A church

You’ve noticed a building that does not quite fit in with its surroundings. The Prince Church is an ancient structure that dates back to the 9th or 10th centuries and is located in Uplistsikhe, an ancient rock-hewn town in eastern Georgia. It is one of the few structures that survived the Mongol invasion, despite the Mongols killing thousands of monks. The reason why the Mongols spared the church is unclear, but it is possible that they used it as their base of operations during the invasion. Uplistsikhe was a pagan holy place before Georgia's conversion to Christianity, and there would have been a prominent temple on the site. It is noteworthy that many churches throughout the Caucasus region were built over the ruins of demolished temples. The decline of Uplistsikhe began in the 12th century after Mongol invasions, although it was still functioning for the next few centuries.