Shida Kartli (The Inner Kartli) is a region in Georgia. It consists of the following districts: Gori, Kaspi, Kareli, Java, Khashuri. The northern part of the region, namely Java, and northern territories of Kareli and Gori, (total area of 1,393 km²) is controlled by the authorities of the self-proclaimed republic of South Ossetia since 1992. The most interesting sites in Shida Kartli are unquestionably the amazing, ancient cave city of Uplistsikhe near Gori, and the Stalin Museum in the center of Gori—a visitor to the region should skip neither.

Gori

Gori is a city in eastern Georgia, which serves as the regional capital of Shida Kartli and the centre of the homonymous administrative district. The name is from Georgian gora , that is, "heap", or "hill".[1] As of 2002, it had a population of 49,500. Gori was an important military stronghold in the Middle Ages and maintains a strategic importance due to its location on the principal highway connecting eastern and western parts of Georgia. In the course of its history, Gori has been invaded by the armies of regional powers several times. The city was occupied by Russian troops during the 2008 Conflict. Gori is also known as the birthplace of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and ballistic missile designer Alexander Nadiradze.

Gori Fortress

Gori Fortress is a medieval citadel in Georgia, standing above the city of Gori on a rocky hill. The fortress first appears in the 13th century records but archaeological evidence shows that the area had already been fortified in the last centuries BC. The fortress controlled major strategic and economic routes and accommodated a large garrison. In the 16th century the Ottomans captured it to overawe Tbilisi, and then it continually changed hands between the Turks, the Georgians, and the Persians. The citadel acquired the present-day form under the Georgian kings Rostom of Kartli in the 1630s and Erekle II in 1774. After the Russian annexation of Georgia in 1801, the fortress was garrisoned by a Russian grenadier battalion, but its importance gradually declined and the fortifications went defunct. The British Encyclopaedia Metropolitana reported in 1845: At the foot of a chain of low sand-stone hills stands the Town and Fortress of Gori, (perhaps the Gursenna of Strabo,) the next place in magnitude and importance to Tiflis. The Castle, an oblong, 200 paces in length, placed sixteen fathoms above the level of the Liakhvi, running at the foot of the hill on which it stands, is now abandoned, a Chapel in its South-Eastern angle being the only part in use.[1] Gori Fortress was significantly damaged by the earthquake in 1920. The best preserved structure is Tskhra-kara (“the Nine-gated”), which looks to the west, and is adjoined by the supplementary walls on the south and east.

Joseph Stalin Museum

The Joseph Stalin Museum is a museum in Gori, Georgia dedicated to the life of Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, who was born in Gori. The main corpus of the complex is a large palazzo in Stalinist Gothic style, begun in 1951 ostensibly as a local history museum, but clearly intended to become a memorial to Stalin, who died in 1953. The exhibits are divided into six halls in roughly chronological order, and contain many items actually or allegedly owned by Stalin, including some of his office furniture, his personal effects and gifts made to him over the years. There is also much illustration by way of documentation, photographs, paintings and newspaper articles. The display concludes with one of twelve copies of the death mask of Stalin taken shortly after his death

Uplistsikhe

Uplistsikhe is an ancient rock-hewn town in eastern Georgia, some 10 kilometers east of the town of Gori, Shida Kartli. Built on a high rocky left bank of the Mtkvari River, it contains various structures dating from the Early Iron Age to the Late Middle Ages, and is notable for the unique combination of various styles of rock-cut cultures from Anatolia and Iran, as well as the co-existence of pagan and Christian architecture
Uplistsikhe is identified by archaeologists as one of the oldest urban settlements in Georgia. Strategically located in the heartland of ancient kingdom of Kartli (or Iberia as it was known to the Classical authors), it emerged as a major political and religious center of the country. The town’s age and importance led medieval Georgian written tradition to ascribe its foundation to the mythical Uplos, son of Mtskhetos, and grandson of Kartlos

Atenis Sioni

The Ateni Sioni Church is an early 7th-century Georgian Orthodox church some 10 km (6 miles) south of the city of Gori, Georgia. It stands in a setting of the Tana River valley known not only for its historical monuments but also for its picturesque landscapes and wine. The name "Sioni" derives from Mount Zion at Jerusalem. Sioni is a domed cruciform church (24X19.22 m.) with the façade furnished with carved quadrangle greenish-gray stones, rich decorated ornaments and relief. The church is an imitation of the earlier Jvari Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site at Mtskheta, Georgia. The walls of the church contain the first inscriptions by Nuskhuri or Nuskha-Khutsuri, one of the versions of early Georgian alphabet, dating from 835. The first examples of Mkhedruli, a currently used Georgian script, are also found in the Ateni Sioni church and date back to the 980s. One of the inscriptions at the church commemorates Adarnase, the first documented Georgian Bagratid nobleman who was the father of Ashot I, the founder of the new royal line of Georgia. Near the church there are the ruins of the medieval fortified town of Ateni (modern-day villages of Didi Ateni and Patara Ateni).