Travel Guide Gonio

This beautifully preserved 1st century Roman fortress now contains a splendid orange grove developed by the Soviets. Here once stood a Roman city. The fortress guards the mouth of the river Chorokh which comes from Turkey; it was founded under the name of Apsaros by Plinius Secundus. In the 2nd century it developed into a fortified town. Apsaros then came under Byzantine control; the name Gonio appeared in the 14th century. The fortress was taken in 1547 by the Ottomans and lost its defensive function only after the Russian conquest of 1878. According to tradition, St. Matthew, one of the twelve apostles, would be buried here.