Vardzia

Vardzia is cut into the left bank of the Mtkvari in Aspindza Municipality, on an eastern arm of the Erusheti range, at about 1,300 metres above sea level. Aspindza is 30 kilometres away.

The complex runs along the face of the cliff for up to 500 metres. There are 641 confirmed rock-cut chambers and 15 surviving rock churches. 28 of the chambers served as wine cellars, 6 halls and 22 rooms, holding about 235 qvevri.

Water was brought from upper Vardzia by an aqueduct 3.5 kilometres long, about a third of it running through tunnels cut in the rock. There was a reservoir in the western part, and beside the church of the Dormition a spring still runs at a constant 11 degrees.

The complex was planned under Giorgi III, who reigned from 1156 to 1184, and the first cells were cut then.

Tamar changed the original plan and carved out the church of the Dormition. Rati Surameli, eristavi of Kartli, paid for its painting. The settlement was consecrated on 15 August 1185, and building continued into the early thirteenth century.

The wall paintings of the Dormition church date from 1184 to 1186. Among them are portraits of Giorgi III, of Tamar and of Rati Surameli; the image of Tamar is the earliest of her to survive.

The earthquake of 1283 damaged the complex badly. Under the atabag Beka I Jaqeli, from 1285 to 1306, the portico was strengthened with a double arch and a belfry of two storeys was built.

In 1551 Shah Tahmasp I sacked the monastery and carried off its treasures. In 1578 the Ottomans took Meskheti and the monastery was finally deserted; islamisation lasted about 250 years.

After the Russo-Ottoman war of 1828 and 1829 Vardzia returned to Georgian hands, within the Russian Empire. From 1857 to 1928 a monastery for monks worked here again, and in 1938 Vardzia was declared a museum reserve.

By presidential decree No. 665 of 7 November 2006 Vardzia was given the category of a monument of national significance. On 24 October 2007 it was entered on the tentative list of UNESCO together with the fortress of Khertvisi.

Vardzia is a museum reserve and entry is paid. Check the current hours and price on the spot.

The complex rises in many tiers linked by steps and tunnels. The church of the Dormition belongs to a working monastery, so dress as you would for a church service.