Georgian grape varieties planted on Mount Athos in Greece

More than 500 grafted seedlings representing 30 varieties of Georgian vines have been planted on the holy mountain of Athos in northeastern Greece, the Georgian Ministry of Agriculture said on Tuesday.

Levan Ujmajuridze, the Director of the Scientific Research Centre of Agriculture at the State Agricultural University of Georgia, participated in the planting  event, which took place at the Georgian monastic cells of the Cathedral of the Archangels, located near the Vatopedi monastery complex.

In addition, the Centre supported the event by providing seed material of 10 types and varieties of Georgian local wheat.

The planting coincided with the commemoration of the 100,000 Georgian martyrs - a historical event in which Orthodox Christian believers were executed in Tbilisi in 1226 by the Khwarezmian sultan Jalal ad-Din for refusing to renounce Christianity after his capture of the Georgian capital - and took place on November 13.

The visit was organised under the guidance of Giorgi Andriadze, the Head of the Research Centre of Ethnogenetics of Georgia, and Gela Japaridze, the Consul General of the country in Thessaloniki.