GEO: Motsameta Monastery

Motsameta Hill, Kutaisi, Georgia
(No official opening hours found)

Many people go to Kutaisi to cover two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Gelati Monastery and Bagrati Cathedral. On your way to the former, you may want to drop by Motsameta Monastery perched on the edge of a cliff with valleys surrounding it.

As my BFF and I only had less than half a day to cover the two important sites, we decided to take a cab. The manager of Hotel Old Town called a reliable taxi company for us with the rate of GEL 40.00 (~S$21.45) for a round trip back to the hotel at the end of the day. I believe I could negotiate further, but we wouldn't mind spending that amount of money for our taxi driver who, despite not being able to understand English at all, was courteous. In total, we spent more than 20 minutes on the cab anyway.

I'd been unaware of the existence of Motsameta Monastery until he mentioned it. As my BFF had downloaded the area on Google Maps, he quickly went to check it out. Taking it as a bonus sight, we nodded at him and subsequently he went off the main road to reach the monastery set against a picturesque backdrop.

We were the only two tourists there at that moment.

I'm pretty sure the two men at both sides are two brothers, David and Constantine Mkheidze.

Twin crosses~

The passageway opens to the view of the monastery in all its glory, which name is derived from the Georgian word for martyrdom. The two brothers mentioned above were the rulers of the region in the 8th century before they were eventually killed by the incoming Arab forces and buried in a crypt that forms a part of the current building. In the 11th century, King Bagrat III built the monastery to honour the two brothers who are now recognised as national heroes and saints in the Georgian Orthodox Church.

I'm not sure if it's ever opened to the public, but the doors were shut that afternoon.

The side door looks pretty well-maintained.

The two brothers were tortured for refusing to convert to Islam. There are accounts regarding how they were abused, including the tying of huge stones around their necks.

That's the shape of the Georgian Orthodox cross.

Before leaving the vicinity, we enjoyed the breathtaking view of the surroundings.

I'd love to wake up to such a view every morning~

I shall end off with a story of what happened back in 1923. Three agents of the Soviet secret police known as Cheka barged into the monastery and seized the bones of the two saints. After a series of protests, the relics were eventually returned to where they belong. It's said that each of the three agents ultimately suffered a terrible fate afterwards: one went insane, another died of tuberculosis and the last was killed by his own son.