Featured Summer Destination: Georgia

Homosexuality has been legal in Georgia since 2000. And in April of this year Presidential Mikheil Saakashvili signed an addition to the Georgian Criminal Code making it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This was recently celebrated by the organization LGBT Georgia in connection with IDAHOT-day. There were drinks, cake and dancing was hot on the Success Bar in downtown Tbilisi. This LGBT-friendly bar that has become a haven for many young lesbians, gays and transgender people. Legislation in Georgia becomes slowly more LGBT-friendly, but a safe haven is needed in a society that might otherwise be perceived as very conservative and where the traditional family ideals are high.

Tbilisi is a beautiful city where old wooden houses and traditional bathhouses surrounding the main town area. Avenues are to be confronted by large buildings with beautiful ornaments of the time when Georgia was an outpost of the Tsar's Russia. It is dirty, charming and inexpensive at the same time. It's not expensive to tour in Georgia and the country's capital gives a feeling of authenticity. The river Mtkvari which divides the city has synagogues, churches, mosques, lying side by side. Here is an LGBT-friendly hostel, and a couple of spots where people can just be themselves. The country of Georgia is a beautiful hidden gem that is worth travelling to all year round!

Read the full story at QX.com.