Klarjeti Fortress (Region of Klarjeti )
Klarjeti Fortress (Georg. კლარჯეთის ციხე, Tur. Klarceti Kalesi), ancient castle in the village of Klarjeti, now Bereket (Tur. Bereket), in the province of Artvin, in the southwestern part of historical Georgia – Klarjeti (Georg. კლარჯეთი). It is believed that the castle with two towers had an important function in the medieval region of Klarjeti. One tower has survived to this day. A water tank was found in the ruins of the second tower. The surviving remains of today’s fortress date back to the Middle Ages. There is an opinion that on the site of the current castle there was another, older castle.
Clarjeti fortress is located on a rocky hill, at an altitude of 1440 m. The walls rise, as if being a continuation of a sheer cliff. The powerful fortress was built of roughly hewn stones and stretched for many meters along the coastline of the cliff. Above the small gate, on the southern facade of the castle, there is an arch in the form of an arrow. There is another gate on the north side. To the southwest of the castle was a church, which is completely destroyed. Faceted pink stones from this church were used in the construction of the mosque. On the southern wall of the mosque there is a Georgian inscription in the letters “Asomtavruli”(Georg. ასომთავრული).
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