Head through and out of Mtskheta. This gem is hidden some distance away in the yellow limestone mountains, but is a popular pilgrimage for many Georgians who go there to pray at the grave of Father Shio, a 6th Century monk who was said to be able to heal the sick. The church is beautiful, but the tomb itself is a marvel. Expect to see people crossing themselves, crying, and whispering rapid words of help for sick loved ones, or people with crutches and in wheelchairs touching the cold stone in hopes of a miracle cure or relief from pain. Those who are too ill to make the journey have relatives speak for them- these relatives place photos or personal items of the sick there, hoping to draw Monk Shio's healing attention to them. 

The complex was begun in the 6th century by Father Shio, one of the 13 Assyrian Fathers who came to Georgia to spread Christianity. The oldest building, the Monastery of St. John the Baptist, is a simple cruciform church, dated c. 560s-580s. It has an octagonal dome and once housed a masterfully ornate stone iconostasis (which you can now see at the Art Museum of Georgia in Tbilisi). The monastery was renovated in the 11th and 18th centuries, but is said to have kept much of its original architecture.

As you near the entrance to the monastery, look up and try to spot the caves carved by monks in centuries past, still visible around the monastery and along the road leading to the complex. Indeed, Father Shio himself is said to have spent the last years of his life as a hermit in a deep cave which you can also visit while there.