Rabat fortress is a large castle in the town of Akhaltsikhe, recently globally renovated. One of the main attractions of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region on a par with Vardzia. According to rumors, during reconstruction of Rabat was made to look a little bit like Jerusalem. Now hotel, museum, wine shop and information center are located on the territory of the fortress.

The word “rabat” derived from Arabic and means any kind of fortification. Usually it was how the fortress’ trade district was called. So, strictly speaking “rabat” should describe only the upper front of the fortress, however the name kind of “stuck”.

The upper part is separated from the lower one by a stone wall. The northern end of this wall rests against the Christian temple with a bell tower. On that territory there is a gazebo with a fountain, a gallery in the Moorish style, the Blue Mosque and the Museum of Samtskhe-Javakheti. The Blue Mosque was built in the XVIII century and is named after Ahmed Pasha (Kimshiashvili). We can find a detailed description of its condition at the end of the XIX century in the story by Potto telling about the assault of Akhaltsikhe. Now the dome of the mosque is gilded to make it look like the Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem. In 1828, after the capture of of Rabat by the Russian army, a mosque was turned into a orthodox temple dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

Historical Museum in Rabat Castle is a new and beautiful museum with an exposition containing various curiosities, from fossils to the Turkish guns. A lot of archaeological artifacts of the Stone and Bronze Ages, including such interesting rarities as Colchis bronze axes, are found in the territory of Meskheti. Exhibition mainly shows the history and archeology of Meskheti region and South Georgia, so it will be of interest for those who is interested in precisely that region.

 

Important!

Ahaltsikhe tourist information center is addressing everyone with the request to call Fortress Rabat - the Akhaltsikhe fortress. As stated in in the documents the Rabat should be referred to as the Akhaltsikhe fortress. "Only the part of the city in which Jewish merchants lived was called Rabat, so no one knows what problems may arise in connection with this in the future.”