Cave City of Vardzia
Vardzia, Georgia
April 22, 2009
Vardzia, Georgia
April 22, 2009
I entered the Republic of Georgia from Turkey and my first stop was the Cave City of Vardzia in the lovely valley of the Kuta River. I was in the Caucasus now and I could feel and see the changes immediately. One thing was the same though — the monks of old appear to have the same troglodyte tendencies as in Turkey.
The monasteries at Vardzia date from the 12th century and provided ideal shelter from invaders from any direction. Queen Tamar apparently had an extensive residence built here complete with bakery, library and bath house. At least one of the monasteries is still operational and black cassocked monks can be seen floating up and down the stairs cut into the sheer rock. They seem to tolerate the occasional traveler poking their nose into the frescoed churches and sunny walkways and barring a few “Do Not Enter” barriers the place is free to explore at will.
