The Martvili Monastery, once a site of Pagan worship
The other day I braved the 100-degree heat and walked 1km uphill to visit one of the oldest sacred spaces in Martvili, the Martvili Monastery.
It is located on top of the highest hill in Martvili, where a Great Oak Tree once stood. It was the site of Pagan rituals, associated with fertility and prosperity, and a sacrificial site of infants to their idol, the (Chkondidi) big oak.
However, in the 7th century, The Marvili-Chkondidi Cathedral was built, and the oak tree was cut down when Georgia adopted Christianity. The Cathedral stood until the 10th century when King Giorgi II rebuilt the Cathedral into what now stands, The Martvili Monastery.
I am obsessed with visiting monasteries and sacred spaces in Georgia and worldwide. The history of Paganism fascinates me how and what they believed in, such as an oak tree.
I also went to a holy site in Ushguli where they worshipped the moon, also making human sacrifices.
