Narikala Fortress at Night. Reportage from Tbilisi, Georgia (15 Images)

Narikala fortress (Tbilisi, Georgia) was founded at least one and a half thousand years ago, and this is not surprising since there are hot springs at its foot. Hot water all year round is a tempting thing, especially at the beginning of the era. Even the city's name, Tbilisi, has a direct connection to them, tbili (თბილი) means warm in Georgian.

Georgia on the Google.maps. That's where I am now

Narikala is located at the place where the mountains themselves help to defend the country from invaders from the Middle East, and an ancient trade route passed there as well. For these reasons, Georgian kings moved their capital here and this is how Tbilisi City emerged in 455 AD.

Monument to Vakhtang I of Iberia, the founder of Tbilisi

The old town at the foot of the fortress. It was also surrounded by the wall, that is, Narikala served as a citadel

Of course, the fortress used to change century after century. Old constructions were often damaged or completely ruined by invaders (Persians, Khorezmians, Mongols, Timurids, Ottomans, etc), and new stones and bricks appeared at the place of the old ones. Georgia was the stronghold of Christianity, an immortal phoenix rising from the ashes every time.

In the 19 century, Narikala Fortress lost its defensive role. It was damaged by an explosion of gunpowder store. That happened after Russian Empire occupied Georgia and deprived the Georgian royal dynasty Bagrationi of power (one of the oldest Christian dynasties by the way, ruled for more than a thousand years). Coincidence or not, but a symbol of Bagrationi's millennial rule fell into decay.

These days, Narikala is a symbol of the city and a tourist attraction. There is a cable car connecting a bank of the Kura River and the top of the Sololaki Ridge where the fortress is situated. Views from there are spectacular, you will see them in my upcoming posts about Tbilisi.

On the opposite side of the river, Metekhi Church stands on a rock, no less ancient place, but, during the Mongol invasion, it was destroyed. What we see today was founded in the 13th century.

Metekhi Church

Metekhi Church

This cat person was chilling out in the darkness, in the orange light of streetlight, in the yard of Metekhi Church

From the upper platform of the church, the best night view of Tbilisi opens up - a view of Narikala and the old city at its foot. The feeling that you are in the Middle Ages, only an overabundance of lighting reminds you that you are in the 21st century.

A couple in love was enjoying solitude, with me crawling in the darkness 😀

I took these photos during Tbilisoba, Tbilisi City Day, October 1, 2022. At a bank of the Kura River, they held a concert in the evening, a huge crowd gathered there. Even more people were approaching from a metro station Avlabari.

Near metro Avlabari, a view of Sameba Cathedral

A quiet backstreet, at the same time crowds are hurrying down to the concert very near

People coming to the concert from the metro surroundings

The same crowd down there

Tbilisians watching a concert from Metekhi Church yard, from above

This was what they were watching, Georgian folklore dances

Couples enjoying the music in the territory of the Metekhi Church, away from the hustle

Crowds of content people, BBQ smoke on every corner, music everywhere. The moon, hanging over the brightly lit fortress, completed the ideal picture. It was warm and fresh, and a sense of wonder was in the air. A great night, it was.

I took these images with Nikkor 50mm, Nikkor 70-300mm on a Ninon D750 in Tbilisi, Georgia in October 1, 2022.

Check other posts of mine about Tbilisi, Georgia:

• Faces of Tbilisi. Street Photography from Georgia
• Grapes in the Streets of Tbilisi