Turkey's Forgotten Georgian Kingdom

Katie Nadworny, Emma Harper

Source: BBC

July 15, 2017

    

A lost kingdom

A rugged, remote area where unforgiving rocky crags give way to green oases, north-east Turkey is home to magnificent Georgian monasteries from the medieval principality of Tao-Klarjeti, a former feudal state ruled by the Bagrationi royal family. Tao-Klarjeti was once a part of the United Kingdom of Georgia that thrived during the 12th and 13th Centuries. However, repeated incursions by the Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur in the late 14th Century led to the demise of the kingdom, and in the mid-16th Century, Tao-Klarjeti came under Ottoman rule, which lead to it becoming a part of modern-day Turkey.

During the kingdom’s golden age, Tao-Klarjeti was the centre of monastic life governed by the Georgian Orthodox Church. Today, striking remnants of the principality’s spiritual influence remain tucked in tiny Turkish villages among the visually arresting Kaçkar Mountains near the Turkey-Georgia border.

  

... Read the rest at BBC.

Katie Nadworny, Emma Harper

7/24/2017

See also
Unique crypt discovered in Georgian church in Turkey Unique crypt discovered in Georgian church in Turkey Unique crypt discovered in Georgian church in Turkey Unique crypt discovered in Georgian church in Turkey
Scientists have suggested that the crypt perhaps belongs to King Gurgen, the father of Bagrat III, the founder of the famous Kutaisi church, a symbol of the unity and power of Georgia, where St. David the Builder was crowned as king. One Million GEL to be Spent on David Gareja Monastery Rehabilitation One Million GEL to be Spent on David Gareja Monastery Rehabilitation One Million GEL to be Spent on David Gareja Monastery Rehabilitation One Million GEL to be Spent on David Gareja Monastery Rehabilitation
David Gareja is a rock-hewn Georgian Orthodox monastery complex located in the Kakheti region of Eastern Georgia, on the half-desert slopes of Mount Gareja. The complex includes hundreds of cells, churches, chapels, refectories and living quarters hollowed out of the rock face. Patriarch Ilia II asking Turkish authorities to resume services at Georgian churches Patriarch Ilia II asking Turkish authorities to resume services at Georgian churches Patriarch Ilia II asking Turkish authorities to resume services at Georgian churches Patriarch Ilia II asking Turkish authorities to resume services at Georgian churches
On Friday, September 12, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia received at the Patriarchate in Tbilisi the head of the Presidency for Religious Affairs in Turkey Mehmet Görmez and asked him to afford an opportunity to perform services at Georgian churches on the territory of Turkey, reports Gruzia Online.
Comments
Here you can leave your comment on the present article, not exceeding 4000 characters. All comments will be read by the editors of OrthoChristian.Com.
Enter through FaceBook
Your name:
Your e-mail:
Enter the digits, seen on picture:

Characters remaining: 4000

Subscribe
to our mailing list

* indicates required
×