Vardzia, Georgia

Vardzia is a cave monastery site in Georgia. It forms a part of the Vardzia Historical–Architectural Museum-Reserve. The construction started during the reign of Giorgi III, and continued under his daughter queen Tamar and later ruler.

I took 2 hrs minibus there with a bunch of Georgina young people. The bus driver kindly drop us to the top entrance so we could tour down the site efficiently in 1.5 hrs and bus back to Akhaltsikhe with the same bus. This was the probably the most economic option to visit site. Most people join tours or hire taxies to get there. 

When completed this underground fortress extended 13 levels and contained 6000 apartments, a throne room and a large church with an external bell tower. It is assumed that the only access to this stronghold was via a hidden tunnel whose entrance was near the banks of Mtkvari river. The outside slope of the mountain was covered with the fertile terraces, suitable for cultivation, for which an intricate system of irrigation was designed. With such defenses, natural and man made, the place must have been all but impregnable to human forces. Alas, the glorious days of Vardzia didn't last for very long. Though safe from the Mongols, mother nature was a different story altogether. In 1283, only a century after its construction, a devastating earthquake literally ripped the place apart. The quake shattered the mountain slope and destroyed more then two thirds of the city, exposing the hidden innards of the remainder.

However despite this, a monastery community persisted until 1551 when it was raided and destroyed by Persian Sash Tahmasp.

Since the minibus did not stop at Khertivusi fortress, I could only see it from the bus.  Khertvisi fortress is situated on the high rocky hill in the narrow canyon at the confluence of theMtkvari and Paravani Rivers. Well, I cannot see everything in life anyway. 

Khertvisi fortress is one of the oldest fortresses in Georgia and was functional throughout the Georgian feudal period. It is situated in Southern Georgia, in Meskhetiregion. The fortress was first build in the 2nd century BC. The church was built in 985, and the present walls build in 1354. As the legend says, Khertvisi was destroyed byAlexander the Great.