Mtskheta

The more than 3000 year old town of Mtskheta is situated only 20 km north of Tblisi at the confluence of the rivers Kura and Aragwi at the foot of the Caucasus in Georgia.
From the 4th century BC Mzcheta was for 1000 years the capital of the Iberian Empire and one of the most important trading cities between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea on the Silk Road.

The Georgian Orthodox Swetizchoweli Cathedral is located in the centre of Mtskheta and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It was built in 1010-1029 on the site of an even older church from the 4th century and has been destroyed and rebuilt several times since then.
For centuries, it was the coronation and burial place of the Georgian kings.
A robe of Christ ("Holy Rock") is worshipped in it as the main relic.