Georgia’s Uplistsikhe Cave Town

I’m a huge fan of the concept of building an entire city under the earth.  There’s something about all those halls and chambers lurking beneath the ground that brings out the cave explorer in me.  The cities of Cappadocia are by far my favorites, but there’s another place that I just discovered that’s close enough to the Turkish site as to make it viable to visit as part of a themed tour.  Uplistsikhe (or “Lord’s Fortress”) CaveTown is located in the country of Georgia and features an underground living space that outdates Cappadocia by hundreds of years.

The occupation of this ancient location goes all the way back to 1000 B.C.E. and probably even earlier.  The record of habitation continues for more than 2000 years, all the way up to the 13^th century C.E.  It was at this time that the Mongol invasion spelled doom for the city, although during its peak period, Uplistsikhe hosted more than 20,000 people and was, from the 6^th century B.C.E. to the 11^th century C.E., a major political and religious center.

This amazing place covers more than 125,000 square feet, divided into three zones.  The central zone is by far the largest, though the entire structure is linked by tunnels.  It features all the functions of a normal city, including places of worship, storage, entertainment and even a prison.  Uplistsikhe is an amazing location that has even been submitted to UNESCO for approval as a World Heritage Site.  Unfortunately, lack of proper upkeep has prevented it from attaining this sort of status.  Whereas originally there were 700 rooms in the city, now only 150 exist due to the trials of time, and without proper preservation those numbers will dwindle even further.

When Uplistsikhe was first surveyed, many artifacts were found, surviving the looting of the Mongols and others against all odds.  These items have since been removed and now make their home in the NationalMuseum in the country’s capital, Tbilisi, where you can see them today.  Further, Uplistsikhe is just one of many things to do in the country of Georgia, a vacation destination that is oft overlooked.

Uplistsikhe Aerial photo courtesy of EvgenyGenkin via Wikicommons

Uplistsikhe 1 photo courtesy of David Holt via Wikicommons

Uplistsikhe 2 photo courtesy of moreau.henri via Wikicommons