Travel To Georgia Tours

Georgia Travel Akhaltsikhe Rabati Tours

Akhaltsikhe

Akhaltsikhe is the new name of an old Georgian town that was called Lomsia. Located 210 km from Tbilisi, Akhaltsikhe is the administrative center of Samtskhe-Javakheti province. Samtskhe-Javakheti had a long and vigorous history, and the name of the settlement is a representation of it. Akhaltsikhe is a New Fortress in translation.

History

The settlement grew in size mostly during the late medieval period, when it was the seat of an Ottoman ruler and Samtskhe belonged to the Ottoman Empire. Today, Akhaltsikhe is a regional center and a charming small town with distinguished cuisine, sheep flocks, and golden valleys. The main sight in Akhaltsikhe is the fort of Rabati, which was the central fortress of the settlement in the Middle Ages. During Ottoman rule, it was a human trading center. Yes, in Rabati you can come across this utterly sad part of Georgian history, when Georgian lords used to kidnap and sell children of Georgian peasants to Ottomans, who would resell those children to others; therefore, there were thousands of Georgian slaves in different parts of the world. Some of those managed to become famous. Rabati fortress was a place where children were held in captivity and then transported to the port of Batumi, then to Trabzon, and from Trabzon to different parts of the world.

What To See

Today, visitors are allowed to see a prison in Rabati. This is a disturbing yet interesting place in our recent history. Akhaltsikhe is an amazing mixture of history, religions, and cultures. On the territory of Akhaltsikhe, one can see a mosque, Georgian Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, and Roman Catholic churches. In Rabati, there is a museum full of artifacts from the Iron and Bronze Ages. A meeting room of Georgian lords and Ottoman rulers with fascinating wooden carvings. Such carvings were widely spread in the Ottoman Empire; however, there are small elements in Rabati carvings that would be very unusual for Ottoman decorations. A sharp eye can observe the shapes of crosses carved in the wood on each wall of the room. A mosque that was remade into a church is in the central part of Rabati fortress.

In Samtskhe, there’s a lot more to see. It is a place of cave towns, beautiful mountains and golden fields, a lot of cattle and sheep, shepherds, braided cheese, fish farms, and incredible history. In traditional households in Samtskhe, you can bake bread or make traditional cheeses, such as Chechili or Tenili. Are you interested? Check it out here.