Zestaponi

Zestaponi (Georgian: ზესტაფონი, romanized: zest'aponi, Georgian pronunciation: [zestʼapʰoni]), also transliterated as Zestafoni, is the administrative center of Zestaponi District in Western Georgia. Zestaponi is the center of an ancient, historical part of Georgia – Margveti, which is a part of Imereti province. Zestaponi is the center of Margveti's Eparchy of the Georgian Orthodox Church. Zestaponi is situated in the furthest east of the Colchis Plateau, and is built on both banks of the Qvirila River. It is an important industrial center, with a large ferro-alloy plant processing manganese ore from nearby Chiatura. Zestaponi is in the Kolkheti lowlands, a semi-tropical region with relatively cold winters averaging −4 °C (25 °F) in January and hot summers averaging 24 °C (75 °F) in August. The surrounding countryside is a wine-growing region.