TUSHETI REGION
CENTRE - OMALO
220 Km from Tbilisi
Tusheti is a region in eastern high-mountains of Georgia, located at 1500m above sea level between Kakheti and Dagestan. It consists of four historical parts Tsova, Gometsari, Chalma and Tusheti. With deep canyons of rivers, narrow mountain paths, stone houses and towers Tusheti is one of the most picturesque and original regions of Georgia. The nature here is extremely severe, even at the height of summer there are frozen streams visible near few roads winding up and down the beautiful valleys. The Landscape is mainly represented by alpine and sub-alpine meadows, pine forests, fields and bushes. Most of the inhabitants of Tusheti reside here only in summer. Starting from the fall the houses are locked. People move to Lower Tusheti-Alvani and villages of Kakheti. Only those who don't suffer from loneliness and severe winter stay here. Among the Cultural sites are villages with towers Omalo, Shenako, Diklo, and Dartlo.

Omalo is located 1800m above sea level and consists of 2 parts – Old Omalo “Keselo” and New Omalo, a little bit modern part of Omalo. Fortress Keselo is situated in the northern part of the village, in Old Omalo and is represented by 7 towers. Towers are built by slate stones and are surrounded by a wall with embrasures and windows. At the moment one of the towers houses a museum.

Shenako & Diklo are 2 wonderful neighboring villages. Houses are built in order to keep the solar light and warmth as long as possible during the daytime because even in August the mornings and the evenings are rather chilly. Diklo has a praying shrine called “Khati” where women aren’t permitted even today. Only men are allowed to perform the religious rituals, the synthesis of Christian and pagan cultures.

Dartlo is located 2000m above sea level. The village is famous for beautiful houses with wooden balconies, making it unique in entire Tusheti. Dartlo is one of the outstanding architectural treasures of Georgian architecture. It’s also famous for open air court hall, where the court of inhabitants of Dartlo and nearby villages was held. This is the court of 12 judges. There’re 12 antique stone chairs that belonged to 12 different judges and 2 stone plates in the middle of the circle for convicts to kneel down. In front of the court hall there’s a stone construction of “stone press”. The convict and his defenders had to remove 1 hair of the mustache and place it under the stone press to show that the evidence theywould givewould be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The fact that the main judge was a woman is really amazing.

Parsma is the village where time has stopped. Despite many damaged houses and towers the main appearance of the village is still well kept. In this village you can feel the warrior spirit of Tushetians. Here we see the protective towers having rectangular shape. The height of the towers varies from 1.5 to 4.9 meters depending on the number of floors inside the tower. Walls are equipped with embrasures and windows. The floors are connected with wooden removable ladder. Mostly the towers are vaulted with slate saddle roofs.

REGION
160 km from Tbilisi

Khevsureti is the region in the mountains of eastern Georgia, on the slopes of the Caucasus Range and includes upper reaches of the rivers Arguni and Khevsuretis Aragvi. Khevsureti and its neighbouring mountainous region of Pshavi together were called Pkhovi. The area consists of two parts - Piriketa (outward) and Piraketa (inward) Khevsureti.

They are connected with Arkhoti and Datvisjvari passes. The alpine landscapes, mountain paths, icy streams and loud rivers make this land unforgettable. Here, traditions and customs are as rough as the surrounding landscape. The sites of interest are: Shatili fortess village, Mutso tower village, Gudanis Djvari, Khakhmati fortress, Kakhmati St. George cross, Anatory vaults, Akhieli fortress and Lebais Kari fortress.

Shatili is located 1400m above sea level is a unique monument of Georgia’s architectural heritage.
The village spread on the cliffs is a living quarter and the fortress at the same time.
This is a medieval fortress-village. Shatili’s unique architecture is the proof of the militant nature of Khevsuri people.

Mutso located 1400m above sea level belongs to the same period as Shatili and repeats the same architecture. This is a fortress-village as well. The views from the house-towers are breathtaking.

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