“Four Churches” Population: zero
North-west of Yusufeli lies a stupendously beautiful road with mountains soaring on either side and the valley floor lush with greenery, some of it the acid-green of paddy fields.
Drive along it and you will come to the hamlet of Tekkale where you turn right and keep going for another 7km to find the church at Dörtkilise (Four Churches), an austere building, its facade covered with blind arcading, its interior concealing some soaring pointed arches that surely foretell Gothic architecture. More importantly the wall of the sanctuary still bears clear traces of three bands of fresco that are not yet completely beyond recovery.
In 1989 T.A.Sinclair recorded as much as possible of the fresco cycles which he believed to include a figure of Christ in the apse, a depiction of Moses at Sinai receiving the 10 Commandments and images from the life of Christ. Interestingly in this specific context is what he took to be a portrayal of Nana, the first Christian queen of Georgia, who may be holding a model of the church. She had been converted to Christianity by St Nino who may have been born in Cappadcia.
The church dates back to the 10th century and was probably restored by David Magistros, a Bagratid Georgian ruler who died in 937. It was originally the centrepiece of a monastery. Today there are still remains of a refectory attached to it and of a separate building that may have been a chapel.
Like its twin in Barhal, the church at Dörtkilise lacks a dome but because it was never turned into a mosque it stands in ruins with foliage sprouting from its walls. 
The church is signed from the road and you follow a path through a meadow and across a brook to reach it. It’s a truly idyllic setting.
Why “Four Churches”?
The judges are out on that one. There is another church beside the castle at Tekkale (One Castle) and a third uphill at Bayırkilise, beyond Dörtkilise itself. No one seems to know whether a fourth was ever built. Alternatively it may merely refer to the church itself, the adjacent chapel and two other parts of the attached monastery.
Sleeping
There is a simple pension in Tekkale but most people will probably visit from Yusufeli.
Transport info
Even if you could find a dolmuş from Yusufeli to Tekkale you would still need onward transport along the unmade road to the church so you might as well agree a return fare from Yusufeli and have done.
