GEORGIA ~ Vardzia - UNESCO tentative list ~

...More nice cards sent by Sini who visited  last year several UNESCO WHS sites in Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia... the ancient cave city is one of the most interesting monuments... a great tourist attraction if you love history and a bit of adventure... even today, you can see monks making their homes in this sprawling, 13-story cave complex... Thanks Sini!! ❀◕ ‿ ◕❀

Vardzia  is a cave monastery site in southern Georgia on the Turkey Armenian border excavated from the slopes of the Erusheli Mountain. It is a multi-storied complex with streets, tunnels and stairs leading to monasteries, temples, fortresses, baths, libraries, dwelling houses.

The town was constructed in the 12th – 13th centuries during the rule of George III and his daughter of Tamara to protect the southern boundaries of Georgia.

Although this massive cave complex was originally constructed as a fortress, it later became a monastery, and an important spiritual center for Eastern European Christianity.



© Photo: Rainer Kaufmann

Stamp:

Cultural Heritage
(Issued 22-12-2014)