class="apple-converted-space"> site in southern Georgia, excavated from the slopes of the Erusheti Mountain on the left bank
of the Mtkvari River, thirty kilometers from Aspindza. The main period of construction was the second half of
the twelfth century. The caves stretch along the cliff for some five hundred
metres and in up to nineteen tiers. The Church of the Dormition, dating to the 1180s during the golden age of Tamar and Rustaveli, has an important series of wall paintings. The site was largely abandoned after the Ottoman takeover in the sixteenth century. Now part of a state heritage
reserve, the extended area of Vardzia-Khertvisi has been submitted for future
