The monastery, buried in forest, overlooks a dry ravine. Its breathtaking view unfolds before you quite unexpectedly, only when you come right up to it — which is probably why it was named Sapara ("hidden"). According to Vakhushti: "Above the confluence of the Akhaltsikhe water with the Mtkvari... on the ravine is the monastery of Sapara, beautifully and grandly built, domed, of the All-Holy. It was adorned with everything of the church and with relics of the saints, and the atabegs were buried there." This was once one of the residences of the atabegs of Samtskhe, the Jakeli family, hence the variety of old buildings in these parts. Though historical sources tell us almost nothing of its construction, the inscriptions surviving on the church's walls and frescoes give very interesting information about its dating and its ktetors