Gelati Monastery The Monastery of the Virgin - Gelati near Kutaisi (Imereti region of Western Georgia) was founded by the King of Georgia David the Builder (1089-1125) in 1106. The Gelati Monastery for a long time was one of the main cultural and intellectual centers in Georgia. It had an Academy which employed some of the most celebrated Georgian scientists, theologians and philosophers, many of whom had previously been active at various orthodox monasteries abroad or at the Mangan Academy in Constantinople. Among the scientists were such celebrated scholars as Ioane Petritsi and Arsen Ikaltoeli. Due to the extensive work carried out by the Gelati Academy, people of the time called it "a new Hellas" and "a second Athos". The Gelati Monastery has preserved a great number of murals and manuscripts dating back to the 12th-17th centuries.