Shiomgvime Monastery

Shiomgvime Monastery is one of the oldest monastic complexes in Georgia, lost in a narrow limestone gorge on the northern bank of the Mtkvari River (Kura). It was founded in the 6th century by St. Shio, one of the thirteen Assyrian fathers who came to Georgia to preach Christianity. Saint Shio spent his last years as a hermit in a deep cave, which gave the monastery its name. The first building was the Church of John the Baptist (560-580), a cruciform church with an octagonal dome and a conical roof. In the 12th century, by order of Tsar David IV the Builder, the Upper Church was built in the name of the Mother of God. The cells and caves of the first monks, cut out of the rocks, have been preserved around the monastery.