Mts'khet'a Travel Guide

 kokoryko Says:  The Samtavro cemetery excavations can be visited with the ticket you buy for the museum visit.These excavations look quite spectacular for those who are not used to see big necropolis from the antiquity. The cemetery dates back to the 3rd millennium BC and several periods of... 

 kokoryko Says:  That is the kind of museums which have lots and lots of interesting items and where there are almost no explanations; that leaves a lot of space for imagination and interpretation, but, seriously, if one of the guides from the museum had not guided me for free (I gave her a... 

 kokoryko Says:  Inside Svetistkhoveli Cathedral the visitors will discover exceptional chapels, frescoes and icons. As there are many pilgrims and worshippers, the religious atmosphere adds to the beauty of the cathedral.Some of the paints on the walls, ceilings are from the 13th century,... 

 kokoryko Says:  The pillar of life is what mean the name of the cathedral; Svetitskhoveli cathedral has long been the most important of the country, and lots of Georgian were angry when the Trinity church has been built in Tbilisi, at the turn of the 21st century.This big church, laid out... 

 kokoryko Says:  Mtskheta is a very old city which is best visited on feet; I walked along one of the rivers, looking at the houses and the hills in the far, enjoying the cool weather (it would rain soon), after having visited the cathedral. Nice in the city are the fortifications around the... 

 JLBG Says:  The main gate into the ramparts stands almost in front of the entrance into the cathedral. As this was Easter week, there were plenty of worshipers. On each side, half a dozen old ladies were each asking for a coin from the worshipers. 

 JLBG Says:  Jvari (or Djvari) monastery stands on a hill overhanging Mskheta in the South-east. It is close to the city and can easily be seen from Sveti Skhoveli but it rained hard and we felt that the rainy and foggy landscape was not worth the climb and we skipped it, as we had... 

 JLBG Says:  Sveti Shkoveli is famous among Ufologists. On a 17th century fresco depicting the crucifixion of Jesus, they have spotted a pair of flying saucers painted on each side of the Christ. I have not been convinced and feel that the two “things” are more likely to be flying jelly... 

 Hanka Says:  Armazis Tskaro is one of those really neat Georgian restaurants where you eat out in the fresh air at a picnic table, only this establishment is tucked into a small gorge hidden in the cool shade of tall trees and serenaded by a babbling brook. The main restaurant is built... 

 Hanka Says:  Old Mtskheta restaurant is located on the edge of the large parking lot established at the east end of town. It has indoor and outdoor seating, and specializes in grilled Georgian food, such as kebabi and shashlik. The kebabi, shashlik, khinkali, khachapuri and fries all... 

 Assenczo Says:  Getting to Mtsheta is easy. One just has to use subway or marshrutka (minibus – taxi with assigned route) to reach this sprawling market north of the center of Tbilisi. From there another marshrutka takes you for 30 minutes and less than a dollar to the old capital. Do not... 

 JLBG Says:  Another feature unknown in Western Europe is about electric meters : instead of being inside each house (or each building), it is directly affixed on the electric poles. I have seen that everywhere in Georgia and this is not special to Mstkheta. 

 JLBG Says:  The butcher’s is very different of what we are used to see in Western Europe. It is more a booth that a shop. There does not seem to be any fridge : the meat proposed in the morning has to be sold before the end of the afternoon.