Svetitskhoveli Monastery, Georgia: UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Svetitskhoveli Monastery in Mtskheta, 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, is an 11th century Georgian Orthodox monastery. Since 1994, it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Svetitskhoveli means ‘the living pillar.’

Architect Arsukisdze started the monastery in 1010 and completed it in 1029. The defensive stone and brick wall surrounding the monastery was built in the reign of King Ereckle II (Heraclius) in 1787.

Originally the interior was decorated with wall paintings and frescos, but these were white-washed over. Recently, fragments of the original paintings have re-emerged from under the white-washing.

MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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