The Betlemi church site in Jabieti is the place of an old church in the mountains above Ota village, on the road to Shoreti. Betlemi is the Georgian form of the name Bethlehem, and such dedications are borne by mountain churches all over the country, from Kazbegi to Javakheti, marking places where the Nativity theme arrived together with the the earliest churches.
Of the church the place remains, yet the name goes on living on the slope. A logical stop on the climb to the monastery: to stop, catch one’s breath and touch one more layer of local memory before going higher, to Shoreti and solitary Garti.
The place is open and can be approached at any time: there are no services here. The mountain road asks for dry weather, and the slope for a careful step and respect for the traces of old masonry. The visit takes a quarter of an hour, breather included.
📜 Of interest
- The place of an old church with the Betlemi dedication
- Jabieti in the mountains above Ota village
- Betlemi means Bethlehem: a dedication of the country’s mountain churches
🚗 Getting there
- Landmark - Ota village; then a climb into the mountains towards Shoreti, about ten kilometres from Aspindza
- A route is built with the Build Route button
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