tourist camping grounds and other centers are functioning in Kobuleti, Tsikhisdziri, Chakvi, Green Cape, Makhindjauri, Batumi. Unfortunately, these opportunities of the health resort systems of Ajara are not used according to the international standard. The class of the hotels in Ajara does not exceed 3-4 star hotels by European standards. At present, both state hotels and private hotels exist. On the whole, comfortable hotels of Ajara can house up to 1500 people. During the year, only one fourth of the hotel complex is in the demand, but in the summer, especially in August, the hotels work full blast. Good conditions have been created for receiving guests in such hotels as «Intourist», «Sputnik» in Batumi, «Oasis», «Chiragdani» in Chakvi, – «Kolkheti» in Kobuleti and others. Boarding houses in which the guests are received according the traditional Georgian hospitality that will probably make an unforgettable impression on the guests are being built and are opened. The unique Batumi Botanical Garden founded more than one hundred years ago is waiting for holidaymakers in Ajara. A visit to this Garden will provide you with life-long and unforgettable memories. The Garden is located on the Green Cape 9 kilometers away from the city. Three dendroparks, Kolkhida forest sanctuary, 9 departments of flora divided according to the landscape-geographical principle, where more than 5 thousand kinds of plants existing in the world have been arranged on the territory of 111 hectares. It is worth mentioning that more than 80 sorts of Japanese camellia have been cultivated here. As far as the variety of plants in its collection is concerned, Batumi Botanical Garden takes second place in the world after the Botanical Garden of California. The visitors remain satisfied with the tour of the historical places famous for the monuments of the antique epoch which were found as the result of the archeological excavations on the Gonio-Apsara territory and which are the evidence of the existence of ancient civilization on the coast of Ajara in the first centuries B.C. There are a lot of museums andentertaining centers in Batumi among which are the Opera and Ballet Theatre where first rate performances are staged. There are a lot of restaurants, bars, cafes with Georgian cuisine and other places for rest where the travelers spend their leisure time at the seaside in Ajara, especially in Batumi. At night, casinos, night clubs and the particularly impressive nightclub «Diana-Land» are at the tourists' disposal in Batumi. There are tennis courts built on par with the world standards in Batumi Seaside Park. The beaches have been well arranged and a recreational system has been developed at the seaside.

	A very high level of concentration of health resorts and recreational facilities combined with a wonderful climate create advantageous conditions for the development of resort and tourist business in Ajara. The seaside resorts – Kobuleti, Tzihisdziri, Chakvi, Green cape, Mahindjauri and also the highland Beshumi are characterized by high curative effects. The main trends of the health resorts in Ajara are blood and respiratory disease treatment, heart diseases, and complete recovery without the use of medicine. Natural thermal and mineral waters in Kokotauri, Zvare, Uchamba and other curative waters have been used. It is necessary to point out that mineral water «Kokotauri» was awarded a gold medal at the international exhibition in Paris in 1985. The public health care of Ajara comprises 62 medical establishments, where different diseases are treated and cured and where more than 5500 people are employed. Last year the reconstruction of the Batumi hospital was completed, whose equipment and level of service corresponds to international standards. Taking into account the local climate conditions there is a good perspective for the formation of a modern balneological system.