GUELATI MONASTERY
Monastery with three churches, a bell tower and the ruins of the academy ...Read more
ORTA DJAME BATUMI MOSQUE
A small, pretty mosque inviting you to visit its minaret with the ...Read more
BAGRATI CATHEDRAL
This cathedral, refurbished in 2012, features original stonework in the ...Read more
PALACE CHURCH
Elegant Georgian-style church with richly decorated interior.Read more
ARMENIAN CHURCH OF THE HOLY CROSS
The Armenian Church of the Holy Cross offers an Armenian dance performance ...Read more
RUSSIAN CHURCH OF ST. NICHOLAS
Pretty Russian church of St. Nicholas, with beautiful icons and frescoes ...Read more
MONASTERY OF SAINT GORGES D'OUBISSA (SOMETIMES OUBISSI)
Read moreThis small monastery of the th century is one of the most beautiful of Imérétie, if you do not count the two flagship sites of the Koutaïssi region. It has a little common look for a Georgian complex; it would even resemble a fortified monastery of the high Middle Ages. Georgian churches and monasteries are often carved stone or brick, Oubissa is a rare case constructed of apparent round stones - which gives it the airs village air. Black grey tones of stones are also unusual. The monastery consists of three buildings included in the fortified enclosure, whose size reports combine nicely with a very special silhouette. The covered porch is particularly large and has itself the shape of a small church. Next, the little basilica of the th century.
Its interior is particularly valuable: it has a wall cycle of the th century. The masterpieces of the round are the Supper and the Nativity. The cycle was conducted by the artist Damiane. There is a great influence on the Was Byzantine school. The third building is a four-storey tower dating back to 1141, which was the residence of the Dean of the monastery. The whole is very sophisticated and slender, despite a chivalric appearance due to the fortification and color of the stones. The monks of Oubissa seem particularly modern: they use a solar panel! Besides this, they sell delicious honey and very well reputed, do not hesitate to buy it.
MARTVILI MONASTERY
Read moreIn the region of Sénaki it is a beautiful excursion in the deep Mingrélie. It is located at the top of the mingréliens foothills, at the foot of the Caucasus, in a magnificent landscape. The monastery dates from the end of the th century; The Church of the Virgin dates from the th century, but its current structure comes from the fourteenth century. This is one of the most important sanctuaries in West Georgia, after Guélati. Martvili was the episcopal chair of the Georgian Orthodox Church until the Russian conquest. There were also buried monarchs of the Middle Ages. The frescoes of the th and th centuries covered the whole church; some of them are retained; they represent kings, nobles and donors alongside traditional iconography.
Recently, the monks revived the complex, asphaltant the road, build dependencies, stairs, ramps, by even partially restoring the church and its esplanade, to the detriment of historical authenticity.
The monastery is located on the hill above the small town of Martvili, very well connected by marchroutka in Koutaïssi and Zugdidi. You can walk on foot (1,5 km). Magnificent views at the summit.
MONASTERY OF ST. GORGES D'OUBISSA
This small convent, resembling a fortified monastery from the early ...Read more
CHURCH OF THE VIRGIN
Neo-Gothic Catholic church transformed into Batumi's main Orthodox church ...Read more
FORMER CATHOLIC CHURCH
This former Catholic church on the banks of the Rioni is the largest ...Read more
MARTVILI MONASTERY
Mingrelia's most important monastery, housing a church with preserved ...Read more
ST. SAVIOR TSALENJIKHA CATHEDRAL
Read moreSuperbly located at the foot of the Svanétie chain, the cathedral of Tsalendjikha is a beautiful carved grey stone building typical of the Mingréliennes churches. This high spiritual place of the Mingrélie was the official cathedral of the. It was built between the th and th centuries. Its interior is simply magnificent: it contains the largest cycle of frescoes in the late Byzantine was style that Georgia finds, sometimes regarded as one of the best examples in the world of this style.
These frescoes of the th century were carried out by an artist from Constantinople, Cyrus Emmanuel Eugenicus, who was brought specially by Vamek Dadiani. Tsalendjikha also contains the mortuary chapels of Dadiani princes. Nearby are the ruins of the castle of Des which was the main residence of the princes in the th and th centuries.