The small state of Georgia is one of the world's most culturally mature countries, with a history of 6,000 years.  For thousands of years, Georgia - about the size of West Virginia - has served as a stopping place for travelers and a prize for conquerors.  Yet despite an extraordinary range of outside influences, this Black Sea coast country that even today numbers less than five and a  half million people has always maintained a strong sense of itself as a nation.

While remaining open to a variety of input from Greek and Roman, Persian and Arab-Muslim, Seljuk, Ottoman, and Russian cultures, Georgia has evolved its own fascinating culture and retained its own language (example on the right), which is unrelated to any other languages of the world.

On January 14, 2004, Georgian Parliament has officially adopted a new state flag of Georgia.