The interior of Jvari Monastery |
View of Mtsketa from Jvari Window |
According to traditional accounts, it was here in the early 4th century that Saint Nino, a woman evangelist credited with converting the country to Christianity, stayed here to pray and erected a cross on Mtskheta's highest hill. |
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This is the view of the convergence of the Aragvi and the Mtkvari rivers as seen from Jvari Monastery. The Aragvi is darker in color, which you can see as it blends with the Mtkvari and rolls on toward Tbilisi. |
The churches and monasteries of Georgia were built so that there is "line-of-sight" from one location to another. Jvari and the Svetitskhoveli cathedral below show this. In times past, Georgians could quickly send an alarm or pass information visually over long distances. As we drove away from Jvari, we passed a shepherd driving cows along the hillside. |
After leaving Jvari, we headed down the road to Mtskheta--in the rain. You may be able to see that the road sign is in both Georgian and English. |
The road into town was filled with people returning from the Pillar of Life cathedral.
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We passed a crumbling fortress on the way. |
The closer we got to Mtskheta, the more crowded the road became, and finally we decided to return on another day when we would be able to get into the cathedral.
Here is a photo of the Living Pillar cathedral, which we will visit sometime soon, and I'll tell you all about it in another entry. |
