shuamta monasteries

I visited only old Shuamta, which was full of crowd for Saturday. Its a good idea to schedule visits during weekdays, to avoid school kids.Place is very quiet, in the shadows, consists of 3 old churches, almost bare inside, located next to each other. Not as empowering as others, but worth visiting, as located very close to Telavi.

the upper monastery is quite rundown. no frescoes or icons left...didn't visit the lower one. Worth a 15 minute visit since its just off the main Tbilisi-Telavi road, but that's about it.

Shuamta consist of Old and New part which are located a short drive a part. The old Shuamta consist of three well restored churches from 5 - 7 century. The New Shuamta was build a 1000 years later and is once again used as a nunnery. The frescoes in the New Shuamta are vivid in colors. When you arrive to New Shuamta go through the gate to the next gate where you will need to ring a bell for nun to come to take you in to the cathedral.

Much of the interior was destroyed by the Russians in the Soviet era. The three small structures are externally still in pretty good shape. Definitely worth a stop. Not active churches now.

Near Telavi in the village of Shuamta you will see the fragments of Dzveli-Shuamta and Akhali Shuamta monasteries (old Shuamta and new Shauamta). These two monasteries absolutely differ from each other in architecture and were built at different times.Dzveli Shuamta monastery is more ancient. It is a complex of several ancient churches. The small church standing in the foreground is dated the 5th century, the other two – bigger and smaller domical churches – the 7th century. The bigger church is very similar to Mtskheta Dzhvari temple. The churches have the 12th-century paintings.

These monasteries are within an hours distance from Telavi, Kakheti region, georgia. to get to these monasteries, you will pass beautiful jungles... very beautiful. The first, new Shuamta (Dzveli Shuamta), is a nunnery with residents. No photography in the site proper. Upon entrance, a dress attire must be adhered to. Ladies will probably need to weat a cloth around there legs (provided at the gates) and men should have full length trousers. I had short sleeves, but that was not a problem. A co-travelling gentleman was not allowed beacause of his knee length trousers. Actually, this is the case in most Georgian and Armenian religious sites.One should wait at the monastery gates for a nun who takes visitors to the church. She did not speak to us but she was very cordial, as is the case in most Georgian religious sites. inside the church one can see a physical manifestation of simplicity.after leaving new Shuamta, there is a short drive to old Shuamta (Akhali Shuamta). As of July 2013, the exterior was being renovated. This is a much simpler monastery with no resident nuns/monks, but the environs are breath-taking.

This was something of a pilgrimage tour in October 2012. We toured most of the famous and ancient churches in Georgia. I do not know, maybe it was not my soul needs turning to God at that time, but I can say with confidence that the Ukrainian Orthodox Churches, I like so much more. Georgian churches in spite of being Orthodox, felt different to me.As for the monastery Shuamta - it was a picturesque beautiful place, hidden somewhere in the forest. A holy place - the mind understands.There are many churches and monasteries located in Georgia, in the hills and far away from human settlements. (This does not apply to large cities) and yet they still have a congregation.We did not visit the Old Shuamta .

It was OK. We visited the old monastery. Did not know about the tower, maybe if we did, the rating would be higher. There is very little information provided here about the history of this place. We visited a lot of old churches and monasteries during our visit to Georgia - hard to tell why this one is special or significant.

There are two Shuamta Monasteries: old and new. Near Old Shuamta we were really attacked by 4!!! people trying to sell us candles. We had to pretend to be only-english-speaking persons to escape :). New Shuamta was closed, but there was a special bell to ring in order to get inside. We rang but nobody opened. So we didn't see New Shuamta.

That is a wonderful place. Little monasteries hidden deep in the mountains, on the top of the hill. It seems to be living it's own life far from real world. It is the best to hire a taxi from Telavi for the whole day and make a driver take you all the great places aroun town. You will reach the parking under Shaumta and tha you have to walk up for around 45 min. If you are lucky you will get a lift with old truck as they transport supplyes to the monasterys.Don't miss the paintings inside the monastery and a trip to the top of the tower.

You will need a private transfer to get you to Shuamta medieval monasteries, a remarkable early Christian monument of two ensembles of Dzveli (“Old”) and Akhali (“New”) Shuamta in 7km south-west from Telavi and about 154kmn north-east from Tbilisi. The monastery complex of Shuamta (meaning “a place between the mountains”) is hidden in the forest off Tbilisi-Telavi highway. We started our visit with ancient Dzveli Shuamta monastery, situated further in the forest. It stands on the edge of the flat hill, at the end of a clearing in the woods. Its complex consists of three churches: a V century basilica and two domed churches of VII century of the then popular type sampled by Jvari Church in Mtsheta. Dzveli Shuamta is no longer an acting sanctuary, but believers still attend it to place a candle and say a prayer. There is an improvised altar with several icons inside the Grand domed church. Other than that, its interior is very simple and severe. But the whole place, with no limitations of clerical rules and rituals, had peaceful and placatory atmosphere. And a “wish-tree” in a Georgian tradition, with the ribbons tied over its branches by those who made a wish here, looked natural and appropriate… In the XVI century, as Dzveli Shuamta sank into decay, the newer Akhali Shuamta was laid down in 2km away from the old monastery by Kakheti Queen Tina (Tinatin) Gurieli, wife of King Levan II. To reach this newer monastery, you can either walk back along the road through a scenic forest, or make a very short drive. Unlike Dzveli Shuamta, Akhali is an acting nunnery rather than a historic place. So respectful dress-code as well as observation of the rules of conduct is encouraged here. Akhali Shuamta ensemble is represented by a larger domed church and a bell tower. In XIX the principal church of the monastery was an ancestral burial place of Chavchavadze family. Since the establishment of the monastery, its inside walls were decorated with the frescoes. But after abolishment of Georgian Autocephaly by Russian Church in XIX, these frescoes, dating back to XVI century, were whitened out. In 2007-2008, Akhali Shuamta had undergone major reconstruction, within the course of which the white paint had been removed to partially release some of these frescoes. Also, the Queen Tinatin Tower had been restored.Both complexes are not to be missed, when you explore Telavi area.

Das untere Kloster ist noch von Nonnen bewohnt, Frauen müssen sich am Eingang einen Rock anziehen, sofern sie keinen mindestens knielangen Rock tragen. Man klingelt und wird dann von einer Nonne herumgeführt. Spenden erbeten. Das obere Kloster ist unbewohnt und kann allein besichtigt werden, Eintritt frei. Nur mit dem Auto zu erreichen. Wenn man nicht viel Zeit hat in Telavi, kann man diese beiden Klöster allerdings weglassen, Gremi, Alaverdi, Nekresi sind lohnenswerter.