754 Items
View of Jvari from Mtskheta
A view of Jvari from Mkskheta showing the line of sight between the capital and the place where St. Nino raised the Cross.
Type: Landscape
Tags: Church, Cross, Georgia, Jvari, Landscape, Mtskheta, Shida Kartli, St. Nino
Samtavro
Samtavro is the place just outside the ancient settlement of Mtskheta where St. Nino is believed to have lived. A small chapel thought to have C4th origins stands beside a bush which Georgians believe to replicate the burning bush witnessed by Moses in the Sinai desert. The C11th church beside the chapel of St. Nino was the place of burial for a number of Georgian kings and queens, most significantly King Mirian I and Queen Nana historically the first Christian rulers of the country. The belltower in the complex is C13th.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bell Tower, Burning Bush, C11th, C13th, C4th, Church, Georgia, Grave, Mirian, Mtskheta, Nana, Samtavro, Shida Kartli, Sinai, St. Nino
Confluence of the Aragvi and Mktvari Rivers and general view of Mtskheta
Mtskheta is the ancient capital of Kartli and believed by Georgians to be the first place in the country to accept Christianity in the C4th. It is the location of the national Cathedral, Svetiskhoveli, which is named for the miraculous 'life-giving' pillar at its heart. The confluence of the Aragvi and Mktvari Rivers can be seen most clearly from the hill of Jvari. This confluence is remarked upon as the waters of the two rivers are very different colours and this is clearly visible from above.
Type: Landscape
Tags: Aragvi, Georgia, Landscape, Mktvari, Mtskheta, River, Shida Kartli
Jvari
Jvari means 'cross' in Georgian but the place known as Jvari is the high point above the city of Mtskheta where St.Nino is believed to have raised a cross in the C4th, signifying the arrival of Christianity in Georgia. The centrally-planned church on the site dates to the turn of the C6th-C7th and is the prototype for a genre of vernacular church architecture in Georgia. The sculptures on the east façade represent the Erismtavari Stepanoz I (during whose reign Jvari was constructed) being blessed by Christ, Erismtavari Adarnarse I with his son Kobul-Stepanoz (later Stepanoz II) and Dimitri, brother of Stepanoz I. On the south façade Kobul-Stepanoz (Stepanoz II) is shown with St. Stephen ando over the main entrance is a sculpture depicting the Ascension of the Cross. The south west (women's) entrance has the Ascension of Christ above it. A later chapel added to the north of the main church has been recently renovated, causing damage to the historical integrity of this part of the complex.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Adarnarse, Architecture, Ascension, C4th, C6th-C7th, Centrally-Planned, Christ, Church, Cross, Dimitri, Erismtavari, Figure, Jvari, Kobul-Stepanoz, Mtskheta, Sculpture, Shida Kartli, St. Nino, St. Stepanos, Stepanoz
Davit Gareja
Davit Gareja is the name given to a complex of monasteries in the semi-desert on the Georgian-Azeri border. It refers specifically to the largest and most important of the monasteries, the Lavra, which has been re-established since the fall of communism. The Lavra dates from the C6th onwards and is associated with Davit Garejeli who is considered the most important (and possibly the leader of) the Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers.
Type: Architecture
Tags: (As)Syrian Fathers, Architecture, C6th, Davit Gareja, Desert, Georgia, Kakheti, Lavra, Monastery, Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers
Bodbe
Bodbe is associated with the grave of St. Nino, the evangeliser of Georgia. Although evidence suggests that the complex (that includes a convent and a sacred spring in the valley beneath it) goes back many centuries, the current site has been extensively renovated by the current religious community meaning that it is difficult to evaluate the age of the extant architecture. The monastic church undoubtably goes back at least until the Middle Ages, but the chapel and bathing pool located by the sacred spring is modern.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bath, Bodbe, Church, Georgia, Grave, Kakheti, Middle Ages, Shrine, Spring, St. Nino
Tsilkani
Tsilkani is one of the sites associated with the Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers and the church dates back to the C4th. Some of these earlier elements are still visible in the current church, which was heavily remodelled in the Middle Ages.
Type: Architecture
Tags: (As)Syrian Fathers, Architecture, C4th, Church, Georgia, Middle Ages, Sculpture, Shida Kartli, Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers, Tsilkani
Urfa City Walls
The traces of the west wall of the city, subsumed into buildings of many different periods.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Defensive Network, Edessa, Turkey, Urfa, Wall
Overview of where the Halepli Bahçe mosaics were discovered
The region of Halepli Bahçe where the Villa of the Amazons was discovered.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Edessa, Turkey, Urfa, Villa of the Amazons
Rock-cut tomb chambers, Urfa
The chambers are cut out of the rock beneath the west wall of the old city and have the old city to their east and the Halepli Bahçe to their west. They have been excavated by bulldozer as a new hotel is to be constructed over the chambers and the ruins are to be incorporated into the new building.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Caves, Edessa, Rock-cut, Tomb, Turkey, Urfa