m̌ ḫ's photos with the keyword: Gelati

Kutaisi was the first town we visited in Georgia, and we were immediately struck by the warmth and hospitality of its people. As we explored the city, a friendly family - two women, a daughter, grandma, and their dad - approached us at the beautiful Gelati Monastery. Though we were total strangers, they invited us to take a photo together, excited at the opportunity to meet some travellers visiting their city. Their kindness and inclusiveness embodied the Georgian spirit of treating every guest as a gift from God :)

Gelati Monastery is a medieval monastic complex founded in 1106 by King David IV of Georgia on a wooded hill above the river Tskaltsitela, near Kutaisi. The main church of the monastery, known as the Church of Virgin the Blessed, was completed in 1130 in the reign of David's son and successor Demetré. The monastery is one of the largest medieval Orthodox monasteries, distinguished for its harmony with its natural setting and a well thought-out overall planning concept. Gelati Monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered a masterpiece of the Golden Age of medieval Georgia.

The Gelati Monastery in Georgia is known for its vivid and intricate murals, including depictions of Hell. The wall paintings inside the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin is a multi-layered ensemble, and from the original decoration, only the mosaic in the sanctuary conch and the murals of the narthex have survived. The majority of the wall paintings in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin were executed after 1510, and the murals were commissioned by the Kings of Imereti in the 1520s, 1550s, and between 1560 and 1578. The Gelati Monastery is a masterpiece of the architecture of the “Golden Age” of Georgia and the best representative of its architectural style.