Historic Castles Tour, #3

Castles tours from Tbilisi – 

Medieval fortresses, historical monuments and others of Eastern Georgia

With castles tours, travelers will visit and learn about castles, castle villages and castle towns of the ancient era, as well as early medieval and late periods. With the tour of the fortresses, it is possible to organize excursions to other types of Georgian fortresses and castle-towers typical of the mountainous regions of Georgia, which differ in many ways from the fortresses in different countries of the world.

Tbilisi

History of Tbilisi
City was founded by Vakhtang Gorgasali in the 4^th century. The city is located in Eastern Georgia. The oldest architectural monument in Tbilisi is the 6^th century Christian church Anchiskhati. Christianity was spread in Georgia in 4^th-5^th centuries. Since the foundation of Tbilisi, there are ancient shrines of Hebrew, Islamic and Catholic confessions.

18^th century
In 1748 King Erekle II (Heraclius II of Georgia) liberated Tbilisi. Since then the development of the industries began in the city but the trace of it faded away quickly because of the occupation of the city by Persian Shah – Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar in 1795. These conquests made it impossible for Georgia to develop economically. In 1801 Georgia was merged by Russia.

Fight for State Independence
Since 1802, fighting for restoration of state independence of Georgia has begun, which was achieved only in 1918 year. Georgia has restored state independence, but it soon was lost in 1921 year. After a great standoff, Georgia was able to re-establish the statehood in 1991 and the avant-garde of this 2-century battles and struggles was permanently Tbilisi.

Castle tours to Mtskheta

Mtskheta East Georgia. Archaeological expedition (base in Mtskheta with materials of Bronze and ancient period). Mtskheta, one of the oldest cities of the country of Georgia (in Kartli province of Eastern Georgia), is located approximately 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Tbilisi at the confluence of the Aragvi and Kura rivers. Mtskheta is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Due to its historical significance and numerous ancient monuments, the “Historical Monuments of Mtskheta” became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994..

David Gareja

David gareja The complex was founded in the 6^th century by David (St. David Garejeli), one of the thirteen Assyrian monks who arrived in the country at the same time. His disciples Dodo and Luciane expanded the original lavra and founded two other monasteries known as Dodo’s Rka (literally, “the horn of Dodo”) and Natlismtsemeli (“the Baptist”). The monastery saw further development under the guidance of the 9^th-century Georgian saint Ilarion. The convent was particularly patronized by the Georgian royal and noble families. The 12th-century Georgian king Demetre I, the author of the famous Georgian hymn Thou Art a Vineyard, even chose David Gareja as a place of his confinement after he abdicated the throne.

Castle tours to Dmanisi

Dmanisi is located in Eastern Georgia 85 kilometers from Tbilisi. The first settlement of Dmanisi belongs to the 6^th century. Dmanisi is first mentioned in the 9^th century historical sources. The medieval castle-city ruins are located near Dmanisi, on which territory, a human – hominid several skulls are discovered, which belong to the 1.6 million year-old period. Today, there is a museum reserve on this territory.

Bolnisi

Bolnisi is located 65 kilometers from Tbilisi.  In the beginning of 19^th century Germans were settled in the city which conditioned the development of small industry. 7 kilometers from Bolnisi there is 5^th century Christian church, BolnisisSioni. On the wall of the church you can see an ancient example of Georgian writing.

Castle tour to Uplistsikhe

Uplistsikhe is built on a high rocky left bank of the Mtkvari River, it contains various structures dating from the Early Iron Age to the Late Middle Ages, and is notable for the unique combination of various styles of rock-cut cultures from Anatolia and Iran, as well as the co-existence of pagan and Christian architecture.

Castle tours to Telavi

Telavi First archaeological findings from Telavi date back to Bronze Age. One of the earliest surviving accounts of Telavi is from the 2nd century AD, by Greek geographer Claudius Ptolemaeus, who mentions the name Teleda (a reference to Telavi). Telavi began to transform into a fairly important and large political and administrative center in the 8th century AD. Interesting information on Telavi is provided in the records by an Arab geographer Al-Muqaddasi of the 10^th century, who mentions Telavi along with such important cities of that time’s Caucasus as Tbilisi, Shamkhor, Ganja, Shemakha and Shirvan. Speaking about the population of Telavi, Al-Muqaddasi points out that for the most part consists of Christians.