Uplistsikhe

Uplistsikhe (Georgian უფლისციხე ) is a fortress and cave town in Georgia. It is located in the administrative region of Inner Kartli, ten kilometers from Gori, on a rocky plateau on the river Kura.

As early as the Bronze Age humans settled on the plateau. The fortress city was founded in the 6th century BC, became a trading center on the Silk Road with approximately 5,000 inhabitants. In the 1st century, it was first mentioned. Attempts to conquer Uplistsikhe failed again and again. It was not until the 13th century that the Mongol ruler Ögedei Khan to take the city and destroy.

Uplistsikhe had mighty fortifications. At the highest point, the prince church from the 10th century, the interior is decorated with frescoes rises. The largest building in the complex is Tamaris Darbasi, a large rock hall with two huge pillars.

The houses are knocked out of the soft rock, had pillars and vaulted roofs. There was an amphitheater, a pharmacy, a bakery, warehouses, a prison and a market. Archaeologists discovered pagan worship places where animals were sacrificed.

Uplistsikhe had a sewage system of drainage channels and water channels. A dug into the cliff tunnel, which was used to supply water to the inhabitants originally, is now the access to the plateau.

The cultural monument was submitted by Georgia in 1993 for the list of UNESCO world heritage. Since 2004 Uplistsikhe is restored thanks to a heritage project of the World Bank and the Georgian government. In individual building concrete piers were drafted into the static security.