Ardanuc Attractions

On a clifftop overlooking the Köprüler Deresi gorge, not far from the little town of Ardanuç (about 30km/19mi east of Artvin), are walls and stumps of towers belonging to a once mighty 12th century fortress. Within the fort lie the ruins of an Armenian-Georgian church, a reminder that this was once the capital of the principality of Tao Georgia. Ashot Bagrationi the Great (780-826), founder of the ruling dynasty, skillfully preserved his relative independence by maintaining good relations simultaneously with Byzantium, the Emirs of Tiflis and the Caliphate. He styled himself Kuropalat (Guardian of palaces) and built numerous churches in his small realm.