Vardzia
Vardzia (UNESCO) is a cave city- monastery site in southern Georgia, excavated from the slopes of the Erusheti Mountain on the left bank of the Mtkvari River, 30 km, from Aspindza.
The main period of construction was the second half of the XII century. The caves stretch along the cliff for some five hundred meters and in up to nineteen tiers. The Church of the Dormition, dating to the 1180s during the golden age of Tamar and Rustaveli, has an important series of wall paintings.
Excavations have shown that the area of Vardzia was inhabited during the Bronze Age.
Cave settlements are known along the Mtkvari River from V century BC, while rock cut architecture, in the context of Georgian Christianity, is known from the VI century AD. Four distinct building phases have been identified at Vardzia: the first during the reign of Giorgi III (1156–1184), when the site was laid out and the first cave dwellings excavated; the second between his death and the marriage of his successor Tamar in 1186, when the Church of the Dormition was carved out and decorated; the third from that date until the Battle of Basian c.1203, during which time many more dwellings as well as the defences, water supply, and irrigation network were constructed; while the fourth was a period of partial rebuilding after heavy damage in the earthquake of 1283.
The greater Vardzia area includes the early XI-century church at Zeda (upper side) Vardzia and the X-XII-century rock village and cave churches of Ananauri.
The main lower site was carved from the cliff's central stratum of tufaceous breccia at an elevation of thirteen hundred metres above sea level. It is divided into an eastern and a western part by the Church of the Dormition. In the eastern part of the complex are seventy-nine separate cave dwellings, in eight tiers and with a total of 242 rooms, including six chapels, "Tamar's Room", a meeting room, reception chamber, pharmacy, and twenty-five wine cellars; 185 wine jars sunk into the floor, document the importance of viticulture to the monastic economy. In the western part, are a further forty houses, in thirteen tiers and with a total of 165 rooms, including six chapels, a refectory with a bakery, other ovens for baking bread, and a forge. Beyond the bell tower the complex rises to nineteen tiers, with steps leading to a cemetery.
Infrastructure includes access tunnels, water facilities, and provision for defend.
Vardzia serves as a popular destination of tourism.