Sighnaghi

Sighnaghi (სიღნაღი in Georgian, Сигнахи in Russian) is a 1,565 inhabitants small town in the center of the region of Kakheti, in the eastern part of Georgia. It's the capital and biggest town of the region of Kakheti. Sighnaghi is one of the most attractive town, with an amazing position on a hilltop facing the snow-capped Caucasus and full of 18th and 19th century architecture, and with a vaguely Tuscan feel. Sighnaghi is the Georgian wedding city, and many celebrations take place in Sighnaghi.

 How do I arrive to Sighnaghi?

  Sighnaghi isn't bad connected with other towns because of its touristic importance.

• Bus: there are marshutkas from Sighnaghi to places like Tsnori (every hour; aprox. 15 minutes), Telavi (daily; aprox. 1 hour 30 minutes), Tbilisi (every hour; aprox. 1 hour 45 minutes) or Rustavi (twice per day; aprox. 2 hours).
• Car: if you rented a car, from Sighnaghi it can be reached Gurjaani (aprox. 35 minutes), Dedoplis Tskaro (aprox. 40 minutes), Lagodekhi (aprox. 45 minutes) in Lagodekhi National Park, Sagarejo (aprox. 55 minutes), Kvareli (aprox. 1 hour 5 minutes), Telavi (aprox. 1 hour 15 minutes), Tbilisi (aprox. 1 hour 45 minutes) or Rustavi (aprox. 1 hour 50 minutes).
  

History

  Signagi was first settled in the Paleolithic period but the current settlement was first recorded in the early 18th century.King Erekle II of Georgia sponsored the construction of the town in 1762, and erected a fortress to defend the area from attacks by Dagestani tribesmen. The town was granted town status when Georgia was annexed by Imperial Russia in 1801 and became a centre of the Signakh uyezd (within the Tiflis Governorate in 1802). In 1812, Sighnaghi joined the rebellion with the rest of Kakheti against Russian rule in 1812 and during the Caucasian War, it was considered an important point because of its proximity to Dagestan. The town became an agricultural center in the Soviet Union but then suffered a severe economic crisis in post-Soviet Georgia. Recently, a major reconstruction project recently launched by the Government of Georgia (co-funded by international organizations) modernized the infrastructure of the town and increased the touristic interest of Sighnaghi.
 

What can I visit in Sighnaghi?

  Sighnaghi is a very charming and beautiful place full of buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries. The main and most historic street is Gorgasali, leading downhill inside the town wall and Chavchavadze too.

These are Sighnaghi's main attractions:

• Sighnaghi Museum (10-18 Tue-Sun; 5₾/ 0.50₾/ free  adults/ students/ kids under 6): museum with a well-displayed and modern exhibits on Kakheti, particulary focused in archaeology, ethnography and history of the region. It's a very good place to learn more about Kakhetian and Georgian culture thanks to its archaeological exhibitions, musical instruments, clothing or weapons. The museum has a room with paintings and, among others, 13 paintings by the artist Niko Pirosmani (19th-20th century Georgian naïve painter from Kakheti). This is the biggest collection of the work of the painter outside the National Gallery of Tbilisi, and includes the famous canvases Vintage, Healer on a Donkey and Feast in a Grape Gazebo.
  
• St. Stepan Georgian Orthodox Church: small church that dates back to the end of the 18th century and the 19th century, placed by the walls of Sighnaghi. Climbing up the church tower is worthy to get an excellent view of Sighnaghi's surrounding areas.
• St. Giorgi Georgian Orthodox Church: hall church from the 19th century that follows the traditions of Armenian architecture, but transferred to the Georgian Orthodox Church after the restoration of independence of Georgia. It's distinguished by rather subtle proportions: the apse of the altar is narrower than the main space, pastophores are arranged next to it and the church is divided by arches. Above the central nave is a small arched arbor and the temple has a bell tower too. 
• Sighnaghi Walls: defensive walls that were built in times of king Erekle II in the 18th century. It used to be 4 km and most of it still stands, with 23 towers and 6 gates (each one named after a local village). It can be climbed up one tower and walk along the walls, but there are also parts that are overgrown and partly degenerated.
  
• On the outskirts of Sighnaghi, and one of the must-see in the town, is located Bodbe Monastery (10-19). This Georgian Orthodox monastery is the seat of the Bishop of Bodbe, and it's regarded as the final resting place of St Nino (a woman from the 4th century who preached Christianity in the territory of Caucasian Iberia, now part of Georgia, that resulted in the Christianization of Iberia). This church was originally built over the saint’s grave by king Mirian in the 9th century, and it has been rebuilt and renovated several times since then (specially in the 17th century). One of the highlights is obviously the small chapel where Nino’s tomb (partly silver-covered with a bejewelled turquoise cloisonné halo) is placed. The complex has beautiful gardens (from where having fantastic views of the Alazani Valley), and a nice 18th century bell tower too. This site has enormous religious significance for Georgia and therefore, it's always massively crowded.
  

Picturesque street in Sighnaghi

Bobde Monastery

 

Kvelatsminda Church in Gurjaani

Driving towards Telavi (32 km far from Sighnaghi) it can be stopped at Gurjaani (გურჯაანი in Georgian), a town with 8,024 people at the plain of river Alazani. Its main sightseeing point is Kvelatsminda Georgian Orthodox Church, an 8th-9th century two-dome church (only of its kind in Georgi) that constructed during the period of transitional medieval Georgian architecture. It was abandoned in the 17th century because of the lekianoba and in the 19th century too, being restored in 2010; another sight is Nato Vachnadze House-Museum (10-18 Tue-Sun; 2₾/ 1₾  adults/ students), a museum on the well-known cinema actress Nato Vachnadze. In this municipality there are some other sights like Zegaani Monastery (monastic complex whose main church was built in the 5th century with a cupola on its interior that can't be seen for its exterior, and some fragments of frescoes), Sanagire Monastery (10th century complex with a beautiful church that can just be reached by trails used during ages by civilians to get protection), or Vachnadziani Monastery (monastic complex with a domed church from the 8th-9th centuries).

Ruins at the historic stie of Cheremi

In the road from Sighnaghi to Gurjaani, there are some places that can be worth some time to be explored. Only 14 km north (in the village of Kardenakhi) there's Ioseb Noneshvili House-Museum (10-18 Tue-Sun; 2₾/ 1₾  adults/ students), a small museum that houses memorial objects connected with life and work of this 20th century Georgian poet, various publications of poet’s works and some ethnographic collections. Another highlight here is Sabatsminda Georgian Orthodox Church, a 13th century cross-in-square church with a 16th century bell tower. Not far from Gurjaani, close to the road to reach Tbilisi, the visitor can explore the historic site of Cheremi. This site encompasses the ruins of churches, a castle with a circuit wall, and burials that correspond to the extinct town of Cheremi, known from early medieval Georgian chronicles. Its origin is believed to be in the late-5th century, in times of Vakhtang Gorgasali (king of Kartli). It was destroyed in a Persian attack, never recovering its previous prosperity; the town suffered a lot by lekianoba (series of marauding inroads from Dagestani tribes) and it was seat of a bishop till the 18th century.

Ninotsminda Cathedral

Going towards Tbilisi, the visitor can still explore some sights of Kakheti on its way. The main municipality in this part of Kakheti is Sagarejo (საგარეჯო in Georgian), 10,871 inhabitants. Here there are some nice churches such as St. Dodo Garejeli Georgian Orthodox Church (17th century church built on the site of a previous 6th century church looted by Timur that hosts some relics of St. Davit Garejeli) or Sts. Petre da Pavle Georgian Orthodox Church (18th century church was built by Onofre Machutadze, the head of Davit Gareji Monastery), but without doubts the most impressing is Ninotsminda Cathedral. The ruins of this monastery with origin in the 6th century are very significant due to its importance in the development of Georgian architecture, serving as a model for the development of the later tetraconch form (it predates Jvari Monastery in Mtskheta).

Ruins of Ujarma Fortress

Its apse is decorated with 16th century damaged frescoes of the Hodegetria and they were kept after the collapse of the cathedral during the earthquakes in 1824 and 1848. One of its most spectacular parts i the large brick bell tower, from the times of king Levan of Kakheti, whose geometric patterns show the influence of Sfavid Persia. In the 16th-17th century it was surrounded by a fortification and defensive wall. Today it's being reconstructed. Other highlights of Outer Kakheti are Khashmi Georgian Orthodox Church (basilica with origin in the 6th century that was an episcopal center in Kakheti during the Middle Ages, where St. Nino converted to Christiany the princes of Kukhe and Suji tribes) and the Ruins of Ujarma Fortress (remains of a fortress-town by river Iori that was built by the king of Kartli Asfaguri in the 3rd-4th centuries that was specially important in between the 4th and 8th centuries, losing importance from the 15th century onwards).

Where can I eat in Sighnaghi?

  Despite Sighnaghi is a small town, here there are some very good places to eat and wineries. Some of the culinary highlights are the Kakhetian restaurant Nikala [ნიკალა] (Lolashvili 9), the Georgian restaurant and winery Pheasant’s Tears (Baratashvili 18) and the Mexican restaurant Pancho Villa [პანჩო ვილა] (Tamar Mepe 9).

In the nearby town of Tsnori there's a very typical Soviet style market on Sundays, Bodbiskhevi Bazaar Sunday Market.

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