Fortress · Gonio, Khelvachauri Municipality, Adjara
Gonio-Apsaros Fortress
გონიოს ციხე · Gonio Fortress · Apsaros
A rectangular walled fort near the mouth of the Chorokhi River south of Batumi, recorded in Roman times as Apsaros, with 18 of its towers still standing along the circuit wall.
Where it is
41.5743, 41.5723
Why go
The circuit encloses about four and a half hectares, and inside it archaeologists are still working on the Roman layers. Pliny the Elder mentioned the fortress in the first century AD, and it went on to pass through Byzantine and Ottoman hands. Two traditions attach to the ground inside the walls: that Apsyrtus, son of King Aeëtes, was buried here, and that the apostle Matthias was too. Neither can be confirmed, and the supposed grave of Matthias has not been excavated. The fortress lies twelve kilometres from Batumi, beside the Gonio seaside resort.
Near Gonio-Apsaros Fortress
Church
Batumi Cathedral of the Mother of God
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10 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Monument
Alphabetic Tower
A 130-metre tower in Miracle Park on Batumi's old boulevard, wound with two spiral bands carrying the 33 letters of the modern Georgian alphabet.
11 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Waterfall
Mirveti Waterfall
A twenty-metre waterfall on the cliffs beside Mirveti village in Khelvachauri municipality, reached through Colchic boxwood forest about twenty kilometres from Batumi.
13 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Park
Batumi Botanical Garden
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18 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ