Svan Towers of Mestia

The history of the town of Mestia is closely intertwined with that of the historical region of Upper Svanetia, which is now the municipality of Mestia. It played a prominent role in Georgian culture and contains a number of medieval monuments, such as churches and fortresses, which are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Until 1953 the town was called Seti (სეტი), and in 1968 Mestia was given the status of settlement with an urban character (daba). After the Rose Revolution of 2003, Mestia became one of the central pillars of the tourism policy and significant investments were made in the town and its surroundings. In 2010, the completely modernized airport opened and the Hatsvali cable car was opened just outside the town.
Mestia and all of Svanetia is a popular destination within Georgia, attracting especially mountain, nature and winter sports enthusiasts. In addition, Mestia is known for the so-called Svan towers, tower houses built as defense houses. Most date from the 9th to 12th centuries. A Svan tower is about 20 to 25 meters high and has four to five floors. The ground floor, whose walls are up to 1.5 meters wide, usually have no doors and no windows with the entrance at a higher level. The upper part of the tower is narrower than the lower and the width of the walls decreases upwards. The tower has embrasures on each side. The Svan towers are part of residential buildings or stand alone. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mestia_(city)