Grapevine cross
Georgia's treasured relic.
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The Cathedral of the Dormition, known as the Tbilisi Sioni, stands on Sioni Street in the heart of the Old Town, its eastern facade facing the bank of the Mtkvari. Following an old Georgian custom of naming churches after places in the Holy Land, it takes its name from Mount Zion in Jerusalem, and it was the seat of the Georgian Patriarch until the Holy Trinity Cathedral opened in 2004. The first church was built in the sixth and seventh centuries and was destroyed and rebuilt several times. King David the Builder rebuilt it entirely in 1112, and the main elements of today's building date from then. It was damaged again in the thirteenth-century invasions and by Timur in 1386; the present form follows a thirteenth-century version with later changes. Its most precious relic is the grapevine cross of St Nino, attributed by tradition to the evangelist who brought Christianity to Georgia in the fourth century, kept to the left of the altar. Later frescoes cover its walls, and beside it stands a fifteenth-century bell tower. Entry is free and the church is busy with worshippers, so dress modestly: women usually cover their hair and wear a skirt, and men avoid shorts. It is minutes from the bath district and the Bridge of Peace, an easy addition to an Old Town walk.
Georgia's treasured relic.
From the 15th century.
On the inner walls.
Sioni Street in the Old Town near the river, Tbilisi
Bridge of Peace and Rike ParkA bow-shaped pedestrian bridge of steel and glass spanning 150 metres across the2 minutes walk
Metekhi ChurchA medieval stone church on the Metekhi Cliff above the left bank of the Mtkvari,4 minutes walk
Narikala FortressAn ancient fortress crowning a steep hill above Tbilisi's Old Town and the Mtkva5 minutes walk
National Botanical Garden of GeorgiaA large botanical garden in the Tsavkisis-Tskali gorge on the southern slopes of6 minutes walk
Abanotubani Sulphur BathsA historic quarter of Tbilisi's Old Town whose Georgian name means «bath distric6 minutes walkA cross of grapevine branches that tradition attributes to St Nino, who brought Christianity to Georgia; it is kept in the cathedral to the left of the altar.