Mtskheta

Trip starts at 10:00
Group price 40 Gel per person, Individual 150 Gel (1-5 person)
Visit places: Mtskheta
Svetitskhoveli Cathedtal
Jvari monastery
Samtavro monastery
Shio-Mghvime monastery

Mtskheta
Mtskheta is one of the old-eas Georgian cities that was founded in the V century B.C. According to the legendary Mtskhetos. In the IV century B.C, Azo (Azovi), King of Kartli, made this city the capital of The Kingdom of Kartli. In the end of the V century B.C, the capital of The Kingdom of Karti was Transferred to Tbilisi. Before Sameba cathedral was built, Mtskheta was the chair of the Georgian Patriarch. Remains of fortified residences of the Armaz fortress (Armaztsikhe), the complex of Samtavro Monastery (the main church of the XI century) and the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral are located here. Svetitskhoveli ( Georgian : სვეტიცხოველი, which literally means “The Living Pillar’) is a Georgian Orthodox cathedral located in Mtskheta. For a thousand years, it has been the principa church of Georgia. It is been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of the main Georgian Spiritual centers. Now we can fnd here the Temple of the Twelvev Apostles that as built in 1010-1029 under the supervision of Arsukidze architect.

Jvari monastery
Jvari monastery ( Georgian: ჯვარი, which literally means ‘the cross’) is a Georgian monastery and church of the VII century (built in the period between 605 and 642) It is situatednon the mountaintop where Kura and Aragvi rivers meet, not far from Mtskheta, where according to such historical sources as ‘The Convertion of KArtli and ‘The life of Kings of Kartli’, St. Nina equal to the Apostles, erected a cross. Jvari, which it’s impeccable lines, is an architectural masterpiece and the first Georgian World Heritage site. In 545 there was alredy a little church on the ‘cross’ mountain which now has tumbled into ruins. A bigger church was biult in 590-604. Perhaps, Mikel Tkheli was the architect. The church, erected on the top of the rocky mountain, is it natural decoration and the center of the surrounding landscape Jvari, as well as Zedazeni monastery, is considered to be the scene of action of ‘The Novice’ a poem by Lermontov.

Shio-Mghvime
The Shio-Mgvime monastery (Georgian: შიომღვიმე, Shiomghvime, literally meaning “the cave of Shio”) is a medieval monastic complex in Georgia, near the town of Mtskheta. It is located in a narrow limestone canyon on the northern bank of the Kura River, some 30 km from Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital.Shio-Mgvime quickly turned into the largest monastic community in Georgia and by the end of the 6th century it was populated by as many as 2,000 monks. It became a vibrant center of cultural and religious activities and remained under the personal patronage of Catholicoi of Georgia. David IV “the Builder” (1089-1125) made it a royal domain and dictated regulations (typicon) for the monastery (1123). The downfall of the medieval Georgian kingdom and incessant foreign invasions resulted in the decline of the monastery. It saw a relative revival when the Georgian king George VIII (r. 1446-1465) granted Shio-Mgvime and its lands to the noble family of Zevdginidze-Amilakhvari to whom the monastery served as a familial burial ground up to the 1810s.