Gori A lovely, little city in the center of the country, mostly famous for being the birthplace of Soviet leader – Joseph Vissarionovich Jughashvili, better known as Stalin. Gori was an important military stronghold in the Middle Ages and maintains strategic importance due to its location on the principal highway connecting eastern and western Georgia. Stalin’s association with the city is emphasized by the Joseph Stalin Museum in downtown Gori in Georgian historical memory the city has long been associated with its citadel, the Gori Fortress, which is built on a cliffy hill overlooking the central part of the modern city. On another hill stands the 18th century St. George’s church of Gorijvari, a popular place of pilgrimage. a city is also a place of delicious food and wine. Uplistsikhe “The lord’s fortress” – An ancient rock-hewn town in eastern Georgia, some 10 kilometers east from Gori, 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.[1] Uplistsikhe seems to have declined in its importance and lost its position to the new centers of Christian culture – Mtskheta and, later Tbilisi The Uplistsikhe cave complex has been on the tentative list for inclusion into the UNESCO World Heritage program since 2007.