Vardzia

A twelfth-century cave monastery complex carved into the face of the Erusheti Mountain above the Mtkvari River in southern Georgia, Vardzia extends over 500 meters of cliff face and originally contained over 3,000 rooms across 13 stories. The complex was commissioned by Queen Tamar and includes a principal church with original frescoes, a wine cellar cut into the rock, and an intricate system of irrigation tunnels. A thirteenth-century earthquake collapsed the outer cliff face and exposed the interior galleries, creating the dramatic stepped facade of cave openings visible today.