Cave City of Uplistsikhe

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10Km from Gori, Tbilisi, Georgia

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Cave City of Uplistsikhe

by HobWahid

Damascus, Syria

July 27, 2005

Best of IgoUgo If you are up in Gori visiting the Stalin Museum, a good way to detox from the binge of Soviet-style propaganda is by heading out to the cave city of Uplistsikhe--that is, if you can pronounce it. The site is about 10 miles outside of town, along an ...Read more If you are up in Gori visiting the Stalin Museum, a good way to detox from the binge of Soviet-style propaganda is by heading out to the cave city of Uplistsikhe--that is, if you can pronounce it. The site is about 10 miles outside of town, along an extremely bumpy dirt track, and the best way to reach it is to hire a cab in Gori. For about $10, you can get a cab to take you out there, wait, and then take you back.

If you have seen the cave cities of Cappadoccia in Turkey, Uplitsikhe may not seem to impressive at first, being that it is nowhere near as large or well-preserved, but it is still worth a visit, if not for the spectacular views it affords of the Caucasus Mountains. While initial settlements date back to the Bronze Age, what you will mostly see here comes from around the Middle Ages. The most impressive way to enter the site is to follow the river around the bend. You may have guys with horses offering to let you rent one. Then enter through the "Tunnel," a long stairway that climes up the inside of the rock face to the top of the hill and used to be used to provide the city with water. When you pop out of the tunnel, you will be greeted with the whole cave city in front of you and the Caucasus behind you.

From there, you can wander around the site at your leisure. The gatekeeper will have provided you with a map, but it may not be of much help. I sometimes had trouble deciding what was what. The site consists mainly of churches carved into the rock and a few nondescript buildings that may have been houses or storage facilities. You will notice olive and gape presses, as well as collections of amphoraea and a few baptismal pools. Some of the most impressive sights are the theater and Tamaris Darbazi, a large hall with two towering columns carved into the rock.

At the top of the hill, you will notice the 10th-century Prince’s Church, which you can wander inside to see some beautiful candlelit frescos. From the church, you can continue farther along to the precipices beyond where you will find a fantastic bird’s eye view of some more of the ruins as well as a view over the Mtkvari River and the Caucasus.

A standard tour of the place (you can get guides if you wish) will take about an hour and half, which means that you can easily couple it with Gori as a day trip from Tbilisi. It is well worth it. Close

From journal Georgia: Jewel of the Caucasus

Cave City of Uplistsikhe

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Cave City of Uplistsikhe