It is common knowledge that Tao-Klarjeti is the name given to an important historical region of Meskheti, Georgia, which along with a few other regions (Artani, Shavsheti, Kola, Parkhali, Tortomi, etc.), is currently located on the territory of Turkey and covers the upper basin of the Chorokhiand the Mtkvari rivers. Historical sources and artifacts reveal that for thousands of years the region hadboth close cooperation and confrontation with a number of Asian countries and cultures.

The project – “the Catalogue of the Georgian Cultural Monuments Located in Turkey” was implemented by Caucasus University and the Center for Georgian Culture and Tourism Resources with financial support of ShotaRustaveli National Science Foundation.

The project,within which more than 20 exploration expeditions were carried out,was implemented between2013 and 2016. More than 1000 Georgian villages and their outskirts in Tao-Klarjeti and Kola-Artaani were explored and their current state studied. New monuments of culture were discovered and scientifically studied and described. Also, photos and GPS coordinates were taken and historical toponyms ascertained.

In addition, a number of manuscripts and other written sources on Tao-Klarjeti were studied. The Catalogue of Tao-Klarjeti Cultural Monuments,including all the above-mentioned information, is published in four volumes and contains descriptions of more than 1,200 monuments, including those having a special historical and architectural value. Nowadays, the majority of Tao-Klarjeti monuments exist only in written sources or at best only small fragments remain. However, we still considered it reasonable to describe them and include them in the Catalogue.

The first volume is a general part (historic background, index, literature and so on). In the other three volumes the description is given according to historical regions: volume 2 – Kola-Artaani; volume 3 – Shavsheti-Klarjeti, volume 4 – Tao.  A description of each monument is attached with written sources and photo material.