Excursion to Vardzia, Khertvisi fortress and Rabati castle

Visit: World Express, 12 a Al.Kazbegi Avenue, Tbilisi 0160 Georgia

In the morning at 10:00 we start our journey from your hotel in south part of Georgia. Firstly we visit Vardzia that is situated in south Georgia just at the border of Turkey. (Entrance tickets aren't included). At the beginning (XII-XIII centuries) it was a town and was built by king Giorgi the III and his daughter Tamar. After her father, she became a king of Georgia and this period is called as “Golden Age”. Vardzia is one of the clear examples of the golden age. It is six floor complexes of caves, tunnels, a monastery, bathes, libraries…

On the way to Rabati castle there is Khertvisi Fortress – one of the oldest fortress in Georgia and was functional throughout the Georgian feudal period. The fortress was first build in the 2nd century BC. The church was built in 985, and the present walls in 1354. As the legend says, Khertvisi was destroyed by Alexander the great.

After traveling in the past centuries we will discover ourselves in another dimension that is mixture of old and recent epochs. It means that we will visit complex “Rabati”. (Entrance tickets aren't included). Along with the big cities of Georgia, Akhaltsikhe is one more example of tolerance and multiethnic and multi religious coexistence in Georgia. In old central district Rabati Georgians, Armenians, Jews and Turks correspondently with their churches, synagogues and mosques live together in harmony.For centuries Rabati Castle has been the main fortification in the southern Georgia. It was recently restored. Rabati Fortress has been massively restored (in part they are still renovating) but the final result is amazing. Once entered into the walls, it seems to walk in a fairy tale. Rabati fortress comprises: Sargis Jakeli castle of 14th c., Fortress Church (late Middle Ages), Palace 18th century and the Church of Saint Marine (1865) with built-in relief works. Ivane Javakhishvili Samtskhe-Javakheti History Museum in 1972 moved to two buildings at the Rabati territory.Fortress Rabati is a symbol of coexistence, just because hosts within its walls churches, mosque and madrasa, but also Hebrew inscriptions.

In the evening we will drive back to Tbilisi and our day tour will finish at your hotel.