Telavi

Telavi (თელავი in Georgian, Телави in Russian) is a 19,599 inhabitants town by the river Telavisrike in the foothills of Tsiv-Gombori Range, eastern part of Georgia. It's the capital and biggest town of the region of Kakheti. It’s one of the towns in Georgia with most medieval history and the perfect base for exploring Kakheti’s viticultural, historical and architectural riches.

 How do I arrive to Telavi?

  Telavi is well connected with other towns in Kakheti and in all Georgia. 

• Train: there is a train station 3 km far from the center of Telavi, but there has been no passenger traffic on the Kakheti Railway (Tbilisi-Gurdschaani-Telavi) for years.
• Bus: there are marshutkas from one of the three stations of Telavi to Tsinandali (every 30 minutes; aprox. 20 minutes), Alvani Monastery (every 20 minutes; aprox. 45 minutes), Kvareli (every 30 minutes; aprox. 1 hour 30 minutes), Sighnaghi (1-2 daily; aprox. 1 hour 30 minutes), Tbilisi (every hour; aprox. 1 hour 45 minutes), Lagodekhi (aprox. 1 hour 45 minutes) in Lagodekhi National Park, or Dedoplis Tskaro (aprox. 2 hours).
• Car: if you rented a car, from Telavi it can be reached Akhmeta (aprox. 30 minutes), Kvareli (aprox. 40 minutes), Gurjaani (aprox. 45 minutes), Duisi (aprox. 50 minutes) in Pankisi Gorge, Sighnaghi (aprox. 1 hours 15 minutes), Lagodekhi (aprox. 1 hour 20 minutes) in Lagodekhi National Park, Tbilisi (aprox. 1 hour 45 minutes), Rustavi (aprox. 1 hour 50 minutes), or Omalo (aprox. 4-5 hours) in Tusheti National Park.  
  

History

  The first archaeological findings from Telavi date back to the Bronze Age. One of the earliest surviving accounts of Telavi is from the 2nd century AD, mentioned with the name Teleda. Telavi began to transform into an important and large political and administrative center in the 8th century. From the 10th until the 12th century, Telavi served as the capital of the Kingdom of Kakheti and later Kingdom of Kakhet-Hereti. During the Golden Era of the Kingdom of Georgia (12th–13th centuries), Telavi turned into one of its most important political and economic centers. After the disintegration in the 15th century, Telavi started to decline but it regained its political importance in the 17th century when it became a capital of the kingdom of Kakheti and, by 1762, the second capital (after Tbilisi) of the Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti. The reign of King Erekle II was a special epoch in the history of Telavi and the town grew into a strategic and cultural centre, changing fundamentally the political, economical and cultural orientation of Kartli-Kakheti. In 1801, after the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti was annexed by the Russian Empire, Telavi lost its status as a capital and given the status of an administrative center of an uyezd within the Tiflis Governorate. The town's population was about 12,000 in the end of the 19th century (with around 9,000 Armenians and 2,000 ethnic Georgians). Today the number of Armenians has decreased, but they are still a significant minority in Telavi.
 

What can I visit in Telavi?

  Telavi is widely considered as the most medieval town in Georgia, linked to the importance that it had during the kingdom of Kakheti. There are still picturesque streets such as Cholokashvili, .

These are Telavi's main attractions:

• Batonis Castle (10-18 Tue-Sun; 5₾/ free  adults/ kids): very well-preserved castle that was the residence of the kings of Kakhetia in the 17th and 18th centuries, only surviving royal palace in Georgia. It's placed in the the middle of Telavi. The castle complex has a renovated Persian style palace (modeled on Arg of Karim Khan in Shiraz, Iran) as one of its highlights, where king Erekle II was born and died. Some other very outstanding sights are its two small churches, the royal baths, its circular corner towers or the remains of the philosophical-theological school founded by Erekle II. It also hosts a museum that about history (specially focused in king Erekle II) and art, having archaeological and ethnographic exhibits, a nice fine arts gallery and military equipment.
• Great Chadar Tree: plane tree that is believed to be 900 years old. It's a good place to have some rest and see the cityscape that Telavi offers and Caucasus mountains on its back.
• Telavi Old Cementery: graveyard from the 19th century that hosts a Georgian and an Armenian cementery with their corresponding churches. 
• Ghvtismshoblis Georgian Orthodox Church: cross-in-square church from the 19th century. It's on the outskirts of Telavi and is currently functioning. Another nice church in town is St. Giorgi Georgian Orthodox Church, from where having good views of Telavi.
  
• Dzveli Shuamta Monastery: Georgian Orthodox monastery complex placed 5 km west of Telavi, abandoned in the 16th century and repaired by king Erekle II. It contains a dome-shaped basilica from the 5th century, similar to Jvari Monastery in Mtskheta. Here there are also other two churches from the 7th century. Next to it is located Akhali Shuamta Monastery, monastery founded by the wife of king Lewan II, with the name of New Shuamta, whose churches were repaired in by king Erekle II and keeps some frescoes on its walls.
  
• Just a few kilometers outside the town, in the village of Ikalto, there's Ikalto Monastery (9-18). This Georgian Orthodox monastery founded by St. Zenon in the late 6th century (one of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers), is beautifully situated in a cypress grove. It was one of two famous medieval Georgian Neoplatonist academies (the other being Gelati Monastery, near Kutaisi), founded by Arsen Ikaltoeli (advisor to king David the Builder) where the national poet of Georgia, Shota Rustaveli, is thought to have studied. Its main church was built in the 8th and 9th
  centuries. The academy was located in the roofless building (set on fire by the Persians led by Shah Abbas I in 1616) along the south side and an 8th century stone wine press survives next to it.
  
• Driving 20 km north, very close to river Alazani, it can be visited Alaverdi Cathedral (8-18). The temple we can currently see was built in the beginning of the 11th century by king Kvirike III of Kakheti, when Georgia was entering its cultural and political golden age. On the things that call the attention the most is its height, since it's 55m tall (it remained the tallest church in Georgia for nearly 1000 years). Its exterior is classically proportioned, having with majestic rounded arches but almost no decoration. The church has a beautiful spacious harmony and is well lit, as well as sparsely decorated (a common feature of Kakheti monuments). The cathedral was originally built in 6th century by St. Ioseb of Alaverdi, one of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers, and is surrounded by a fortified wall. Here it's also celebrated Alaverdoba (around 28th of September), a religious and folk celebration in Kakheti with its roots in a harvest festival. Alaverdi Cathedral is placed in UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List since 2007.
  

Alaverdi Monastery

Batonis Castle

House-Museum of Alexander Chavchavadze

The villages and amazing countryside of Kakheti are full of old castles, monasteries and churches, as well as fascinating wineries. A possible idea to explore the area is taking the road that connects Telavi with Gurjaani and then Sighnaghi. Only 9 km south it can be visited the House-Museum of Alexander Chavchavadze (10-18; 5₾/ 3₾  museum and gardens/ gardens), 19th century palace in Italianate style that was built by prince Alexander Chavchavadze (a Georgian poet, aristocrat and military figure that is regarded as the father of Georgian romanticism); it's one of the don’t-miss stop on any Kakheti tour. The tour in the palace takes the visitor to discover around 6 of the rooms of the palace and learn about the family story. Here many important characters of the history of the Russia have visited this place, such as Alexander Dumas or members of Romanov imperial family.

Gardens of the House-Museum of  
Alexander Chavchavadze

Outside, there's the beautiful English style garden (first of its kind in Georgia), mergin European symmetric and Georgian natural patterns, including exotic species (like ginkgo, sequoia and yucca). Moreover, the complex includes a wine cellar and factory from the 1830s, where trying different local wines (mainly the local white Tsinandali wine), that owns a collection of wines starting from 1814 (some of them are Polish Honey, 1814; Château d'Yquem, 1861; or Saperavi, 1841). Not very far from here it can be visited Akura Georgian Orthodox Church, a three-nave basilica from the 9th century that is dedicated to St. David Garejeli. The façades bear decorative aches and its interior has 14th-15th century frescoes and an iconostasis from the 16th century. It has some damaged inscriptions in medieval Georgian asomtavruli script dated to the 9th century.

Jvarpatsionis Church

Driving 30 km north towards Tusheti National Park, it can be a good idea stopping at Akhmeta (ახმეტა in Georgian), a town with 7,105 people where seeing the transition between Kakheti and Tusheti (being the capital of the municipality that covers all the national park). The town itsself doesn't have many things to do, but there are still some places where stopping such as Jvarpatsionis Georgian Orthodox Church (18th century small church linked to a local aristocratic family, the Cholokashvilis) or Erelaant Georgian Orthodox Church (church with origin in the 5th-6th centuries). Around it, there are some churches that are worth a visit. One of them is Matani Monastery, monastery complex whose main basilica was built in the 5th and 6th century in rectangular shape (there are two smaller churches from the 8th and 9th centuries)

Zemo Alvani Church

; the other one is Kvetera Georgian Orthodox Church, an early-10th century small church in cross-in-square style that doesn't have many ornaments on its façade, typical in Kakhetian churches. This latter church is located in the village of Kvetera, that used to be one of the centers of the Principality of Kakheti.. On the other side of river Alazani there's Zemo Alvani Georgian Orthodox Church, an 8th-9th century three-aisled basilica with frescoes in post-Byzantine style (comissioned by king Levan II) and a bell tower from the 17th century.

Views of the complex of Gremi

On the other side of river Alazani, but still close to Telavi, there are plenty of things to visit. One of the best choices to stop and learn more about the wine culture, history and traditions of Kakheti is the Museum of Qvevri and Qvevri Wine (9-19 Mon-Sat; 15₾/ 5₾  adults/ students).Then is Gremi (9-18 Tue-Sun), a former flourishing town that was the capital of Kakheti (1466-1672) and a lively trading town on the Silk Road. The west of the town was totally devastated by Shah Abbas in 1616, not recovering its past glory and losing its status of capital to Telavi in the 17th century. Within the citadel it can be found Mtavarangelozta Church, a Georgian Orthodox church built by king Levan of Kakheti in 1565 where he is buried and where finding frescoes from the 16th century too. Next to the church stands a tower-palace (3₾) from the 15th century, where there's a small museum that has artefacts from Greni and explains its history. It's part of UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List since 2007.

Nekresei Monastery

Next it can be found Nekresi Monastery, a Georgian Orthodox monastery founded by Abibos Nekreseli (one of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers) in the 6th century. The complex of buildings includes a three-church basilica with 16th century frescoes comissioned by king Leon of Kakheti and a mortuary chapel, both dated to the 6th century; a centrally-planned church from the 8th or 9th centuries; as well as a bishop's palace (9th century), a refectory (12th century) or a 16th-century defensive tower. It provides excellent views of Alazani Valley too. There's a very peculiar place near the monastery: Nekresi Fire Temple, an archaeological complex that is identified as a Zoroastrian fire temple constructed in the 2nd-3rd centuries and destroyed in the 5th one. Close to the monastery it can also be found the Ruins of Chabukauri Basilica (remains of a large three-aisle basilica from the 4th-5th centuries, one of the earliest Christian church buildings in Georgia) and the Ruins of Dolochopi Basilica (remains of a 5th century triple basilica with many common features with Chabukauri Basilica, that was one of the largest in the Caucasus and neighboring regions of Eastern Christendom);

Ilia Chavchavadze State Museum in Kvareli

both temples have a design that combines Eastern Roman standards and affinities with early churches in Sasanian Iran. All these sights are located in a municipality whose capital is Kvareli (ყვარელი in Georgian), a town with 7,739 inhabitants that is known for being the birthplace of Ilia Chavchavadze. The visitor can learn more about this vital figure in Georgian history by visiting Ilia Chavchavadze State Museum in Kvareli (10-17; 2₾/ 1₾  adults/ students), museum that includes family castle and house, and exposition hall as well with poet’s manuscripts. The town has some interesting churches, remains of a former fortress and for those interested in numismatics, a good idea can be having a look at the National Bank of Georgia Money Museum (9-13 and 14-18 Mon-Fri; free). A very surprising church that can be visited near Kvareli is Dzveli Gavazi Georgian Orthodox Church, a church with a tetraconch with the dome positioned over the centre of the square, built between the 6th and 9th centuries.

Where can I eat in Telavi?

  Telavi has some of the best options to try local Georgian restaurants are Kapiloni (Barnovi 10), Mala's Garden (Rustaveli 4) or Bravo (Nadikvari 11). It has a nice bazaar too, full of fresh products from the villages of the area.

As the capital of the main wine-producing region in all Georgia, Telavi and its surroundings have an interesting scene of wineries such as Teliani Valley (Tbilisi Highway 3), the family wine cellar Rostomaant Marani (Guram Rcheulishvili 9 in Telavi), the winery Schuchmann (in Kisiskhevi), Twins Wine Cellar (in Napareuli), Shumi Winery [შუმი ღვინის კომპანია] (in Tsinandali) or Khareba Winery (in Kvareli).

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