Our last stop is Mtskheta - the ancient capital of Kartli, the East Georgian Kingdom from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD, and was also the location where Christianity was proclaimed as the official religion of Georgia in 337. Although the capital was moved to the more easily defended Tbilisi in the V century, Mtskheta continued to be the coronation and burial place of Georgian kings, and the seat of the Patriarch, who is also known as the Bishop of Mtskheta.
Here we visit Svetitskhoveli Cathedral which dates from the 11th century - early in the golden age of Georgian church architecture. Svetitskhoveli is considered as mother Cathedral of Georgia and is the burial of many kings of Georgia, their family members, and patriarchs from the great cathedrals although the holiest thing in this cathedral is the part of the robe of Jesus Christ which is believed to lie beneath the central nave, under a square pillar decorated with colorful if faded frescoes of the conversion of Kartli.