QuoteReplyTopic: Aerial videos of fortresses castles and churches Posted: 14-Feb-2016 at 14:39
Sapara Monastery (Georgian: საფარის მონასტერი) is a Georgian Orthodox
monastery in the Akhaltsikhe District of Samtskhe-Javakheti region,
Georgia. It has existed from at least the 9th century, and has
numbered among its monks many important figures in Georgian
ecclesiastical history. At the end of the 13th century Sapara became a
possession of the Jakeli family, whose leader, Sargis Jakeli, was adept
at staying on good terms with the Mongols, which enabled Samtskhe to
enjoy a peace unusual for the time. When he grew old, Sargis took
monastic orders and changed his name to Saba. His son Beka built the
largest of the 12 churches here, St Saba's Church, named after the saint
whose name his father had adopted, one of the most architecturally
important churches of its time. The 14th-century frescoes inside are of
high quality.
From the end of the 16th century until the
beginning of the 17th century the Sapara Monastery became empty due to
the expansion of Turkish policy into Samtskhe and during this process
the monastery's icons and other treasures were taken to more protected
areas of Georgia.
Rabati Castle (Georgian: რაბათის ციხე),
is a medieval castle complex in Akhaltsikhe, Georgia. Built in the 13th
century, initially was called the Lomisa castle until it was conquered
by Ottomans.
According to The Georgian Chronicles the city was
established in the 9th century by Guaram Mampal, son of the King of Tao.
From the 13th to the end of 14th centuries it was the capital city of
Samtskhe-Saatabago, ruled by the Georgian princely (mtavari) family and a
ruling dynasty of the Principality of Samtskhe, the House of Jaqeli.
In
1393 the city was attacked by the armies of Tamerlane. Despite the
Turko-Mongol invasions fortress withstood and continued to thrive. After
the Treaty of Constantinople in 1590, the whole territory of
Samtskhe-Saatabago went under the rule of Ottoman Empire. Turks Mostly
used to build defensive edifices. In 1752 first mosque was built in
Rabati. In the first half of the 8th century Prince Vakhushti of Kartli
writes By the end of the 18th century Metropolitan John writes that
"despite the fact that a large part of the population has been
Islamized, there's still functioning Orthodox church." After the Treaty
of Georgievsk between the Kingdom of Kartli and Russian Empire was
signed the question of the fate of Akhaltsikhe arose. The first attempt
to take the fortress in 1810 fell. Russians took the city after 18 years
in 1828. After the Treaty of Adrianople in 1829, the Ottomans yielded
the part of Akhaltiske Region.
The Cathedral of the Dormition, or the
Kutaisi Cathedral, more commonly known as Bagrati Cathedral (Georgian:
ბაგრატი; ბაგრატის ტაძარი, or Bagratis tadzari), is an 11th-century
cathedral in the city of Kutaisi, the Imereti region of Georgia. A
masterpiece of the medieval Georgian architecture, the cathedral
suffered heavy damage throughout centuries and was reconstructed to its
present state through a gradual process starting in the 1950s, with
major conservation works concluding in 2012. A distinct landmark in the
scenery of central Kutaisi, the cathedral rests on the Ukimerioni Hill.
Bagrati
Cathedral was built in the early years of the 11th century, during the
reign of King Bagrat III, due to which it was called "Bagrati", i.e.,
Bagrat’s cathedral. An inscription on the north wall reveals that the
floor was laid in "chronicon 223", i.e., 1003. In 1692, it was
devastated in an explosion by Ottoman troops who had invaded the Kingdom
of Imereti. The incident caused the cupola and ceiling to collapse.
Conservation
and restoration works, as well as archaeological studies at the
Cathedral began in the 1950s under the leadership of a Georgian
architect Vakhtang Tsintsadze. The restoration works headed by
Tsintsadze were divided into six stages and continued for several
decades through 1994. That same year in 1994 Bagrati Cathedral, together
with the Gelati Monastery, was included in UNESCO's World Heritage Site
list as a single entity. In 2001, ownership of the cathedral was
transferred from the Georgian state to the Georgian Orthodox Church. It
is presently of limited use for religious services, but attracts many
pilgrims and tourists. It is also frequently used as a symbol of the
city of Kutaisi, being one of its main tourist attractions.
The Tmogvi fortress is first mentioned
in sources from the 9th century. It was built as a defensive work
controlling the ancient trade route between the Armenian plateau and the
lowlands of Iberia (or Kartli, present-day Eastern Georgia), over a
gorge formed by the Kura River. It was a crucial military stronghold in
the region of Javakheti (Javakhk in Armenian), one of the borderlands
between Armenia and Georgia. The feudal lords of the region were at that
time the Bagratids, either of the Armenian or the Georgian branch.
Tmogvi
gained importance after the neighboring town and fortress of Tsunda was
ruined around 900 AD. By the beginning of the 11th century, the
fortress had passed under the direct control of the unified Kingdom of
Georgia.
In 1073, it was given in apanage to the nobleman Niania
Kuabulisdze; his descendants kept it in the following centuries, before
it passed to other major feudal families such as the Toreli, the
Mkhargrzeli, the Shalikashvili or the Jaqeli. In 1088, the castle
collapsed in an earthquake. The medieval Georgian writer Sargis Tmogveli
was from Tmogvi. The Ottoman Empire gained control of the fortress in
1578. In 1829, the Treaty of Adrianople transferred the fortress, among
with the surrounding region, to the Russian Empire.
I'm surprised these videos don't have more views. Stunning !
Thank you
Originally posted by Aeoli
You are working so hard
Thanks a lot
Alaverdi St. George Cathedral (first half of the 11th century) is located 18 km from the town of Telavi in the Alazani-River valley. Earliest structures of Alaverdi Monastery date back to 6th century. The present day Cathedral is part of an 11th century Georgian Orthodox monastery. The Monastery was founded by the monk Joseph [Abba] Alaverdeli, who came from Antioch and settled in Alaverdi, then a small village and the former pagan religious centre dedicated to Moon. At the beginning of 11th century, Kakhetian King Kvirike the Great built a cathedral in the place of a small church of St. George. Alaverdi is the highest cathedral in Georgia (up to 50 meters). It dominates the surrounding landscape in a fertile river valley against the backdrop of the Caucasus Mountains. It is a cross with three apses inscribed in a rectangle. In the western part of the building, there are galleries on the second tier of the side naves. The interior of the cathedral is extremely imposing. Outside the Cathedral is devoid of embellishments, and the facades have monumental blind arcades and niches for decoration, which give the entire structure an air of monumentality and solemnity. The walls are of fieldstone faced with hewn slabs of shirimi water tuff, now badly weathered. An area enclosed by a fortified wall contains dwelling houses, the refectory of the monastery, wine cellars, baths, and other structures. The characteristic features of the Kakhetian architecture with its upward aspiring tendency were reflected in Alaverdi. The decor is totally neglected. An impressive space of the interior of this church has no analogy in Georgia.
Alaverdi Cathedral was in use since construction began and has been a subject of several modifications: restoration (part of the walls and the entire dome with the drum) in 15th and in 18th centuries; in the 19th century, the church lost its chapels on the north and south sides. However, its overall authenticity and integrity is preserved.
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