Lashkendar

Lashkendari
View of the mountain from Tkvarcheli market square
Highest point
Elevation	1,373 m (4,505 ft)
Coordinates	42°49′51″N 41°43′06″E / 42.83083°N 41.71833°ECoordinates: 42°49′51″N 41°43′06″E / 42.83083°N 41.71833°E
Geography
Lashkendari Location in Georgia
Location	Abkhazia, Georgia

Lashkendari is a mountain in the Tkvarcheli district of Abkhazia.^{[note 1]} Its main summit is 1,373 m (4,505 ft) high. The mountain is one of the seven shrines of the Abkhaz people. There are also ruins of a Christian temple on one of its lesser summits (945 m (3,100 ft)) featuring bas-reliefs of leopards (or possibly dogs). The date of its construction is disputed with estimates ranging from 7th to 11th century.^[1]

Temple ruins

Etymology

Lashkendari or Lashqendari is a Megrelian word and means shaded or north side shkendi/shqerdi/shqedi - north side of a hill, shaded place, north side.

Notes

1. Abkhazia's status is disputed. It considers itself to be an independent state, but this is recognised by only a few other countries. The Georgian government and most of the world's other states consider Abkhazia de jure a part of Georgia's territory. In Georgia's official subdivision it is an autonomous republic, whose government sits in exile in Tbilisi.

References

• (Russian) Верещагин Сергей. Абхазия. (Sergey Vereshchagin. Abkhazia) 2004 - 2005.

1. (Russian) А.И. Джопуа, А.Ю. Скаков, А.В. Федотова Разведки на горе Лашкендар