Slesa Fortress (Region of Samtskhe-Javakheti)
Slesa Fortress (Mokcevis-Tsikhe) (Georgian: სლესის(მოქცევის) ციხე) – The fortress is built on a rock and from afar is perceived as one whole massif. The castle is practically inaccessible from all sides. In plan it is an elongated from south to north rectangle of arbitrary shape, the southwestern part of which has an oval-rounded shape. The walls of the fortress have different heights, depending on the terrain. The walls of the fence are reinforced with semicircular buttresses, slightly protruding from the wall. It is located in a strategic place. in the upper part of the valley, in two hills on the bank of the Kura (Mtkvari) River and on the main road leading to the center of the country. The fortress is heavily damaged: the upper walls are destroyed, the window and door openings are destroyed, and the internal structures lie in ruins.
The courtyard consists of three platforms: the lower one contains the remains of various small structures. In the middle of the castle there is a small, ruined inner church, and the upper one is crowned with a high tower with rounded corners, which is almost completely surrounded by a curtain wall. The walls of the castle are made of uniform stone masonry, connected with mortar. The thickness of the walls is approximately 150 cm. To the south of the lower platform there is a four-story separate tower, with a semicircular back wall, the masonry of which consists of horizontal layers of rubble. The slope of the ravine between the castle and the tower is surrounded from the east by a defensive wall up to 130 meters thick. The fortress is included in the list of immovable cultural monuments of national significance of Georgia.
Slesa village (Georg.სოფელი სლესა), Municipality of Akhaltsikhe (Georg. ახალციხის მუნიციპალიტეტი)