Kavkasidzeler Castle

Kavkasidzeler Castle (Georgian: კავკასიძეების ციხე), a medieval castle of Georgian origin in the historic Tao region, is located today in the Kaledibi neighborhood of Tekkale village, belonging to the Yusufeli district. Built on the left bank of the Coruh River, on the top of a rock, the castle remained with its wall sections and a single-nave church. However, these structures were submerged under the waters of the Yusufeli Dam in 2023.

History

The Tao region where Kavkasidzeler Castle is situated and the village of Othta Eklesia were within the borders of Georgia in the Middle Ages. Accordingly, the Ottomans seized this area and the village from the Georgians with the 1549 Georgian campaign. The village, attached to the Livane sanjak under Ottoman administration, contains the Georgian monastery Othta Eklesia dating from the 10th century, indicating that this was an old Georgian settlement. Indeed, in 1917 the population of the village Four Churches consisted of Muslims of Georgian origin and all the villagers spoke Georgian.

The historic name of the castle is unknown. However, it is presumed that the Tsitshaveti Castle (ციცხავეთის ციხე) mentioned in a 16th‑century Ottoman endowment deed as Kala-i Sishavet (قالعە سیسخاویت) is Kavkasidzeler Castle. Because the castle was owned in the Late Middle Ages by the family bearing the Kavkasidze surname, and because of its proximity to Othta Eklesia Monastery, it is also called Othta Church Castle and, in Turkish sources, Tekkale Castle or Tekkale Village Castle.

It is estimated that Kavkasidzeler Castle was built in the 10th century to protect the Othta Eklesia monastery. The castle and the church inside it must also have been constructed in the 10th century.

Architecture

Kavkasidzeler Castle was built north of Tekkale village, on the bank of the Coruh River, atop a rock that is extremely difficult to access. The castle, with an asymmetric plan (46 × 22 m), had two towers. The western tower is partially standing. The Kavkasidzeler Castle Church inside the castle was built in the 10th century. The single‑nave structure (4.5 × 6.5 m) is largely standing. However, most of the exterior cladding stones have been removed and the wall paintings are largely destroyed.

According to the information given by Georgian historian and archaeologist Ekvtime Takaişvili in 1917, the gate of the castle he called "Othta Eklesia Castle" was located in the north. However, because it had collapsed, it was not possible to enter through this gate. The castle was already largely ruined at that time. All the structures inside the castle had been destroyed, and only the church built of cut stone remained. At that time a Georgian inscription stood on the Kavkasidzeler Castle Church. The entrance gate was on the west, and the church had windows on its south and east façades. The church's roof covering had collapsed, and the facing stones on the south and west walls had been removed. Its interior walls were completely adorned with paintings, and a significant portion of the wall paintings had been preserved. The wall paintings depicted important events specific to Christianity.

The church's inscription

1.სახ'ლითა ღს'თა მმსა: ძისა და ს'ლისა წმიდსათა მეოხებითა ყლად

2. წმ'დისა: ღ'თს მშობელისათა: მე: მურვან კავკასიძემ

3. or: I built a church: this is me

4. რდ განსრულებით სალოცველად

5. სულისა......

"By the name of the holy God, the father, the son and the holy spirit, the most holy God-bearers, I, Murvan Kavkasidze, have erected this church (or) with the intention of fulfilling it, for the salvation of the spirit...

Translation: I, Murvan Kavkasidze, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, with the help of Saint Mary, have built and completed this church a second time so that the believers may worship.