Where and since when
The fortress stands in the town of Akhaltsikhe, about a thousand metres above sea level. It was built in the 9th century under the name Lomsia — Georgian for “lion”. By the end of the 12th century it was called Akhal-tsikhe, “new fortress” — the root of our “Ahıska”.
The atabegs’ capital
In the 13th–14th centuries Akhaltsikhe was the capital of Samtskhe-Saatabago, the domain of the princely house of Jaqeli.
The Ahmediye Mosque
In 1752 the ruler Haji Ahmed Pasha Jaqeli built a mosque inside the fortress, modelled on Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. It served as a mosque for 76 years, until 1828, when the city was taken by Russian troops. In 1850 it was consecrated as a church.
Restoration
In 2011–2012 the Georgian government restored the complex: the Ahmediye Mosque, the madrasa, the baths, the citadel walls, a church and underground passages. Today it is a museum open to visitors.
Our oda
The wooden oda with a carved hearth and a stepped ceiling, on which the room on our home page is based, is in the museum of this fortress.