Sarpi

Sarpi is the last village on Georgia's Black Sea coast before Turkey, about 18 km south of Batumi beyond Gonio and Kvariati. Most people know it only as a border post, but it is also a small beach village squeezed between steep wooded hills and the sea. The pebble beach runs right up to the frontier fence, and the water is clear enough for snorkelling around the rocks. Many locals are Laz, a Kartvelian people whose language is close to Megrelian, and the village carries on across the line on the Turkish side as Sarp.

The border station itself, opened in 2011, is a striking piece of modern architecture by the German studio J. Mayer H., with cantilevered terraces looking out over the water. Behind the beach there are guesthouses and a few cafes, and in July and August Georgian and Turkish families share the shore. The beach drops off quickly, so watch children closely and wear water shoes. For a quieter base, stay in Kvariati and come to Sarpi for a swim.

Sarpi has long been a Laz fishing village. When the Treaty of Kars fixed the Soviet-Turkish border in 1921, the frontier ran straight through it and split families between Sarpi and Sarp. For decades the border here stayed sealed, and a crossing opened only in 1988. Today the Sarpi checkpoint carries much of the road traffic between Georgia and Turkey.