Church · Bolnisi (village), Bolnisi Municipality, Kvemo Kartli
Bolnisi Sioni
ბოლნისის სიონი · Bolnisi Sioni Cathedral · Church of the Dormition, Bolnisi
A three-nave basilica built in 478–493 in the village of Bolnisi in Kvemo Kartli, whose wall inscriptions are among the oldest known examples of Georgian writing.
Where it is
41.3889, 44.5125
Why go
Look closely at the stonework before going in. The reliefs include a bull's head and the Bolnisi cross set in a circle, and the three inscriptions on the walls are the reason scholars travel here. One of them, recording the construction dates, is now kept in the National Museum in Tbilisi; another links the building to David Bolneli in the reign of Vakhtang Gorgasali. A small eighth-century chapel adjoins the east side and a bell tower was added at the end of the 17th century. It suits travellers interested in early Christian architecture and pairs with Dmanisi on a day south of Tbilisi.
Near Bolnisi Sioni
Church
Tsughrughasheni Church
A compact domed church of the early 13th century on the right bank of the Bolnisistskali, built of gold, purple and blue stone and crowned by an unusually tall drum pierced by ten carved windows.
2 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Archaeological site
Samshvilde
A ruined city on a promontory at the confluence of the Khrami and Chivchavi rivers in Tetritskaro municipality, with the shell of the eighth-century Sioni cathedral among its remains.
13 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Archaeological site
Dmanisi Archaeological Site
A promontory above the Mashavera and Pinezauri rivers where the ruins of medieval Dmanisi stand on deposits that yielded hominin fossils about 1.8 million years old.
15 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Canyon
Dashbashi (Tsalka) Canyon
An eight-kilometre gorge of the Ktsia–Khrami river through volcanic rock beside Dashbashi village in Tsalka Municipality, protected as a natural monument, with waterfalls running down its walls.
38 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
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