Alaverdi

Alaverdi Cathedral rises above the Alazani valley against the backdrop of the Caucasus. The monastery traces its beginnings to Joseph of Alaverdi, a monk who settled here in the sixth century. In the early eleventh century King Kvirike of Kakheti built the great church of Saint George, whose high dome and plain monumental walls became one of the defining sights of the valley.

The monastery was also closely linked to the kings of Kakheti and served as a burial place for the royal house. After Shah Abbas's invasion, the Persian governor Peykar Khan built a palace and barracks within its enclosure between 1616 and 1623. An earthquake damaged the cathedral in 1742, and it was subsequently repaired, preserving the great church through the wars and disasters that affected the region.