Ancient city of Uplistsikhe

Uplistsikhe is the oldest fortified settlement in the Caucasus, one of the brightest archaeological and architectural sights of Georgia. It is a whole complex of man-made caves and corridors carved in the slope of a mountain spur on the left bank of the river Mtkvari (Kura), 12 km east of the city of Gori. Today Uplistsikhe is a majestic ruin. The cave city is a popular tourist attraction, one of the recommended must-sees for travelers wishing to learn about the ancient history of Georgia and the entire Transcaucasian region.

.

Video: Uplistsikhe

Contents

Highlights

The caves and tunnels of Uplistsikhe are carved in the depths of the mountain, composed of yellowish and gray sandstone – a relatively pliable stone for working. The scale of works performed by generations of ancient builders is amazing. The area of the complex is 8 hectares. Today about 150 underground structures are known here, but it is assumed that several hundred more man-made dungeons remain hidden from researchers.

.

The facade of the stronghold towered above the turbulent Kura River. The river served as a natural barrier to enemies from the south. From the north, the fortress was reliably protected by the Caucasus mountain range, stretching from east to west between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. Magnificent views of the rugged mountains will open up to tourists from observation decks located at the top of the rock city.

.

Today Uplistsikhe, whose history dates back more than 3000 years, is an open-air museum. There are paths on the territory, dangerous precipices are fenced, stands with explanations in Georgian and English are installed near notable structures. At the entrance tourists are offered players with a detailed audio guide in several languages, including Russian.

.

History of the cave city

According to legend, the cave fortress was built by the legendary king of Iberia Uplos, son of Mtskhetos. In Georgian language his name became a nominative, turning into a synonym for “lord”, so Uplistsikhe literally means “The stronghold of the lord”. From here you can see the wide valley of the Kura River and the islands in its bed as on the palm of your hand. Written sources of different epochs preserve a lot of information about this city carved in the rocks. Brief reports of Georgian, Armenian and Byzantine chronicles, notes of travelers and pilgrims, like multicolored pebbles of smalt, form a complete picture.

.

Systematic archaeological research Uplistsikhe and its surroundings have been conducted since the 50s of the last century. Gold and bronze jewelry, coins and other artifacts found during excavations, testify that before us – one of the first major cities of the Georgian kingdom. But the age of the complex is much older. It dates back to the Early Bronze Age, i.e. to the II millennium B.C. From that time people lived here continuously for more than three thousand years, until the late Middle Ages.

.

Around the middle of the 1st millennium BC, when the first dynastic states and principalities were forming in the Caucasus, Uplistsikhe became a sacral city with several temples dedicated to the gods of the pagan pantheon. There are hollows hollowed out in the rocks everywhere. According to scientists, these were altars where offerings to the celestials were burnt. Among the finds of modern researchers there are objects from very distant places, probably brought by pilgrims or traveling traders. For example, characteristic ceramics from Midia, an ancient kingdom on the Mediterranean coast in Asia Minor, have been identified.

.

For several centuries the city expanded vigorously. New passageways and caves penetrated the depths of the mountain. On the surface, fortifications, wooden and stone buildings, temples, wells, and drainage drains were erected. Large-scale construction works were also carried out in the late Hellenistic period. In the I-II centuries, powerful defense walls and towers were erected here, and a water supply system was built. A canal leading from a spring on a mountain plateau, located 5 km to the north, was cut through the rocks. Potable water was piped into the buildings through ceramic pipes. Underground tanks were preserved to store water supplies in case of siege.

The early Christian culture, which came to Georgia from Byzantium in the 20-30s of the IV century, also left its traces here. At that time Uplistsikhe lost its sacral significance as an ancient center of pagan beliefs, with which Christianity waged an uncompromising struggle. Mtskheta, a new stronghold of Georgian Orthodoxy, flourished nearby. But life in the cave city continued. The fortress served as a center of resistance and the last barrier to Muslim invasions of the Caucasus in the VIII-IX centuries. In those times there was a critical period when the possessions of the kings of Kartli captured by the invading enemies shrank to the territory surrounded by the walls of this impregnable stronghold. It was then that an amphitheater appeared in Uplistsikhe, and the Throne Hall was carved in the depths of the mountain.

.

The decline of Uplistsikhe came in the XIII-XIV centuries, when several waves of Mongol conquests swept through Eastern Georgia. The fortress was reduced to ruins, underground structures were looted and significantly damaged. The last inhabitants left Uplistsikhe in the second half of the 19th century, when the army of the Russian Empire moved to the Caucasus.

.

In 1920, a powerful 6-point earthquake with an epicenter near Gori caused great damage to the cave complex and buildings preserved on the surface of the mountain slope. The vaults of several underground structures collapsed, and dangerous cracks appeared in many places, threatening new collapses. In the early 2000s, the Georgian government declared Uplistsikhe a historical and cultural monument, and since then significant funds have been allocated annually for research and restoration of the complex. In 2007, UNESCO experts included the architectural ensemble of Uplistsikhe in the preliminary list of World Heritage Sites.

.

Walking around Uplistsikhe

The ancient road ran through a gate in the southeastern part of the mighty fortress wall. It led to the main entrance to the caves. Today, all that remains of the defenses are piles of stones and a few fragments of ruined watchtowers. Eight stone steps carved in the rock rise up to the front entrance to the dungeons. On the upper platform there is a square hollow cut out. Here the pillar supporting the sacrificial altar was fixed. From the main avenue of Uplistsikhe branch streets and alleys, steep stone staircases wind along the slopes, leading to the structures on other levels of the building.

.

To enter the city you can take another way. Descending to the river, you will find an inconspicuous niche among the huge boulders. Here you will find a sloping tunnel that leads 15 meters above the Kura River to the square on the first level of the settlement. Once it was a secret passage to Uplistsikhe, blocked by a steel grating. Today, for the convenience of tourists, a long staircase with railings and electric lighting is installed in the adit. Curiously, there are no traces of any tools on the lumpy walls of this mine, as if it was washed by the water of a long-vanished mountain river that flowed into the Kura.

.

On the central square in the old days there was a city market. Nearby are preserved stone shelves, divided by vertical partitions into sections. Their purpose was debated for a long time, until the modern equipment on the shelves did not find the accumulated pollen of plants. Probably, there was a storage for collections of medicinal herbs and roots sold in the ancient pharmacy. Nearby, cellars of disappeared dwellings, wineries, stables, pottery workshops with kilns for firing pottery have been excavated.

.

The attraction of Uplistsikhe is the “Hall of Tamara”. It is said that the coronation ceremony of Queen Tamara, an iconic figure in the medieval history of Georgia, took place in this dungeon in 1178. Part of the hall collapsed in antiquity, its ruined contour is marked by a roughly built stone arcade. Through it one can pass directly from the surface of the central square of the city to the preserved part of the cave descending into the depths of the mountain. Fragments of relief decoration are still visible on the walls, and there is a lot of graffiti – memorable inscriptions scratched out by visitors. Most of the short texts appeared here in the century before last.

.

The stone vaults are carved with decorative beams imitating the wooden structures of ceremonial palace halls of the time. Between them a hole was cut through which sunlight penetrated into the volumetric room. But torches and candles were the main sources of light here, as well as in the whole complex of Uplistsikhe caves, as evidenced by smoky ceilings. From Tamara’s hall arched passages lead to the neighboring rooms. In one of them wines in huge clay vessels were stored.

>

Another hall with well-preserved stone decorations is to the north and just up the slope. Don’t miss the entrance to the throne room, it is located nearby. During the Arab conquests, this was the throne of the Georgian kings, moved from captured Tbilisi.

.

The orange tiles covering the gable roof of the ancient Christian basilica look like a bright beacon against the blue mountain slopes. This is the Uplistsuli Church, built in the very center of the complex by the architects of the X century. There is a road cut down the slope to it, cave entrances are visible on the rocks. The temple is open for visits and services are held here. Its interior decoration is ascetic. The walls are devoid of paintings and mosaics, there are only a few icons, images of saints decorate the altar apse. To the south-west of the walls of Uplistsuli one can distinguish the foundations and bases of columns of a large Byzantine basilica, built in the VI century on the site of the ancient temple of the Sun, which crowned the panorama of the city in the pre-Christian era. There are three more chapels of XI-XII centuries carved in the rocks on the territory of Uplistsikhe.

.

To the west of the main core of the settlement, on the crest of the hill of Katlanikhevi, there is an interesting archaeological location. Here traces of a sanctuary and settlement of the middle of the 2nd millennium B.C. In the floor of several rooms are preserved underground ovens, cavities with burnt bones of sacrificial animals. Found ceramic statuettes, clay vases and bowls, stone mortars and grinders, obsidian blades inserted into sickles.

.

In 1978, excavations in Uplistsikhe brought a sensational find. Scientists found a hoard hidden in the 4th century BC: ritual bells, miniature jars, animal bones, probably intended for prophetic divination. The most valuable item in the hoard was a statuette of a goddess skillfully carved from stone.

.

Practical information

A leisurely walk through the cave city will take 2-3 hours. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes, you will be walking on stony paths and slopes. Entrance ticket to Uplistsikhe for adult visitors will cost 15 GEL, for schoolchildren 7-18 years old is discounted, and kids are allowed to walk for free.

.

Tourists are advised to rent an audio guide. Gadgets are offered at the entrance, the cost of rental is 15 GEL, the services of a personal guide – 25 GEL.

.

There is a museum in one of the premises. The showcases display archeologists’ finds: jewelry, coins, weapons, fragments of pottery. The most valuable artifacts were transferred to the National Museum, located in Tbilisi. The exposition is open from 10:00 to 18:00. Entrance is paid – 3 GEL.

.

In the tourist season, from April to October, the cave complex is open daily from 10:00 to 19:00, from November to March – from 10:00 to 18:00. At the entrance recently erected an administrative pavilion with a ticket office, equipped toilets for tourists. There is a small souvenir store in the pavilion. It sells realistic copies of things from the treasure found in Uplistsikhe in the 70s of the XX century, offers guidebooks with descriptions of the sights of the ancient city, photo albums.

.

Opposite is a parking lot. There is a kiosk with a snack bar, equipped with picnic areas where you can put a tent if you want.

.

Excursions in Uplistsikhe

An individual 6-hour tour for 2-4 people by guided car from Tbilisi to Uplistsikhe will cost from 136 GEL (about 35 euros) and up. Usually private tour guides offer to combine the trip with visiting other sights – temples of Mtskheta, Gori fortress, Stalin’s museum, in this case the cost of the tour will increase significantly.

.

Where to eat

A five-minute walk east of the entrance to the complex, you’ll find the Georgian restaurant Gamardjoba. Its name means the heartiest of greetings. The doors of the establishment are open from 10:00 to 18:00. The room is decorated in folklore style, the impression of staying in a mountain village tavern is complemented by rough wooden peasant furniture. The menu includes national cuisine dishes and excellent local wines. There are gazebos in the well-maintained courtyard, where you can watch shashlyk cooking on an open grill. The average check is 25 lari (about 570 rubles) per person.

.

Another restaurant with Georgian cuisine – Courtyard Kaklebi – is located a little further away, near the bridge over the Kura River. The guests are offered approximately the same assortment of national dishes, but here you can also have an easy snack, and quite inexpensively. Tourists praise khachapuri and other pastries, which are convenient to take with you, and at the same time take boxes with sauces. The cost of such appetizing appetizers is 2-3 GEL. Restaurant opening hours: 08:00-20:00.

.

How to get there

By rail from Tbilisi to visit Uplistikhe you can go by electric train from the capital to Gori. Before reaching this town, get off at the station “Kvahvreli”. From there you can clearly see Uplistikhe’s buildings on the opposite slope behind the river. To them you have to walk about two kilometers, cross the bridge over the Kura.

Another budget travel option: take a minibus near the metro station “Didube”, go to Gori, at the local bus station change to a bus to Kvahvreli village, then walk the same couple of kilometers.

.

You can comfortably get from Tbilisi to Uplistsikhe by cab, but the cost will be expensive. It is more reasonable to use the services of a guide with a car. He will meet you at the hotel, take you on a tour of the cave city, and then take you back to Tbilisi.

By private car you should leave the capital of Georgia in the north-west direction on the highway leading to Gori through Mtskheta. It is 83.5 kilometers to the destination of the trip. There are signposts on the highway. The trip will take about an hour and a half.

.