Sighnaghi

Sighnaghi city

Sighnaghi is a small town in the Kakheti province, the easternmost region of the country of Georgia. Its population is about 3,000 people. Sighnaghi is unique in that the city is surrounded by fortress walls, which are well preserved. Sighnaghi is also a Georgian city that is striving to become a tourism hub and is known as the city of love in Georgia. Here’s what to do in Sighnaghi, the city of love

Sighnaghi Fortress

The name of the city of Sighnaghi comes from the Turkish word “signak”, which means “shelter”. English translation Sighnaghi – refuge. The Georgian king Irakli II tried to save Georgia by concluding an agreement with Russia – the Treaty of Georgievsk. This treaty made Georgia a protectorate of Russia, and in return Georgia retained its territorial integrity. The plan backfired. Persia decided to invade and Russia did nothing to help.

King Irakli II built Sighnaghi in the 18th century as a refuge from attack. Sighnaghi is located high on a hill, overlooking the Alazani Valley and the Georgian Caucasus. Sighnaghi is surrounded by a four-kilometer defensive wall with 23 towers and six gates. It’s like a miniature Great Wall of China as it curves up and down the curves of the hills. The wall is still intact and walkable.

Sighnaghi’s Museum

The Sighnaghi Museum is a branch of the National Museum of Georgia. The Sighnaghi Museum has many exhibitions dedicated to the history and culture of Georgia. These exhibitions include ethnography, medieval archaeology, Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani and Georgian artist Lado Gudiashvili (whose art can also be seen in Tbilisi’s Kashveti Church). My favorite exhibition was the exhibition of works by Niko Pirosmani.

Niko Pirosmani wrote naive art. He was always poor. He taught himself to draw. He opened a painting shop and painted signs for businesses. The story is that he sold his store to buy carts of flowers for the French actress Marguerite. Pirosmani no longer had money, so he began to paint using cheap materials such as oil and cardboard. His most frequently used base was oilcloth. His paintings are dark in color and provide insight into the social conditions and daily life of Georgians in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Pirosmani died in poverty, and his work received recognition only after his death.