Mtskheta

Mtskheta (მცხეთა in Georgian, Мцхета in Russian) is a 7,584 inhabitants town in the confluence of the rivers Kura (Mtkvari) and Aragvi, in the central part of Georgia. Mtskheta has been the spiritual and religious heart of Georgia since Christianity was established here around 327. It was the capital of most of eastern Georgia during many centuries. Mtskheta is the most popular destination for day-trips from Tbilisi and the historical monuments of Mtskheta are placed in UNESCO World Heritage list.

How do I arrive to Mtskheta?

  Mtskheta is well connected with other towns in Georgia because its proximity to Tbilisi. 

• Train: there are about 10 daily trains from Gori to Tbilisi (aprox. 1 hour 15 minutes) that stop in Mtskheta.
• Bus: there are marshutkas from places like Tbilisi (aprox. 20 minutes) every 20 minutes. 
• Car: if you rented a car, from Mtskheta it can be reached Saguramo (aprox. 20 minutes) in Tbilisi National Park; Mukhrani, Tbilisi and Tsilkani (aprox. 30 minutes), Dusheti and Kaspi (aprox. 40 minutes), Ertatsminda (aprox. 50 minutes), Gori (aprox. 1 hour), Rustavi (aprox. 1 hour 5 minutes), Jashuri (aprox. 1 hour 25 minutes), Algeti National Park (aprox. 2 hours) and Stepantsminda (aprox. 3 hours 20 minutes) in Kazbegi National Park. It could also be reached from Tskhinvali (aprox. 1.5 hours) in the de facto state of South Ossetia.
  

History

  The area of Mtskheta has been inhabited from 2nd millennium BC, and numerous burials of the Bronze Age have been found around Mtskheta. Mtskheta was founded by Mtskhetos (son of Kartlos, eponymous ancestor of the Georgians) according to The Georgian Chronicles but historians consider that it was founded by ancient Meschian tribes in the 5th century BC. Mtskheta was the capital of the Kingdom of Iberia from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD. In those years it's believed that it was conquered by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC and it was invaded by the Roman commander Pompey in 5 BC. During the times of king Pharasmanes I, the first Christian communities appeared in Kartli and local Jews brought the Holy Tunic to Mtskheta. It was a site of early Christian activity resulting in Christianization of Iberia (Christianity was proclaimed the state religion in 337) and today, it remains the headquarters of the Georgian Orthodox Church. In the early 6th century, king Dachi of Iberia moved the capital from Mtskheta to Tbilisi. Afterwards the importance of Mtskheta began to decline, but it continued as the coronation and burial place for most kings of Georgia. In 736-738, the city was conquered and destroyed by the Arab commander Murman II Ibn Muhammad and the same happened in the 15th with Tamerlane army. In the following centuries, the importance of Mtskheta kept gradually decreasing and, after the unification of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti with Russia, it was only small village in Dusheti region. Mtskheta was granted the status of a "Holy City" by Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia in 2014.
 

What can I visit in Mtskheta?

  Mtskheta old town is very nice but a bit inauthentic, and maybe too renovated. Most of the streets are now pedestrianized and, especially on weekends, there are many wedding parties that come to Mtskheta to get marry to some its important churches.

These are Mtskheta's main attractions:

• 

  Svetitskhoveli Cathedral

  Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (8-22 Mon-Fri, 8-17 Sat, 13-22 Sun): extraordinary 11th century Georgian Orthodox cathedral that was comissioned under Patriarch Melchizedek I, widely regarded as one of the most beautiful churches in all Georgia. The cathedral has a cross-in-square plan . It was built early in the golden age of Georgian church architecture, although the first church was a wooden church built by king Mirian in the 4th century (then replaced in the 5th century for a stone one). It is adorned with beautiful stone carving outside and inside the church. It's believed that Christ’s robe (taken by a Mtskheta Jew called Elioz who was in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus' crucifixion) lies under a 17th century ciborium (square pillar decorated with colourful but a bit faded frescoes of that depict the conversion of Kartli). Other of the highlights of the cathedral are its impressing interior frescoes (some of them were whitewashed for a scheduled visit of czar Nicholas I that never happened).

  

  Ciborium in Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
  

  Several Georgian monarchs are buried here such as the tomb of Erekle II (king of Kartli-Kakheti from 1762 to 1798), Vakhtang I of Iberia, George XII, David VI, George VIII, Luarsab I and various members of the Bagrationi royal family (including Tamar, the first wife of George XI, whose epitaph is written both in Georgian and Arabic script). The cathedral is situated in the middle of the large yard, surrounded by high 18th century walls with towers.
  
• Museum of Mtskheta (10-17 Tue-Sun; 3₾/ 1₾  adults/ students): small archaeological museum that exhibits most of the objects found in Mtskheta during archaeological excavations, such jewelry, weapons and some urns that are around 6,000 years old. The collection shows how important the town was during many centuries.  
• Antiokia Georgian Orthodox Church: small church from the 7th-8th centuries with beautiful frescoes, situated in a monastery garden right at the confluence of the rivers Mtkvari and Aragvi.
  

  

  Samtavro Monastery
  

• Samtavro Monastery (9-19): large Georgian Orthodox monastery that was built in the 12th century by the king George I of Georgia and Patriarch Melchizedek I. Its main church has cross-in-square temple and its façades are richly decorated (taking into consideration the difference in the illumination). Inside there are some fragments of frescos remaining in the dome and altar, painted in the 16th-17th centuries; here are buried king Mirian and queen Nana too, under a stone canopy. Today it's part of a nunnery, the venerated monk Gabriel Urgebadze is buried in the yard of Samtavro Church and St. Nino Chapel, a 4th century chapel whose foundation is attributed to St. Nino of Cappadocia (who converted Georgia into Christianity), is located here too.
• Samtavro Archaeological Site: cemetery that is dated between the middle of the 3rd millennium BC and the 10th century. Up to 3,000 graves have been examined by archaeologists, finding archaic pottery, stone and metal tools and tombs.
  

  

  Babristsikhe Fortress
  

• Bebristsikhe Fortress (free): fortress on the right bank of river Aragvi that was built to protect Mtskheta and Tbilisi from the north from the 9th century (it has been rebuilt many times, the last one in the 18th century). It was built to imitate a continuation of the mountain and has two levels, citadel and the lower courtyard. Currently the fortress' conditions aren't very good ones and it would probably need some restorations.
  
• St. Barbare Georgian Orthodox Church: church that was first built in the 10th-11th centuries (although rebuilt several times). Its structure is simple, has austere façades and some carvings on its interior.
  

• 

  Jvari Monastery
  

  Jvari Monastery (8-19): monastery located on on the margin of a cliff on hilltop overlooking Mtskheta, where king Mirian III of Iberia erected a wooden cross soon after being converted by St Nino in the 4th century. The current monastery was built in the 6th century under Stepanoz I (eristavi of Kartli). Its style follows the classical early Georgian tetraconch design (sometimes refered as Jvari type, prevalent in Georgia and Armenia), and one of the rare cases of early Georgian church that remains almost unchanged and one of the best examples of harmonic relation of architecture with nature too. The façades are covered with wonderful bas-relief sculptures with Hellenistic and Sassanian influences and the interior is bare but it has a carved wooden cross. From here, there are spectacular views over Mtskheta and the confluence of rivers Aragvi and Mtkvari.

  

  Ruins in Armazi
  

  
  
• St. Ekaterine da Olga Russian Orthodox Church: Russian Art Nouveau nunnery founded around 1890 by the grieving wife of a railway engineer who committed suicide because of the failure to build a tunnel. 
  
• Close to Mtskheta, only 4 km far, it can be found Armazi, a settlement where the ancient city of Armazi (original capital of the early Georgian kingdom of Iberia) was located. It particularly flourished in the early centuries BC and was destroyed by the Arab invasion in the 730s. In this archaeological there are currently excavations and here it has been found royal sarcophagus, a bath house, a wine cellar, a pre-Christian temple or The Stele of Serapeitis, a funerary stele with bilingual inscriptions written in Ancient Greek and Armazic (local idiom of Aramaic). Next to the settlement it's located Ghvtismshoblis Church of Armazi, a nice church from the 12th century.
  

Frescoes in Shio-Mgvime Monastery

Around Mtskheta there are several places and sites to visit that are worth some time. Driving 12 km far it can be found Shio-Mgvime Monastery, a Georgian Orthodox monastic complex located in a narrow limestone canyon that used to be one of the largest monastic community in Georgia (populated by as many as 2,000 monks). It is said to have been founded in the 6th century by Shio Mgvimeli, one of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers, who spent his last years as a hermit in a deep cave here, the Cave of St. Shio. Its oldest church was founded in the 6th century, remaining almost unchanged along time, and it used to house a wonderful iconostasis (now at the Art Museum of Georgia in Tbilisi). Another important church is Zemo Church, a 12th century church that was built under king David IV of Georgia and rebuilt in the 17th century as a basilica. Continuing in the road towards Gori it can be found Ksani Fortress. It is a fortress that is strategically perched on a mount overlooking the confluence of the river Ksani with river Kura.

Mukhranbatoni Palace

It was built by Bagrat I, Prince of Mukhrani (founder of the house of Mukrani) in 1512 and reconstructed by Constantine III, Prince of Mukhrani in 1746. Its walls fortified with bastions and towers of different size and shape are quite well preserved and in its courtyard, there are a pond and a wine-cellar too. Going a bit northwest, 25 km far from Mtskheta can be found Mukhrani (მუხრანი in Georgian) with its 6,197 inhabitants. Some of the nicest sights are Mukhrani Fortress (18th century fortress that is one of the largest preserved in Georgia) and Mukhranbatoni Palace (French-style palace built in the late-19th century for the landlord and general Ivan Mukhranbaton; it was recently restored and has a prestigious winery too, where wine was made in accordance with European rules). Jvarpatiosnis Georgian Orthodox Church of Telovani is placed a bit north from Mukhrani, in an abandoned settlement. This temple is an 8th-9th century tetraconch church. The interior contains heavily damaged murals from the 9th-10th centuries, including one of the earliest Georgian depictions of the Image of Edessa.

Metekhi Ghvtismshoblis Church

Crossing to the region of Shida Kartli using Mtskheta-Gori Highway, it can be nice to stop in Idleti to have a look at its Ioane Natlismtsemlis Georgian Orthodox Church, a cross-in-square church with a rectangular low dome (unfrequent in Georgian medieval architecture) and some damaged paintings on its interior. Only 15 km later, the visitor could stop to visit in Metekhi (მეტეხი in Georgian). In this small town with people there are two nice churches: Ghvtismshoblis Georgian Orthodox Church, a 12th century cross-in-square church with decorative motives on its façades, and that has a 19th century bell tower and fence too; and Kviratskhovlis Georgian Orthodox Church, a smaller hall church.

Ertatsminda Cathedral

Driving closer towards Trialeti Range there's Art-Villa Garikula, a 19th century palace that currently is used as a contemporary art center; continuing on the way it's located St. Giorgi Georgian Orthodox Church in Pavnisi, 9th-10th-century hall church that is known for its frescoes of high artistic value dated to the half-12th century. They are highlighted by the color harmony and the purity of line, representing religious scenes (including one of the oldest representations of George rescuing a youth from captivity in Christian art). In the village of Ertatsminda (ერთაწმინდა in Georgian), 230 inhabitants, is situated Ertatsminda Cathedral. This 13th century cross-in-square cathedral, similar to other churches from the 12th-13 centuries, that was used from the 17th century as crypt of the Saakadzes. Its main highlight are the large carved crosseses on all four sides and its portals are richly decorated, although the temple keeps some frescoes too.

 

Where can I eat in Mtskheta?

  Mtskheta is known because of lobio [ლობიო], a dish made with kidney beans that is usually eaten with Mchadi and marinated vegetables. It isn't a very large town and it has a humble but nice culinary offer but there are some places where eating in a good way such as the following Georgian food places: the restaurant Salobie [სალობიე] (Zahesi-Mtskhata-Kavtiskhevi-Gori Road), Ada Cafe (Sanapiro 5) or Old Tavern (Arsukidze).

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