Batumi Fortress: Gonio Apsaros Fortress
We are nearing the end of my posts about our trip to the republic of Georgia! Today, I am sharing our visit to the Gonio Fortress which is the oldest fortress in Georgia. It dates back to the Roman times. The fortress is 15 km outside of Batumi and 4 km north of the Turkish border. The oldest reference to the fortress is in 1st century.
You are greeted at the entrance with 2 large statues. The outside walls of the fortress all remain and it is quite impressive to behold. I have been to medieval castles in France and seen some old ruins in Italy, but never something of this size (apart from the coliseum in Rome).
There was a group of volunteers and archeologists working in one area of the fortress. It was really neat to see them at work. The excavating has been going on since 1995.
There were little sections of the ramparts that you could climb to. Each corner had a tower. As usual, I love taking pictures through windows and openings when visiting old castles and buildings.
The boys enjoyed recreating gladiator events while their dad and oldest brother were the spectators. While they did that, I found a shady spot to relax: the morning was beautiful, but hot.
There was a little building in the middle of the fortress with some of the artifacts they have uncovered.
We enjoyed the beauty of the roses growing: so gorgeous with the background of the ramparts. Of course, my oldest and I were once again competing on whose pictures were the prettiest.
As I mentioned in one of my first posts, I absolutely love seeing the trellis in the city and other places with the grape vines. You could see very tiny grapes growing and it will look beautiful in the fall.
A bientôt!
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14 Comments
Kathrine Eldridge
Still loving all the photos that you share from this amazing trip! The trellis and blooms are stunning.
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
mimifce
I am so glad everyone is enjoying them!
Joanne
How neat to get to see them excavating and working like that. It looks like they have found some rather impressive pieces too. You photos are lovely.
mimifce
Yes, they sure have!
Rosie Amber
What an interesting place to visit and the roses looke georgous.
mimifce
Yes, it was the end of the season for them, but still some pretty views!
jodie
It’s incredible how these places can last over the years.
XOOX
Jodie
mimifce
Yes, it’s amazing!
Marsha Banks
That’s amazing they’ve been excavating since 1995. There are so many beautiful photos here, Mireille! I love the photos of the flowers especially.
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
mimifce
Yes, they have been finding different artifacts!
Madison
The photos are amazing and seems like such a great place to visit. I am fascinated by achaeological sites, I remember taking a class in school.
FASHION TALES
mimifce
That would be a cool class to take. We use to know an archeological professor but I never talked to him about what he did.
Sally in St Paul
Gorgeous photos! It looks like a beautiful but hot day for sure. Isn’t there something irresistable about taking photos through those openings in a castle wall? It frames things so well.
mimifce
Yes! It’s funny but that is one thing I always do in castles: take those pictures through openings.