We had gloomy weather at Gremi, the former capital of Kakheti (1466-1672). It was a lively trading town on the Silk Road and a royal residence until being totally devastated by Shah Abbas in 1615. The town never regained its past prosperity, and the kings of Kakheti transferred their...
A mostly paved road brought us to the majestic cathedral in Alaverdi. At the beginning of the 11th century, when Georgia entered its cultural and political golden age, King Kvirike of Kakheti had built a 50m tall cathedral. It remained the tallest church in Georgia for nearly a millennium...
In the late afternoon, we reached a popular valley town Stepantsminda (known as Kazbegi), with the famous hilltop silhouette of Tsminda Sameba Church and the towering snowy cone of Mt Kazbek (5054 m). The main attraction is the the14th-century church sitting above Stepantsminda in 2200 m...
We were lucky with the weather at this time of the year. Even though it was busy and partly under construction, we climbed it up from Ananuri to Stepantsminda in a few hours. The E117 road after Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) continues to the Kazbegi-Verkhni Lars border crossing before finishing...
Ananuri is a classic example of Georgian architecture, enhanced by its superb location overlooking the Zhinvali Reservoir. The fortress historically belonged to the dukes of Aragvi, who ruled as far as the Tergi valley from the 13th to 18th centuries, and is today a popular stop on the...
We did overnight in one of the oldest settlements of Transcaucasia, Mtskheta, a town located at the confluence of the Kura and Aragvi rivers, just northwest of Tbilisi. Mtskheta was the capital of Georgia from the 2nd to the 5th century AD. We visited the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, the...
We spent two days in the cosmopolitan capital of the republic of Georgia. We parked next to Rike park above the Mtkvari River, just in the city’s center. With its dramatic valley setting, picturesque Old Town, eclectic architecture, and great eating and drinking opportunities...
Our last stop today was a large cave city located above the north side of the Mtkvari River. Between the 6th century BC and 1st century AD, Uplistsikhe (🎫 20 GEL) developed into one of pre-Christian Kartli’s chief political and religious centers, with temples dedicated principally...
The gravel road took us through depressive villages to a beautiful setting above a bend of the pretty, grapevine-strewn Tana valley. There is located impressively ancient church. Ateni Sioni. It was built in the 7th century and modeled on Mtskheta’s Jvari Church. Beautiful reliefs of...
Gori has long been synonymous with Joseph Stalin, who was born and went to school here. During his rule of the Soviet Union, the town’s center was rebuilt to his neoclassical tastes, and even today, much of the downtown area is defined by its Stalinist architecture. Although the...