Telavi is one of the oldest cities in Georgia, with unique traditions, distinctive colors and centuries-old history. It occupies a special place among the cities of Kakheti; It has the best geographical location and is rich in cultural sights. Telavi is located in Kakheti, on the nort […]
New Shuamta (in georgian Akhali Shuamta) - Three km. before Dzveli Shuamta is New Shuamta (Akhali Shuamta). More than 1000 years separate the two monasteries. Akhali Shuamta possesses a large centralcupola cathedral and belltower, both commissioned by King Levan I (1520-1574) and his w […]
Tsinandali Palace, House Museum of Alexander Chavchavadze - A center of intellectual life, the house served as a salon for exiled Decembrists and Mikhail Lermontov, together with members of his regiment, the Nizhegorodsky Dragoons, whose headquarters were nearby. The house is mentioned in […]
Nekresi Monastery - Beautifully situated within the dense forests of these foothills of the Caucasus, the site of Nekresi has an ancient provenance that even predates its early Christian origins. According to ancient sources, King Parnavaz (112-93 BC) founded the settlement sometime durin […]
David Gareja Complex - David-Gareji desert occupies south-eastern part of East Georgia, with its closest edge in a distance of some 60 km soth-east from Tbilisi. This is a very specific area with multicolor hillocks, dry gorges and gullies, small areas of green land with trees and shrubs. […]
Dzeveli Shuamta (Old Shuamta) - Three churches stand on the grounds of Dzveli Shuamta, situated in a tight group at the northern end of a clearing in the woods, high above the Alazani River valley. Telavi can be seen in the distance. Dzveli Shuamta was a favorite place of pilgrimage throu […]
Ujarma Fortress city - According to 11th-century historian Leonti Mroveli, Ujarma was founded by King Aspagur of Iberia (Kartli) at the close of the 3rd c. Under King Mirian (first half of the 4th c) the fortress-town Ujarma became a royal appanage. Ujarma’s fate was unique. One of the th […]
Katsareti Holly Treinity Church is one of the oldest cathedrals of Georgian Orthodox Church. Bishop of this area is first mentioned as early as in the early years of VI c AD The temple itself is almost contemporaneous to the mentioned period – the turn of V-VI cc. The construction represe […]
Sanagiri (Sanagire) Mother of God Church, currently hidden in thick woods and apparently once being the main temple of the monastery abandoned long time ago is located in a distance of 2-3km from the village of Vazisubani. This construction is a very specific type of basilica – external […]
An ancient monastery located some 7-8 km away from the village of Kalauri (or Vachnadziani) on the woody slopes, should once have been an important centre of spiritual life. This conclusion is supported by a large number of buildings, currently in ruins (a refectory, eastern part of a lar […]
Akura MamadaviTi - “Mamadaviti” church built in the name of Saint David, the founder of Gareji Monastery is located some 1.5 km from the village of Akura. This structure built of brickwork and stonework mixture is highly specific type of basilica. Only one pair of columns is erected the […]
Ikalto Monastery is constructed on the elevation of a small range that divides Turdo river gorge and Alazani Velly. Like Alaverdi and Artozani (Ruispiri) Saint Shio monasteries, its foundation is also linked to the activities of one of the 13 Assyrian Fathers – Saint Zenon; hence the mona […]
Kvetera Fortress - is located in Ilto gorge, on top of the range, in a distance of some 36 km from the sity of Telavi. Heaving been a central point of once large and well-fortified settlement, it is a rather interesting monument, but from the point of the church architecture a small domed […]
Alaverdi Monastery - “… above the Shtori Khevi, west of Alazani, over the plain of Kakheti mountain slope, there stands Alaverdi, a large construction with outer walls, palaces and a dome…It was built by a saint father Ioseb and made it Saint George’s monastery, and he is buried there him […]
Gurjaani Kvelatsminda - A unique structure in Georgia because of its two domes, the Church of Kvelatsminda (eighth-ninth century) is a fascinating example of a transitional style in Georgian architecture that borrows elements from two types of Georgian churches, as well as features from t […]
Ninotsminda Cathedral - Though the cathedral itself (AD 575) is largely in ruins, this is a profoundly impressive site, with extremely well preserved defensive walls surrounding the complex and a belltower that reveals a decidedly Safavid-Persian influence. The walls themselves were buil […]