Around Telavi, there are numerous churches and monasteries to be visited. You could easily spend a whole day driving from one religious site to the other. However, I decided to limit myself to just a single site: Alaverdi Cathedral.

This huge cathedral from the early 11^th century with its 50 metres high dome was the largest church in all of Georgia for nearly a millenia. Therefore, it looks pretty impressive from the outside. The inside, however, was a bit of a disappointment for me: The church has clearly suffered from quite excessive whitewashing in the 19^th century. Unfortunately, only a few frescos could be restored.

On the way back, I passed the turnoff to a monastery. However, I was to lazy to climb the two kilometres up a hill. So, I said goodbye to the Georgian churches for now.