Ikalto Monastery

Iqalto (Georgian: იყალთო) is a village about 10 km west of the town Telavi in the Kakheti region of Eastern Georgia.

The Ikalto monastery was founded by Saint Zenon, one of the 13 Assyrian Fathers, in the late 6th century.

[1] The Academy of Ikalto trained its students in theology, rhetoric, astronomy, philosophy, geography, geometry, arithmetic, music, grammar, chanting but also more practical skills such as pottery making, metal work, viticulture and wine making and pharmacology.

According to a legend the famous 12th century Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli studied there.

In 1616 the Persian invaders led by Shah Abbas I set the Ikalto Academy on fire and it ceased to exist.