GHÉLATI MONASTERY

You enter the monastery complex from above, descending through a wide portico. The path leading to the churches is paved. Three churches, a bell tower and the remains of the academy make up the monastery. The main church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Its foundations date back to the ^12th century, to 1106 to be precise. The Byzantine-style frescoes illustrate passages from the Bible and the lives of princes. To the left of the altar, you'll see David the Reconstructor (right) carrying the church in his palm. This fresco is one of the most widespread religious images in Georgia. The main apse of the main choir is decorated with a magnificent mosaic of 2.5 million pieces. Created between 1125 and 1130, it depicts the Virgin and Child surrounded by the archangels Michael and Gabriel. It was a gift to David from the Byzantine emperor Alexis Comnenus.

The smallest of the churches is opposite the Church of the Virgin and is dedicated to Saint Nicholas. Its origins date back to the ^14th century. Outside, from its staircase, there's a fine view of the monastery. Nearby is the ^16th-century bell tower, whose foundations conceal a miraculous spring. Take a look at the beautiful canals.

The third and final church, on the left as you enter the sanctuary, is dedicated to St. George. To ensure the unity of the complex, it reproduces the layout of the Church of the Virgin. It's worth noting that this was the first church in the area, founded by David's father, before the monastery was established. It features ^16th-century frescoes on the life of St. George and scenes from the New Testament.

Ghélati's second porch, to the southwest (on the left as you leave the Church of the Virgin), was once the monastery's main entrance. David's tomb is here. He had decreed that every pilgrim entering Gelati should tread on his grave, symbolically washing away all his sins. The inscriptions on the iron doors decorating David's tomb are in Arabic. The gates were brought from Gandja (now in Azerbaijan) in 1139, by David's son Dimitri ^I.

The former academy, now in ruins and once housing a school of philosophy, is located in front of the Church of St. Nicholas. All the essential disciplines were taught here: rhetoric, grammar, music, medicine and astronomy. Georgia's most renowned scientists and scholars taught here, including Ioanné Petritsi and Arsène Ikaltoeli.