The Christian monuments of Albanian period in Aghstafa region

Abstract

Aghstafa region is rich in Christian monuments of the Albanian period. The complex of Keshikchidagh monuments located on the border of modem Republic of Azerbaijan and Georgia is particularly distinguished among the se monuments. The monument consists of 72 caves and subsidiary installati ons attached to them. Some of them are natural, others man-made caves. The Keshikchidagh mountain temples were built in the V-VII centuries. But the Кeshikchi-gal a (watchtower) had been one of the observation and transmission installations of the Shaddadis that was established in the X century with capital city of Ganja. The Georgian images in the mountain caves of Keshikchidagh relate to the period after the elimination of the Albanian catholicate in 1836.