In the beginning of June we visited Mstkheta. It is the old capital of Georgia - about a half hour drive away. It is a quaint little town - very quiet and green and peaceful. Gia, a government official, was showing us a school and clinic that needed help and then he took us to the Svetitskhoveli Church. They are fixing up the surrounding area for a tourist stop. It is an operating church and the monks live in small quarters built into the wall.
There are many engravings on the outside of the church. The plants are grape vines - used often in Georgia. The 2 doves symbolize peace between Georgia and Turkey.
The feathers on the peacock are to represent the 12 disiples (although I count 13 feathers!) The hand holding the square represents the builder. Some say that the arm is cut off so that he can not build another building that would be grander than this one.
Very pretty. The iron work on fence and lamp are beautiful too.
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