Easy hikes and walks in Kakheti

Opening hours have been shortened: 10 am to 6 pm, with an explicit request to visitors to respect the opening hours. Restoration work is currently underway in the main church. You can indeed enter, but you will only get a limited view of the lush frescoes.

Like Tbilisi, Signaghi also has many houses with wooden balconies. Compared to the capital, most of the balconies here are well preserved and/or restored AND beautifully painted. Especially the street leading south from the center (i.e. towards the Bodbe monastery) is richly provided with beautiful balconies.

In 1762, King Erekle II had the city wall built. The toponym 'Sighnaghi' is said to be derived from the Turkish sığınak, meaning a fortified place or shelter, and it was the center of the historical region of Kiziki. Due to the fortifications, necessary against raids by Dagestani peoples, Signagi became, according to the Baltic-German explorer Johann Anton Güldenstädt, the best-defended city in Georgia after Tbilisi and Gori. The fortification consists of a circular wall of cobblestones with bricks, has 23 towers and 6 gates, and covers an area of 40 hectares. Most towers have two stories and are equipped with battlements, and the walls are one and a half meters thick at the bottom and 70-80 centimeters at the top. According to Güldenstädt, in 1772 the city was defended by 84 Armenian princes who lived mainly outside the fortress. source: Wikipedia

Today's Sighnaghi was largely built in the 18th century. In 1762, King Erekle II had a wall built around the city as a defense against attacks from Dagestani peoples. That city wall has 23 towers and 6 gates. Some towers are freely accessible today. From the tower platforms, you get a very beautiful overview of the city and the Alazani Valley, 500m below.

The "oude stadstoren" (old city tower) to which the original name of this highlight referred is the tower of the Sint-Joris (Saint George) Basilica. The basilica was built in the 19th century and leans almost against the old city wall. The round bell tower, which stands separately from the church and on the city wall, has an arched pergola. During my visit, the church and tower were not accessible.

The Alazani Valley is known for its many vineyards. The region is especially famous for indigenous grape varieties such as Rkatsiteli and Saperavi, which are central to the production of some of Georgia's most acclaimed wines. Be sure to visit one of the many "Marani" (wine cellars) that Sighnaghi boasts and taste the wines, which strongly distinguish themselves in flavor from Western European (French, Italian, ...) wines.

Solomon Dodasjvili (Georgian: სოლომონ დოდაშვილი) (1805 - 1836) was a Georgian philosopher, journalist, historian, grammarian, writer, and enlightener. He was born in Magharo, just about five kilometers southwest of this place. During his studies in Saint Petersburg, he was inspired by the Decembrists, who in 1825 staged a failed coup against Tsarist Russia. Seven years later, as a convinced republican, he himself participated in an uprising against Russian hegemony, at that time part of the Russian Empire. He was arrested by the police and deported to Russia. He was held captive in Vyatka and died there of tuberculosis. He was reburied in 1994 in the Mtatsminda Pantheon in Tbilisi. source: Wikipedia

The World War II memorial in the center of Sighnaghi is a Soviet-era monument honoring the Georgian soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the Great Patriotic War. The monumentally rendered bas-relief bears the names of the fallen, serving as a poignant reminder of the great loss Georgia suffered during its alliance with Russia against Germany in World War II. source: wanderlog.com