Ancient basilica
From the 6th century.
Bernard Gagnon — CC BY 4.0 · Lidia Ilona — CC BY 2.0 · ალ-ო — CC BY-SA 3.0 · G.N. — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kober — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kolya Pynti — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Kolya Pynti — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Kolya Pynti — CC BY-SA 2.0
A sixth-century Georgian Orthodox monastery on a wooded hill at one of the easternmost spurs of the Greater Caucasus, looking out over the Alazani plain and its vineyards. It is part of the wider Nekresi site, once a flourishing town in late antiquity. Tradition links the beginnings of monastic life here with the sixth-century monk Abibos, one of the Syrian fathers who spread Christianity in Georgia. The monastery was closed soon after the Russian imperial takeover of the Georgian Church in 1811 and came back to life in 2000, after a gap of nearly two centuries. The complex includes the three-church basilica of the Dormition and a mortuary chapel, both from the sixth century, the Church of the Archangel Michael from the eighth or ninth century, a ninth-century bishop's palace, a twelfth-century refectory, a sixteenth-century defensive tower and an old wine cellar. Its terrace gives an enchanting view over the valley at sunset. Entry is free and the monastery is in use, so dress modestly. Cars stop at the foot of the hill, and a steep road climbs to the monastery in about twenty minutes on foot; local minivans often run up for a token fare.
From the 6th century.
From the 16th century.
Vineyards at sunset.
Hilltop above Shilda village, Kvareli municipality, about fifty kilometres north of Sighnaghi
Cars stop at the foot of the hill, then a steep road climbs about twenty minutes on foot; local minivans may run up for a token fare.