The ancient city of Mtskheta has a history of 4,000 years and was once the oldest town in Georgias land, the capital of Iberia, where a large number of temples, cemeteries, ancient architectural sites and fortifications of ancient Greek and Roman periods were discovered. . A number of ancient buildings and cathedrals from the 11th to the 13th centuries are left in the city, the most famous of which are the Svetitskvili Church and the Jiwari Monastery. It is the entire Georgian centre of art, culture and religion, and the entire city follows the 11th century Byzantine domes and cruciform flats. In 1994, the city was included in the World Cultural Heritage.
The main attraction now is three churches, of which the St. Nino Women's Monastery and the Svetitskvili Church (preserving the cloak of Jesus) are located in the town centre, just a few minutes walk away, and the oldest The Jiwari Monastery (there is a very nice hymn in the afternoon). On the top of the mountain opposite the river, you need a taxi. When you visit the Svettskvili Church, you will meet many local drivers and ask if you are on the summit. The Jiwari Monastery, chartered to and from 20 Lari.
PS: Photographs are not allowed inside all churches in Mtskheta.
Transportation:
There is a shuttle bus from Tbilisi to Mtskheta, take the subway to Dedubi station, you can find the roadside stop through the underground passage, the shuttle to Mtskheta The fare is 1 Larry, the journey is 30 minutes, and after getting off, it is the monastery of St. Nino.
Lonely on the cliff at the intersection of the two rivers, overlooking the surrounding landscape, opposite the mountain is the old capital of Georgia and the pillar of life cathedral in the distance can see the snowy mountains of the Caucasus Mountains in the distance. Lonely.
The ancient church stands as a boulder, impartially at the intersection of the Kuna and the Aragwi rivers. Like many other churches in Georgia, there are portraits of bishops.
The Diwali Church, built on the top of a hill near Mtshuta, can command a panoramic view of the ancient city of Mtshuta. The monastery stands impartially at the confluence of the two rivers, like a huge stone. The monastery of Tivoli was built around 600 A.D. Like other medieval churches, the design is exquisite, the architectural style is clear, and the world cultural heritage is another brilliant treasure of the ancient city of Mtshuta. The monastery of Tivoli is very primitive, and it is totally different from the exquisite gorgeousness of many cathedrals. After entering, the first sight is a huge, simple and extremely wooden cross, the wall still retains the natural rough surface of stone building materials. The indoor light is dim, mainly depends on the narrow window to get natural light, the camera sensitivities rush, the high noise point density is moving. There is hardly any decoration in the monastery. There are no European monasteries at all. There are many tourists. A priest sits there quietly, ignoring the surroundings, staying away from the red dust, accompanying the cold stone buildings, and standing alone for the God in his heart. This is the power of faith. In fact, every religious place in Georgia can feel people's immense devotion. It seems that there will always be more believers in the church than visitors! It was so quiet that only the whispers of the believers could be heard. There was a faint scent of candles in the air. Light, shadow, sound and fragrance are all in perfect harmony to create a religious atmosphere here. It is not easy for monasteries of more than a thousand years to escape the fire of war. At the moment, there is no desire or desire for anything against the fence.
one of the best places in Georgia, it's near and very convenient to get there, you can visit one of the oldest monastery and see the most amazing views.
At the end of the visit to the Saint Nino Women's Monastery, bargaining with taxi drivers waiting for customers at the entrance, the 15GEL chartered bus was finally delivered to the Tivoli Church on the top of the hill opposite the river. Netizens said that the average chartered fare was 20GEL, and we saw many drivers waiting for customers, obviously the supply exceeded the demand, so we killed another knife in the face of the price of 20GEL. It seemed really hard to get a live driver to accept it, so we drove to the Diwali Church. Only when we got to the top of the hill did we see a lot of tourists. There were many cars parked in the parking lot, big and small, many times more than the tourists we saw in the first two churches. When we climbed the hillside to the church, the first attraction was the town of Mtschna, located in the watershed where the two rivers converged. The town near the hill and the water was very beautiful. The Church of the Pillar of Life and the Saint Nino Women's Monastery in the town are also vivid. The highway across the town river stretches straight into the distance, and the mountains overlapping in the distance are visible. Overlooking the natural scenery of Mtshuta Town, we went into the tall and simple church nearby for a visit. There is a huge wooden cross in the center of the church, but the most sacred of the church is a small cross on the central altar. This is a San Nino Cross that has existed since the fourth century A.D. The St. Nino Cross was built after King Mirian was inspired to believe in Christianity. It was engraved with biblical sculptures and was considered the first national treasure of Georgia. This San Nino Cross was transferred to St. Trinity Church at the foot of the Kazbek Mountains we visited yesterday when war broke out in Georgia. If the Church of the Pillar of Life visited in front of us is a church with high status in the Church of Georgia, the Church of Diwali in front of us is the Holy One in the eyes of Georgians. Visitors here are very interested in this cross. Some take pictures, some worship and think alike in different ways. This is the power of religion and history as well as faith. Let's look inside and look at the tall church on the outdoor platform. The simple church under the blue sky and white clouds shows its unique charm. The church has been in existence since it was built and has not been rebuilt. From this point of view, it is also an ancient building.
It is very interesting and cost-effective. It is highly recommended 👍👍