The Monastery of the Holy Trinity Gergeti is located on a mountain above the village of Stepantsminda in the Daryal Gorge. It is clearly visible against the background of Mount Kazbek. Previously, it was possible to get to it only on foot or by SUV, but in 2018 a nice road was laid to the Gergeti monastery. This place is called one of the most beautiful in Georgia.
The resort village of Stepantsminda is located in the Valley of the Terek River at an altitude of about 1300-1500 meters above sea level. The peak of the majestic Kazbek Mount (5033 meters) rises above it. There is a mountain between them, the height of which is 2170 meters - the Gergeti monastery was built on it in the 14th century. The monastery is the highest in the Caucasus.
The main temple of the Gergeti Monastery is the Trinity Church. In Georgian, it is called Gergetis Tsminda Sameba. The largest church Tsminda Sameba (Church of the Holy Trinity) was built in Tbilisi in 2004. The Church of the Holy Trinity in Gergeti has a traditional cross-domed structure for Georgian Orthodox churches. It was practically not rebuilt and has been preserved from the 14th century to the present day without changes.
There is a bell tower next to the Trinity Church. Ancient bas-reliefs and ornaments have been preserved on the walls of the church and the bell tower. Inside, the Trinity Church of Gergeti looks very ascetic. Being inside, you feel that the temple is more than 600 years old. You experience something similar when you are in the Jvari Monastery.
In 1829, Alexander Pushkin visited Georgia. It was quite a difficult period of his life. In 1828, he met Natalia Goncharova at a ball and fell in love with her. He immediately wooed her mother. Her mother answered the first letter evasively, saying that her Natalia was too young for marriage. She was 16 years old at the time, and Alexander Pushkin was 30 years old.
Upset, Pushkin went to Georgia to distract himself from heavy thoughts. During this trip, he visited many sights of the country. The Daryal Gorge made an indelible impression on him. In letters to friends, he wrote about it with delight. While in the village of Kazbegi (now Stepantsminda), he went up to the Gergeti Monastery and then wrote a poem "The Monastery on Kazbek":
High above the family of mountains,
Kazbek, your royal tent
It shines with eternal rays.
Your monastery is behind the clouds,
Like a floating ark in the sky,
Hovering, barely visible, over the mountains.
According to an ancient tradition, pilgrims climb on foot to the Monastery of Gergeti Tsminda Sameba. A rather steep path leads from Stepantsminda to the temple. In 1988, a cable car was built from the village of Gergeti to the monastery. But the locals later broke it, considering it blasphemy. In addition to the path to the Gergeti monastery, there was a road, but it was of such monstrous quality that not all SUVs could get there. In 2018, a nice road was laid to the Church of the Holy Trinity of Gergeti, accessible to any car.
