OUT OF THE CITY

The ancient city of Orheiul Vechi is a natural and historical complex, located in a narrow
bend of the Raut River. The natural landscape of limestone rock, eroded by the river, is
combined with archaeological vestiges of the ancient Trypillian civilization. As a result of
archaeological excavations, cultural layers were discovered from different epochs, such as
the Paleolithic, Eneolithic, and Iron Age.Old Orhei contains traces of different civilizations,
including the remnants of earthen and wooden fortresses of Geto-Dacian fortress (6th-1st
centuries B.C.), the Golden Horde fort Shehr al-Jedid (or Yangi-Shehr) (14th century), a
Moldavian fort dating from the 14th-16th centuries, an Orthodox monastery (c 14th
century), and the Moldavian town of Orhei from the 14th-16th centuries.The Orthodox
monastery is still inhabited by a handful of Orthodox monks, who maintain the church at
the top of the hill. The caves are still functional as chapels. The caves contain an array of
historical artifacts and Old Church Slavonic inscriptions dating from the 1690s, which
testify that the Hajduk took shelter in the caves, hiding from the Ottoman Empire.
Old Orhei is a historical and archaeological complex,
located in Trebujeni, at 60 km north-east of
Chisinau, on river Raut.It is famous for its well
preserved cave monasteries. This territory was
isolated from the outer world and it is supposed
that, at the time when Christians came here, the
caves were been already cut in the rocks by
prehistoric tribes who had lived in the area. The
Christians probably used the existing caves but the
expansion of monastic life in the later middle ages
and frequent Crimean and Budjak Tatar raids forced
the monks to go deeper into inaccessible cliffs. They
expanded the existing caves and created new ones.
Some caves are well preserved nowadays.
Visiting Old Orhei you will see many caves carved in rocks, on the
bank of river Raut. The oldest Orthodox skete ‘Pestere’ is located
at a height of 60 m above Raut and it can be easily found due to
the belfry that was raised above it, later. It consists of a rock
church with an altar, a group of monastic cells and a corridor with
stairs leading to Raut.
In the Old Orhei, you feel isolated from the outer world. Staying
in the middle of monumental stone construction, cave
monasteries and all other archaeological reservations, will carry
you over the centuries to Moldova's ancient roots. Visit Orheiul
Vechi and discover its incredible history.