Fortress · Shoka, Adigeni Municipality, Samtskhe-Javakheti
Okros Tsikhe
ოქროს ციხე · Golden Fortress · Altunkala
A medieval fortress of the Jaqeli princes on a high rocky height above the Kvabliani valley in Adigeni Municipality, its walls of roughly trimmed stone blocks stepping down the ridge on both flanks.
Where it is
41.7084, 42.7626
Why go
Okros Tsikhe means Golden Fortress, and under Ottoman rule it went by the Turkish equivalent, Altunkala, as the centre of a district. Its moment in the chronicles comes in 1578, during Lala Mustafa Pasha's campaign into Samtskhe, when Princess Dedisimedi entrenched herself here before negotiating peace with the Ottoman commander. The plan is complex, following the rock over several levels, with towers along the ramparts and stretches of wall standing about ten metres high. It suits travellers with a real interest in medieval fortification and time to spare in the Akhaltsikhe and Adigeni area.
Near Okros Tsikhe
Monastery
Zarzma Monastery
A monastery in the Kvabliani valley of Samtskhe-Javakheti, named after its founder Serapion Zarzmeli, whose present church and bell tower date from the early 14th century.
10 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Lake
Green Lake (Mtsvane Tba)
A spring-fed mountain lake at 2,058 metres in forest six kilometres from Goderdzi Pass in Khulo municipality, up to 19.4 metres deep and coloured green by the woods around it.
22 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Monastery
Sapara Monastery
A working monastery screened by forest and yellowish cliffs near the village of Ghrele outside Akhaltsikhe, where the domed thirteenth-century Church of St Saba stands beside a tenth-century Dormition church.
25 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Fortress
Atskuri Fortress
A cliff-top fortress over the Mtkvari at Atskuri village, long a defensive post for the Borjomi valley, with a narrow tunnel cut down to the riverbank so the garrison could reach water during sieges.
34 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ