Motsameta Monastery

Motsameta Monastery stands on a rocky promontory high above a loop of the Tskaltsitela River, about 6 km north-east of central Kutaisi. The name means place of the martyrs. It honours the brothers David and Constantine Mkheidze, nobles of Argveti who were killed by Arab invaders in the 8th century and are venerated as saints; their relics rest inside the church. The setting is the real attraction: a stone church on the edge of a cliff, steep wooded gorge walls and the green river far below.

The church is small and dim. Following a local custom, many pilgrims crawl three times under the reliquary of the two saints while making a wish. Outside, stone terraces give views down the gorge. A short, steep path leads from the parking area down to the monastery. Most people pair Motsameta with Gelati, which stands on the next hill about 10 minutes away by road.

According to Georgian tradition, the brothers David and Constantine led resistance to an Arab army in western Georgia in the 8th century. Captured, they refused to convert and were executed, and their bodies were thrown into the river, which turned red and gave the Tskaltsitela, red water, its name. King Bagrat IV founded a church on the site in the 11th century. In 1923 the Soviet authorities removed the relics to a museum in Kutaisi, but public outcry soon brought them back.