The Samqinauri church stands in Kalauri in Gurjaani Municipality. It is a three nave basilica laid of large cobble, with corners and openings set in stones of more regular shape and the walls plastered outside and in. Sources date the building to the 6th and 7th centuries.
The building is rectangular outside and divided within into three naves by solid walls linked by a single door. The western transverse space connects only to the middle and southern naves. The middle nave is wider and taller than the side ones, its entrances lead in from the south and west, both doors are dressed with a horseshoe arch inside and closed by solid stonework outside.
The apse of the main nave is also horseshoe shaped in plan, a tapering window is cut on its axis whose top has collapsed together with the wall, and a square and a pointed niche are placed symmetrically on either side. Two wide tall pointed blind arches divide the long walls with pilasters between them, and the capitals and imposts are drawn in a plain shelf profile with a slope. The west wall of the middle nave is the best preserved, though it too has lost its upper part.
💡 Tip
- A three nave basilica, Dated to the 6th and 7th centuries
- Horseshoe arches at the entrances and in the apse
- Tall pointed blind arches on the long walls
🚗 Getting there
- Kalauri village, Gurjaani Municipality, Kakheti
- The Build Route button will take you to the spot
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