Georgia's sacred first capital — two UNESCO monasteries at the confluence of two rivers
Mtskheta served as the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Kartli (Iberia) for nearly a thousand years and remains the spiritual heart of the Georgian Orthodox Church. The town sits at the confluence of the Mtkvari (Kura) and Aragvi rivers, a location sacred since Colchian times. Its two landmark sites — Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, where the robe of Christ is said to be buried, and the sixth-century Jvari Monastery perched on a clifftop above — are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites and together form the foundation myth of Georgian Christianity. The 20-minute drive from Tbilisi makes it the essenti…
Mtskheta was founded in the 5th century BC and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Iberia from around 300 BC until 5th century AD when the capital moved to Tbilisi. King Mirian III converted Kartli to Christianity in 337 AD at Mtskheta, and Saint Nino erected a cross from a grapevine bound with her own hair on the hilltop that became Jvari Monastery. The Living Pillar Cathedral of Svetitskhoveli was first built in the 4th century and rebuilt in its current form in 1010–1029; both sites were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage in 1994.