Iverskaya (Anakopia) mountain and chapel description and photos - Abkhazia: New Athos (Topic)

Iverskaya (Anakopia) mountain and chapel description and photos - Abkhazia: New Athos. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photos and a map showing the nearest significant objects.

Photo and description

The Iverskaya (Anakopia) mountain and the chapel in New Athos are one of the city's attractions.

Iverskaya Mountain, located on the territory of the Gudauta region, is relatively low. Its maximum height is only 344 m. At the top of the mountain today you can see the preserved ruins of the ancient city of Anakopia, as well as the ruins of the Anakopia citadel.

There are many karst caves under the Anakopia Mountain and in the vicinity of the city, but the unique New Athos Cave has become the main attraction of the mountain, which made it quite famous. The cave was opened for visits back in 1975. A stone road paved by monks leads along the picturesque slopes of the Iverskaya Mountain. It starts at the foot of the mountain and ends at the very top. Iverskaya Mountain is decorated with amazingly beautiful cypress alleys. Chapel buildings, a temple were erected here, and a little later - hotels and a couple of cable car stations. A beautiful panorama of the city of New Athos and its surroundings opens from the Iverskaya Mountain.

On the mountain is the Chapel of the Iberian Mother of God, erected in 1913 by the New Athos monks. It was here that the miraculous icon was kept, which was transferred from the St. Panteleimon monastery in Old Athos. According to legend, the icon came to the monastery at a time when the monks of the Iberian temple saw a pillar of fire in the middle of the sea with the image of the Mother of God, who, according to the monks, became the defender of the fortress and the mountain.

At the end of VI Art. the Arabs wanted to take possession of the fortress, but quite unexpectedly they were seized by an epidemic that killed more than one thousand people. In the entire history of the fortification, no one has been able to take it. Only time, revolutions and wars were able to destroy the fortress. The wall behind the Iberian Chapel is painted with various Christian symbols. It was erected in the XIX century. from the bas-reliefs found during excavations.

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Topic: Iverskaya (Anakopia) mountain and chapel description and photos - Abkhazia: New Athos.