Must have seen in Georgia - part 2: Akhaltsikhe

We were back from Vardzia at 14:00 so there was enough time to find a hotel and then go to Rabati, the castle of Akhaltsikhe. This was a mistake because I entered the castle at 15:30 and it closes at 18:00. 2.5 hours are definitely not enough for this amazing fortress and its museum.

Before watching my photos, have a look at this old blog post from 2009 to get an imagination how the castle looked.
This was in 2009 and only 3 years later it looks like you will now see. I know that there are many architects and historians who doesn't like to rebuild old buildings. But look at history - many buildings have been refreshed or rebuilt during centuries. Sometimes as they were, often in a slightly different manner and most often by adding things in a new style. What they have done in Akhaltsikhe is not only very impressive but also an almost perfect mixture about conservation, rebuilding, renovating and updating to today's needs.

The lower part of the castle is free to enter and contains restaurants, bars, shops, hotels and administration buildings. There is also a large stairway which is used in summer for the audience of theater plays and concerts. The lower part is large enough that you can spent a long time exploring all the water basins, hidden entrances and enjoying the scenic view.
The upper parts cost currently 7 Lari and includes the entrance for the historical museum.

Getting closer.

The massive gates.

View to the upper part.

Same view but another angle.

A hotel.

The courtyard of the hotel.

The large stairway.

Another courtyard.

Just art.

View from the stairway.

Same view but different angle.

Area behind the stairway.

Great, isn't it. The sad thing is that there are no tourists. Many bars and shops were forced to close and so you will see many empty windows. Well, you could help them and go there. Not yet convinced? OK, let's enter the upper part of the castle:

The gate to the upper part.

Right after the gate - the thrill rises.

One first has to get to the next floor. This is..

...not yet the real entrance.

But from here one can catch a first look into
the complex. The tower at the laft is a clock tower
of church that had been rebuilt.

Before going on further, some looks
back to the lower part.
 

Are you now convinced? What? Are you a German or why can't you be satisfied? Yes, you are? OK, then I show some more:

This is the entrance building.
It is great that one can use really every chemin de ronde.

The upper gate at the left side, the church at the right side.
 

You can see here nicely the existing old part and the new one.

View to the citadel - a castle within the castle.

You can enter every tower. This one can only be entered by taking...

...this long chemin de ronde.

Now it is eventually time to have a look at the mosque.

The mosque.

 

 

 

The citadel and the mosque.

A nice fountain.

The madrasa behind the mosque.

 

Before continuing with the citadel, another strelfie:

Just happy.

The citadel. The museum is the builiding at the left side.

Inside the castle are large rooms used for representative meetings.

 

View from the citadel.

 

I also liked the many water basins.

 

Inside the mosque.

  

The madrasa again.

The Ottoman pasha built a cavern into a wall to have
a room where he can speak and be safe that
nobody was listening. Maybe it is only a legend. This is the entrance.

And this is the interior.

Nice reconstruction. Of course nobody
knows how exactly it once looked.

I had so many WOW! moments while exploring the castle. It is so impressive and the water plays were even off.

The museum seems to be a small one but it is fantastic. Take at least an hour, better more and rent an audio guide at the entrance of the castle. It is worth it! It is impressive what people could already do thousands of years before. For example these jewelry is from 1800 BC:

Fantastic, isn't it?

The museum alone is worth coming to Akhaltsikhe. The history of this region is one I never heard about before and very, very interesting. They have here for example parts from the Hittite times.
The information plates are also in English and the audio guide is very detailed.

 Last view while leaving the upper part of the castle.

I am aware of the criticism that the rebuilding of the complex was done very quickly so that some structures already needs repairing. But hey, now something great exists. I doubt that such a project could be a success if one would have debated for decades instead of just doing it. They had the balls doing this and it is great. Come here and you will admire it as I did! Don't make my mistake. Better use a whole day for the visit.