Agara monastery, Orthodox monastery in Akhaltsikhe, Georgia
Agara monastery is a religious complex positioned on a mountain in the Uraveli River Valley near Akhaltsikhe, surrounded by forest on three sides. The site comprises multiple church structures, with one side opening toward a cliff edge while deciduous woodland protects the other directions.
The main church was built in the 10th–11th centuries, with its west wall repaired probably in the 14th century. The refectory was added around the turn of the 11th–12th centuries, as its inscription naming Murvan and Beshken of the Jaqeli family indicates. The bell tower followed in the 13th–14th centuries.
The refectory inscription names its builder, the monk Ephrem, and his patrons Murvan and Beshken of the Jaqeli family, which dates the hall to the turn of the 11th–12th centuries. The main church's east façade holds a reused stone with a relief of a man offering a building model to Christ and a text by someone named Theodore about a stoa, a stone that does not belong to the window it sits above.
The mountain location requires a substantial climb, so visitors should prepare for uneven terrain and changing weather conditions. Arriving early allows time to explore the grounds without feeling rushed and to experience the site in better light.
The stone above the east window of the main church was reused from an older building: its inscription records that a certain Theodore built a stoa, or portico, beside the church, and its relief shows a man offering a model of a building to Christ enthroned. The block does not fit the window's carving, so it was set there later.
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