Gonio Fortress

Firstly, Gonio Fortress area is one of the important archeological sites in Georgia located in Southwest Georgia, Achara Autonomous Republic, on the left bank of Chorokhi River.

Location and description :

• The distance from Batumi to Gonio is about 15 km, from Tbilisi-380 km.
• Gonio fortress is the oldest fortress in Georgia occupying approximately the territory of 4, 5 hectares.
• Its history amounts to millenniums.
• The archeological layers of the territory belong to XV-XVII centuries BC. 
• Archeological excavations conducted on the territory discovered materials of Hellenistic period.
• It is worth noting that public buildings are also found together with the material items such as pottery, bronze, silver, gold etc.
• In addition, the ancient fortress erected at the mouth of Chorokhi River is one of the popular tourist attractions all over Georgia.
• The fortress was a Roman fortification in Achara.

History of Gonio :

• In the 2^nd century AD Gonio was a well-fortified Roman city within Colchis .
• Moreover, we know it by its theatre and hippodrome. It later came under Byzantine influence .
• Nowadays the remnants of the ancient fortress consist of massive defensive wall of the most perfect stonework, reinforced with the counter-forcing structures .
• Also several military paths and crenels, remains of monumental construction, Roman bathhouse, ancient water supply system, fragments of an ancient caravansary of the  XVI-XVII centuries, clay baking ovens etc.

Gonio Treasure :

• Among the numerous artifacts found on the territory the most note-worthy is the set of gold things known as “Gonio Treasure”.
• Also, they are undoubtedly brilliant samples of high level of craftsmanship and sophisticated art.
• In general, the material discovered on the territory belongs to different historical periods.
• Earliest samples date from VIII-VII cc. BC and the latest-XIX c. AD.
• In the end, you can spend a good time in the hotels in the area
• Also, you can make various excursions, starting from the distinguished Junio Beach to enjoy Batumi and the mountains around it .
• Enjoy life and night activities in Batumi .

Georgian tour

Dzalisi city

Location of Dzalisi city in this tour:

We will take you in georgian tour in Dzalisi, it is a historic village located in Georgia, Mtskheta-Mtianeti region.
It is about 50 km northwest of Tbilisi.

History of Georgian Dzalisi :

Firstly, we must be aware that the first mention of Dzalisi is with Ptolemy.

According to him, Dzalisi was one of the principal towns of Iberia, which was an ancient Georgian kingdom.

Dzalisi area is known for its historical and archeological importance.

In fact, Georgia was among the first countries in the world to adopt Christianity.

The Eastern Georgian kingdom Iberia converted to Christianity in 327 AD when the king of Iberia Mirian III established it as the official state religion.

According to the Georgian chronicles, St. Nino of Capadocia converted Georgia to Christianity in 330.

Therefore, the date varies based on numerous historical documents and accounts.

But it is a proved fact that by the 4^th century both kingdoms of Lazica and Iberia adopted Christianity as the official state religion.

Also, this adoption tied the country to Byzantinbe Empire which had strong cultural influence over it.

During the 4^th and 5^th centuries, Iberia came under Persian control and governors appointed by Shahs ruled the country.

to read more about the georgian history, please click here

Archeological tour in the city:

Archeological excavations and digs conducted on the territory revealed the remains of four palaces .

And other buildings, such as baths, acropolis, swimming pool, barracks for soldiers, water supply system, burial grounds etc.

One of the four palaces is noteworthy for its mosaics, which are the oldest mosaics found in Caucasus.

Georgian’s oldest moasaics:

It dates from the 3rd century AD depicting a banquette scene of Ariadne and Dionysus.

To learn more about nature panorama and our tour in Georgian cities,  you can view the company’s BLOG by clicking here

Bagrati cathedral

Kutaisi city

The UNESCO World Heritage

The UNESCO included Kutaisi city Bagrati cathedral in World Heritage Site in 1994 as single entity.

In addition, UNESCO designated endangered the site, the UNesco mention that experts didn’t carefully prepare the previous restoration .

Despite this, proponents of restoration argued that the site was more likely to fall apart if it was let to soak in rainwater, as it had done for centuries.

Also, it is the cathedral of the Dormition or Kutaisi Cathedral, In addition most commonly known as Bagrati cathedral.
In fact, they built it in the early years of the 1th century during the reign of the king Bagrat III due to this, Georgians call the cathedral “Bagrati”.

About Bagrati Cathedral

The Cathedral is located in the center of Kutaisi, the region of Imereti. Resting upon the top of Ukimerioni hill, it was built in the early years of the 11^th century. More precisely, as the inscription on the north wall reveals the floor laid in “Chronicon 223. i.e.1003.

Imereti kingdom

When Ottomans invaded Imereti kingdom in 1512 through its southern neighbor Samtskhe and unexpectedly struck Bagrat’s capital Kutaisi, they devastated Bagrati cathedral by an explosion.

Also, this incident caused cupola and ceiling to collapse.

Georgians officially rebuilt the cathedral on September 16, 2012.

Nowadays it serves as a masterpiece in the history of modern and medieval Georgian architecture.

They also frequently used it as a symbol of the whole city of Kutaisi, being one of its main tourist attractions.

Architecture :

The Bagrati Temple is a moat-shaped cross-dome structure with crossed arms and four free-standing columns below the dome. The building has a great interior.

West arm has three naves, the aisles are two stories high, and it has choirs on the second floor.

The camps next to the east altar are also double-decker.

Also, the solution of the interior of the temple is clearly seen in the exterior masses.

By the way, the south and north arms protrude from the connection lines of the parts and emphasize the cross plan concept.

The architect of Bagrati Temple built the dome on tall poles and used a uniform system of furnishings from plan to façade, which was a first in Georgian architecture.

They decorated The walls and floors of the building with mosaics.

A few decades after its construction, they added richly carved doors to the west and south arms of the church.

On the south door there are remains of a fresco – the image of the Virgin.

Jvari Monastery Mtskheta

Mtskheta-Mtianeti region

Jvari monastery is a Georgian orthodox monastery of the 6^th century, It is located in Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, eastern Georgia.

Being outstanding monument of Georgian architecture it was one of the greatest religious sites and a center of pilgrimage for Christian nations of the Caucasus.

The wooden cross

Firstly, Jvari church is built on a rocky mountaintop overlooking Mtskheta.

It is a the place where, according to the local legend, a wooden cross was erected by the enlightener of Georgia St.Nino and king Mirian.

Also, the construction of the cross symbolized the fall of paganism and rise of christianity in Georgia.

Exceptional relief sculptures take significant place in the decoration of the facades.

The reliefs depicting the patrons-Stephanos and his family are located on the Eastern façade of the church.

On the southern façade there is also a composition of Ascention of the cross.

Also, on the facet of the drum of the dome there is a figure of a person, possibly the architect.

The present building is generally held to have been 590 and 605. This is based on an inscription on its façade mentioning the principal builders of the church: Stephanos the patricius, Demetrius the Hypatos and Adarnese the hypatos. The importance of the church gradually increased over time and attracted more and more pilgrims every year. In the late Middle Ages the complex was fortified by a stone wall and gate, remnants of which still survive. During the Soviet Union period the church was preserved as a national monument but access was rendered difficult. After Georgia gained its independence the building was restored to active religious use and it was listed as UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994.

Archeological place – Armaziskhevi

History of the city

Armaziskhevi is archeological place situated on the right tributary of the Kura River and is 3km west of Mtskheta railway station. This place is unique for its archeological importance.

The Bronze-early Iron Age

Firstly, as a result of archeological excavations conducted near the influx of the Armaziskhevi archeologists revealed a cemetery dating back to the late Bronze-early Iron Age., 2^nd -4^th cc.

The cemetery contained tombs of Georgian nobles Pitiakhshes.

Also, they were of three types: Tile graves, sarcophagi and a grave of mausoleum type.  

In addition, there were as well ruins of a palace complex, a bath house, remains of water pipeline, a ceramics workshop and a wine cellar.

The Graves

Graves dating back to 2^nd-3^rd cc.  AD were especially rich in content:

A gold belt, a gold sheath of dagger, diadems, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, finger-rings, arm-rings etc were discovered at this place.

Gold artifacts were decorated by precious stones among them were diamond, emerald, malachite, sapphire, greenstone etc.

These items had inscriptions mentioning the names of important people, such as Pitiakhshes and their wives etc.

the Sarmazian bilingual

Items of world importance are two stelaes found at this site.

The first is bilingual (Greek-Aramaic) epitaph-so-called Sarmazian bilingual.

The second is monolingual stela with Aramiac inscriptions narrating about the Georgians’ victory in Armenia in the middle of the 1^st century AD.

Dmanisi

Dmanisi is a townlet and site of paleoanthropological excavations in Southern Georgia:

For sure, Dmanisi is one of the most important archeological places not only in Georgia, but in the World. Discoveries made on the territory are of crucial importance in the study of Human Evolution.

Approximately 93km southwest of the nation’s capital, Tbilisi.

Being a site of a medieval village located on the promontory at the confluence of Mashavera and Phinezauri River.

Archeological excavations of the ruins on Dmanisi area began in the 1930s, but systematic excavations were not undertaken until the 1980s. Very soon it became obvious that these cellars and pits dating from the medieval times contained prehistoric animal and human bones. The jawbone was found in 1991 and two skulls were recovered in 1999. These fossils were very close in their morphology to similarly aged specimens from Eastern Africa.

These animal and human bones are found with numerous tools and flakes coming from layers of ash and sandy sediment. That’s why they can be dated as about 1.8 million years old. There are also other methods of dating which indicates that mandible and crania must have washed into the site approximately 1.7 million years ago.  They are believed to be subspecies of Homo erectus. Dmanisi is thus one of the most ancient human settlements anywhere in Eurasia.

Gelati monastery – Kutaisi City

why Gelati monastery is important place :

Gelati monastery was not simply a monastery. It was a monastic complex which served as a center of science and education. An academy established there was one of the most important centers of culture in ancient Georgia.

Architecture of Gelati monastery :

Also, it should be mentioned,that monastery is important for its architecture as well.

There are mosaics, frescoes, enamel and metal works of paramount importance.

History of the place

The monastery belongs to the “Golden age”, which was a period of political strength and economic growth. Also, this Golden Age was between the reign of David VI (1089-11250 and Queen Tamar (1184-1213).

It was David who began building the monastery and it was completed by his successor Demetre.

13^th and 14^th century

Several buildings were added to the complex in 13^th and 14^th century, but then foreign invasions took place and Gelati complex was destroyed by fire in 1510 by Turkish invaders.

In 16^th century the monastic complex became the residence of the Katholikos of western Georgia and the restoration work began, which continued throughout the 17^th and 18^th centuries.

When Georgia was annexed by the Russian empire in the 19^th century, Gelati monastery lost its Episcopal role.

Grave of David the Builder in Gelati.

Also, There is a grave of David the Builder in Gelati.

He was the very king who began building the monastic complex.

The gates of Ganja taken as trophies by the king Demetre can be found near his grave.

Gelati monastery was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

Also it was listed in the 2008 World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered sites in order to draw attention to deterioration.

Sarkine

The city, Sarkine was a town situated 8 km west of Mtskheta on the left bank of Mtkvari River.

It is mentioned in the old Georgian chronicles among other towns. This territory Sarkine, is known for its archeological importance.  In 1946-1948 an adobe tower was excavated here on the westernmost slopes of the Savanati mountain range.

Also Iron Gate, remnants of timber and adobe buildings and the town wall were unearthed at the place.

The settlement surrounded by the adobe wall was excavated in 1954-1967.

This settlement must have been part of the town Sarkine. Within the wall a lot of buildings were discovered, among them iron smelting, goldsmith and blacksmith shops.  Some ornamented architectural details were also uncovered. These archeological findings date mostly from the 3^rd c. BC and 2^nd c. AD.

Nokalakevi

The impressive ruins of this ancient place nestled by the picturesque river Tekhuri:

Firstly, Nokalakevi is a village and archeological site in the Senaki Municipality. It is also known as Tsikhegoji (Fortress of Kuji).

Nowadays there are only impressive ruins of this ancient place nestled by the picturesque river Tekhuri, on the northern edge of the Colchian plain in Samegrelo.

Nokalakevi-Archeopolis:

This archeological site of Nokalakevi-Archeopolis occupies some 20ha and played a pivotal part in the major wars fought between Byzantines and Sasanians in the South Caucasus during the 6^th century AD.

It was one of the key fortresses guarding the kingdom of Lazika (modern Samegrelo) from Sasanian, Persian and Iberian attack.

Intensive archeological study and works at the site began in the second half of the 19^th century.

philologist Frédéric Dubois de Montpéreux;

Swiss philologist Frédéric Dubois de Montpéreux visited the place, identified the ruins of the ancient fortress and argued that it was an ancient city Aia, ancient capital of the Colchian kingdom also mentioned in the myth about Argonauts.

This stimulated scholarly interest about the archeological site and in the following decades a lot of teams of scholars and archeologists began to come in Georgia and visit Nokalakevi.

Frédéric Dubois de Montpéreux’s opinion was not confirmed and most scholars continued and still continue to prefer the traditional identification of Aia with Kutaisi.

The archeological excavations:

The archeological excavations were interrupted by the political upheavals and onset of war in the 1930.

But the interest in Georgia’s history continued to grow and prompted various visits and articles about Nokalakevi and its archeological importance.

Among the expeditions set up here the most important are: expedition in 1973 which undertook major excavations and conservation work at Nokalakevi until 1990s.

Then the collapse of the Soviet Union and civil disturbances in Georgia caused serious damage to the expedition’s infrastructure.

Long scale excavations were resumed in 200.

The Georgian professor David Lomitashvili:

It was a collaborative project headed by a Georgian professor David Lomitashvili and Anglo-Georgian expedition to Nokalakevi, which had trained over 100 archeologist students from nine different Georgian and British universities, plus volunteers from different countries.