Rabati Castle is located in the city of Akhaltsikhe and its origins date back to the 9th century, being the mandate of the son of King Tao. From the 13th to the 14th century it was in the hands of a dynasty of Georgian origin, the Matvari, and another called the Jaqeli House.
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| Rabati Castle |
Akhaltsikhe Castle (Rabati Castle) is the main attraction of the Georgian city of Akhaltsikhe or, if you call it correctly, the Akhaltsikhe fortress. It is located in a rather "passing" place among tourists, because. is located halfway between the city of Borjomi and the ancient cave city-monastery Vardzia. Therefore, be sure to make a stop here and go on an excursion to the fortress - it is visible from the bus station and the journey takes only a few minutes; it is also easy to find it by car, for this you can use the GPS coordinates from this article or just ask any passerby - the Georgians will always help you!
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| Rabati Castle |
The history of the Rabati Castle
The Rabati Castle was founded in the 13th century, and from the 16th century it was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, in the 19th century it came under the protection of the Russian Empire, and then returned to its rightful owners - the Georgians. Thus, the currents of different countries and cultures were connected in architecture. The fortress entered the 21st century in a very deplorable state.
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| Rabati Castle |
Therefore, in 2011, it was decided to completely restore its original appearance. Incidentally, this was the last large-scale project of the then Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. 34 million lari was allocated for the restoration, which, at that time, corresponded to $ 20,000,000. The amount is quite impressive, so there were and still are a lot of questions in connection with this repair. By August 2012, all repairs were completed and it was announced that the new tourist site was ready to receive 100,000 people a year, and now it is visited by 1,500 to 2,000 tourists daily. But be that as it may, today we have not an old, dilapidated defensive structure, but a completely restored beautiful Rabati Castle.