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Wall and Tower remains

Kvetera Complex: A Dead Kakhetian Town

Telavi-Georgia
Olga

Tour Guide, Tbilisi, Georgia

| 2 mins read

Kvetera Complex is far away from the mainstream tour routes offered to travellers. However, it is a highly interesting place for those who dare to get away from the Georgian vacations maximum and visit historical places, that are covered from the flood of big groups. This dead town is dated to VIII - XIII century. It includes internal (3.5 thousand sq.m) and external (25 thousand sq.m) fortresses, which was surrounded by defensive walls of cobblestone and crushed stone.


On the territory of the complex, there is a small cross-bathing  St.George Church, which belongs to tetraconch type. A church lined with calcareous tuff and covered with turquoise glazed tiling; the remains of a two-story palace, outbuildings, ruins of the church hall, fragments of the reservoir, other buildings, purpose, which are not defined. On the territory of the internal fortress, seven towers are built into the walls. The 9m tower near the entrance gate, on which we climbed, has the best preservation (see roundabout). 


The fortress in the XI century was considered impregnable, because King Bagrat IV, who subjugated Kakheti, including it in the united state, could not subdue Kvetera. It is believed that the cause of the decline of the city was the Mongol invasion in the XIII century.


The complex since 2007 is on the preliminary list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The visit of this place can be combined with Telavi sightseeing tour where it is convenient to include Telavi fortress, Telavi Wine Cellar, and Private Cheese Dairy.