South Ossetia

Tskhinvali is the capital of South Ossetia, approximately 100km from Tbilisi. The birth of this city, populated by only 30,000 people, is owed to a trading route which once passed through it and connected Georgia with the Northern Caucasus. Nowadays though, this has been replaced by the Trans-Caucasian Highway and the Roki Tunnel which cuts for 3.7km under the mountains and was an instrumental supply route during the 2008 South Ossetian War. Even though this is far from a bustling capital, should you choose to venture around the streets you will find humbling remnants from the war such as roadside memorials and shelled-out Soviet blocks. If you want to learn about Ossetia’s history, there is also the museum which hosts a rich collection of local artifacts and artworks, and not far is the old Jewish part of the town which is home to the last remaining Jews in Tskhinvali.

Kurta was once populated by ethnic Georgians, however since the 1991-1992 and 2008 wars, its population began to dwindle and nowadays it lies completely abandoned. Kurta, and the surrounding area, is part of the Greater Liakhvi Museum-Reserve, and is also home to a medieval Georgian Orthodox church of St. George, along with the crumbling Former Palace of Tsiskarishvili. Being only 9km north-east of Tskhinvali, this would be ideal to visit on a day trip from the capital.