Motsameta Monastery stands on the cliff of a promontory in a bend of the Tskaltsitela River, about 4 miles (6 kilometers) northeast of Kutaisi in Georgia. Its name means Place of the Martyrs. The monastery, church and castle are built in the Georgian style and belong to the Georgian Orthodox Church.
In the eighth century the brothers David and Constantine of the Argveti family led a failed revolt against Arab occupiers. They refused to convert to Islam and were killed, and the Georgian Orthodox Church later recognized them as saints. In the eleventh century King Bagrat IV founded a temple on the site.
In 1923 officials of the Bolshevik secret police moved the brothers' relics from Gelati Monastery to a museum in Kutaisi. After a public outcry, the relics were quickly returned. A legend says a secret passage links Motsameta to Gelati.
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