Davit (David) Gareja Cave Complex Lavra Monastery

A rock-hewn orthodox monastery complex with hundreds of cave structures tucked away into the mountainside, in the Kakheti region of Georgia on the border with Azerbaijan. The climate is often described as a semidesert.

Hundreds of cells, churches, refectories, and living quarters have been hewn into the rock face at the steep slopes of Mount Gareja. St David, an Assyrian Monk, founded the monastic complex in the 6th century and it was steadily expanded during the following centuries. The monastery complex has been an important centre of religious and cultural activity for hundreds of years and this reached its height between the 11th and 13th centuries. The monastery complex was always closely linked with the royalty of Georgia, but the downfall of the Georgian monarchy did not put an end to the monastic activities at Davit Gareja. Neither did the attacks by the Mongols in the 13th century, or the attacks of the Persians in the 17th century.