Machakheli

Machakheli (, Mač’axeli; ) is a historical geographical area in Adjara and long valley along the river Machakhlistskali between Turkey and Georgia. There are 23 settled villages in this valley. For its ecology, flora and fauna, as well as cultural importance, both the Turkish and Georgian segments of the valley are protected by the respective governments.

== History == Machakheli, also archaically known as Michikhiani (მიჭიხიანი), had been part of the Georgian kingdom until its fragmentation in the late 15th century. Then it passed to the semi-independent princes of Samtskhe (also known effectively as Saatabago (საათაბაგო) for the rule of atabegs from the Jaqeli family), who submitted to the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II in 1479. The Ottoman administration is not attested until the 1570s. In 1563 the ruler of Machakheli, probably of the Shalikashvili clan, converted to Islam and joined the Ottoman ranks under the name of Lagvesh Ahmed. Under the Ottoman subdivision, Maçahel was a sub-district of the sanjak of Livâne.