Mestia

Mestia (Georgian: მესტია) is a highland townlet in northwest Georgia, at an elevation of 1500 metres in the Caucasus Mountains. It is located in the Svaneti region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti province. Its population is 2600 in the town itself. The population is mostly Svans, a cultural and linguistic subgroup of the Georgians. Despite its small size, the townlet was an important centre of Georgian culture for centuries and contains a number of medieval monuments, such as churches and forts, included in a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The townlet is dominated by stone defensive towers of a type seen in Ushguli ("Svan towers"). A typical Svan fortified dwelling consisted of a tower, an adjacent house (machub) and some other household structures encircled by a defensive wall.