CENTRAL REGION

 

At the distance of 10 km from Gori, on the banks of the Kura River is located one of the rarest monuments in the world - the oldest city - fortress Uplistsikhe, carved into the volcanic rock of ridge Kvernaki. It was first mentioned in the historical chronicles of I in. BC. e., and reached its prime around the IX-X centuries.

 

Even from afar this quaint rock city captivates with its unusual appearance. Like a giant pores on the rocks gape the caves that were once bubbling with life. Those were once huge majestic halls, temples, dwellings connected with each other, winding streets and corridors. It's hard to believe that this titanesque work of creating a city from rock was actually fulfilled by human hands.

 

Hundreds of different structures had been carved in the rock - temples, public buildings, houses, streets, squares, etc. Despite their non-standard construction, the buildings in Uplistsikhe exactly repeat samples of ground architecture with columns, pilasters, capitals, arches and vaults. The city was surrounded by a protective moat, surrounding city from the east and the north. Uplistsikhe had four entrances, oriented to the cardinal.

 

An outstanding two-column reception room of Queen Tamara still remains, with its perfectly arched niches and huge pylons. It stands out for its size, perfection of workmanship and elegance of architectural forms. There are also some residential areas left, along with wine depository, the temple and the fortress walls, and a secret underground tunnel through which water was supplied Uplistsikhe. Uplistsikhe was a cult temple city and a large pagan center prior to the adoption of Christianity by Georgia (IV c.). All kinds of pagan rituals and even sacrifices were conducted here.

 

Rabat - large castle in the town of Akhaltsikhe, recently globally renovated. One of the main attractions of the central region of Samtskhe - Javakheti region on par with Vardzia. According to rumors, during the reconstruction of Rabat was made to look like a little bit like Jerusalem. Historical Museum in Rabat Castle is a new, splendid museum with an exhibition containing a variety of items from fossils to Turkish guns. A lot of archaeological artifacts of the Stone and Bronze Ages, including such interesting rarities as Colchis bronze axes that were found on the territory of Meskheti. Exhibition mainly describes the history and archeology of Meskheti and South Georgia, and will be interesting to those who is interested in the history of this region.

 

 Borjomi - the most famous regional center of Georgia. The city has a population of 14 000 people, is located in the Borjomi valley at an altitude of 800 meters above sea level. Pleasant resort  city in the green mountains, famous for its mineral waters.

Borjomi – is located in a ravine, and therefore almost all of its are buildings stretched in a line along the river, so it is a long town, whole five kilometers long, not counting the suburb - Likani. The city can be divided into the right embankment and the left embankment. The route passes through all the left-bank part of the city.

There is a City Park with mineral water springs in Borjomi, as well as local history museum, information center and two or three fortresses. And do pay attention to Borjomi architecture, since it is quite unique even for Georgia. Over time, the houses were built in a variety of styles, including mysterious types of castles and suchlike.

 

There are two fortresses in Borjomi. One of them, Fortress Petra, is located a little afar, and the Fortress Gogia, named in honor of one of the local princes, is standing right on the hill above the city. It is poorly preserved, but you can get a nice view of Borjomi  from the ruins, and, vice versa, the steep cliff is clearly visible from the city.

 

A Soviet cult phenomenon can be found in Borjomi - the narrow-gauge railway to the resort of Bakuriani. Some come to Borjomi only to ride this rarity. Trains run twice a day, morning and afternoon.

 

 Ananuri Castle is a large, well-preserved castle on the banks of Zhinvali dam near the town of Zhinvali. Situated along the Georgian Military Highway, about 70 kilometers from Tbilisi, and is one of the most famous castles of Georgia. The main advantage of the castle is its preserved condition - all walls and flowers are in place, but it’s hard to say when it was built. One of the towers dates back to the 13th century. It was the residence of Aragvi Dukes around the 17th century.

The main function of the castle was to block the river valley in a narrow space.

 

Gergeti Sameba is an amazing temple. This is a rare case of a temple in the mountains, at an altitude of 2170 meters above sea level. It’s an unusual combination of architecture and snow, with a background of the glaciers of Kazbek. In July crowds gather here for the festival of Gergetoba.

Holy Trinity Church is an integral part of the landscape of Kazbegi. The church can be seen from anywhere in the village Stepantsminda. During the day it is clearly silhouetted against the hillside, and at night its silhouette is basically hanging in the sky illuminated by searchlights.

This church was built in XIV century, together with the bell tower. The location, chosen by medieval architects, was really winning, but the building materials had to be pulled up to a height greater than two kilometers. Inside the temple is rather austere - it has no frescoes or even plaster.

You can climb by foot to the Holy Trinity Cathedral (which is another name of that church) from Stepantsminda in no more than an hour, while enjoying the picturesque serpentine. In July a big celebration, called Gergetoba, is held in the temple (and in all of Stepantsminda).

By the way.... Alexander Pushkin dedicated the poem "The Monastery on the Kazbek Mountain" to no other than Gergeti Trinity Church.