Dusk Aerial of the River Bend. At dusk the drone hangs above the great river bend, with the lights of Mtskheta about to come on. Mtskheta, across the river, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kartli (Iberia) for many centuries before the royal seat moved to Tbilisi. King Mirian III and Queen Nana accepted the faith through Saint Nino in the early 4th century, making Kartli one of the first Christian kingdoms.