Meskheti is situated on the south-west of Georgia. Many ancient historical monuments are still remaining in this part of our country, including Vardzia, which is historically the most important among others.
Vardzia, an enormous cave monastery hewn out of the cliffs in the second half of the twelfth century, lies at a distance of three hundred kilometres from Tbilisi, in the area of Meskheti (Aspindza Region) in the south-west of Georgia. It is situated 1,300 metres above sea level, and its nineteen tiers, now destroyed for the most part, stretch a distance of 500 metres.
The Khertvisi fortress is picturesquely situated on a rocky cliff at the confluence of the Dzhavakheta Mtkvari and the Artaani Mtkvari. The exact date of its foundation is unknown. The History of Georgia, a collection of old Georgian chronicles, bears wit ness to its existence from the most ancient times. The surviving structures, however, date from the tenth to the fourteenth centuries.
Along the right bank of the Artaani Mtkvari, not far from the charming Lake Tsunda, on a smallrocky cliff, stands an exquisitely ornamented church of the hall type dating from the late twelfth century, built by Ichkit Gurghenidze, a representative of a no ble feudal family. The town of Tsunda was famous even before the period of developed feudalism. It is mentioned by the eleventh century historian Leonty Mroveli as one of the most ancient cities of Eastern Georgia, and its existence as far back as the end of the fourth century B.C. can be considered as beyond doubt. As early as the fifth century A.D., this citadel was both the administrative and the religious centre of Dzhavakheta. But during the ninth and tenth centuries A.D. Tsunda lost its former importance. Its place in the political life of the country was taken by the fortified town of Tmogvi.
The fortress of Tmogvi is situated on the left of the Mtkvari, on the high crest of the Erusheti Mountains. Work on this biulding began in the early feudal period. In the tenth and eleventh centuries and later, the tsars of Georgia used to entrust it to one of their eristavis (provincial governors) who not only ruled over entire areas, but were also responsible for their defence. Below the fortress there are many caves hollowed out in the cliff. Still further down, on both banks of the river, are the remains of two arched bridges and a few palaces. Here was the town of Tmogvi. As the History of Georgia relates, Tmodvi was destroyed by the powerful earthquakes of 1089 and 1283.
Not far away, a mere 1,5 kilometres from Tmogvi, on the same bank of the Mtkvari, is Cholta - a series of cells of hermit monks, dating from the seventh or eighth century. There a collection of the laws of the rulers of the Meskheti, Bek and Agbug, was wr itten in the fourteenth century.
Not far from Tmogvi, on the right bank of the Mtkvari, is a small complex of cave hermitages, Margastani, dating from the seventh or eighth century.
Upstream, about 3 kilometres from Tmogvi, in a narrow gorge of the Dzhavakheta plateau, is the monastery of Vanis Kvabi, built between the eighth and sixteenth centuries. It is a many - tiered complex of caves hewn out of the cliffs. Among the structures of the monastery are hall churches, a domed church restored by Ichkit Gurgenidze in the 1180s, cells and store-rooms; there was doubtless also a refectory; parts of the horizantal and sometimes even vertical staired tunnels still exist; among the surface structures are a small church, and a strong defensive wall, built in 1204 by Anton Chkondideli, the prime minister of Tsaritsa Tamar. There is also a water-supply system consisting of ceramic pipes which brought water to the monastery from the springs of the Dzhavakheta plateau. On one of the highest tiers is a little domed church, clinging to the rock. Its walls are almost entirely covered with pictures and inscriptions in ink, drawn straight on to the stucco, all dating from the second half of the fifteenth century. Among the inscriptions are two lines from The Knight in the Tiger's Skin, the epic by Shota Rustaveli,-the oldest extant record of this poem. The thirteenth century charter of the Vanis Kvabi monastery, which even now exists, is an extremely valuable relic, reflecting the the differentation among the monks, characteristic of Georgia at that Time.
Three kilometres from Vanis Kvabi, upstream along the
Mtkvari, lies Vardzia. Beyond it, in the depths of
a gorge, is the two-naved, richy adorned church of the Mother of God, biult in the eleventh century. Its
southern entrance gallery is decorated with three arches. The monks lived
nearby in cave cells, and the church, is known as
Zeda Vardzia, which is to say Upper Vardzia. Zeda Vardzia is mentioned
in the History of Georgia precisely with reference to the building of
Vardzia: Tsaritsa Tamar set about constructing a church for the icon of
the Virgin of Vardzia, who helped her in her campaigns". Here the
chronicler informs us that the monastery was transferred from Zeda Vardzia
to Lower Vardzia. The choice of site was conditioned by The fate of
Vardzia has been harsh; almost everything which could have described the
history of the monastery in detail has perisshed. But Vardzia has at least
been fortunate in beiing mentioned in the History of Georgia of which,
indeed, it provides one of the most remarkable pages. Thus not only the
time of the founding of the monastery, but also that its downfall are
known to us. The first stage of construction took place during the reign
of Tsar Georghy III (1156-84). The working out of the original plan was
linked primarily with his name. It was also then that the first cave
dwellings were hewn out near the spring. The second stage of construction
was undertaken between the death of Georghy and the marriage of Tamar
(1184-86). By order of the tsaritsa, the original plan was partly altered.
The centre of the monastery was set up by the spring, in a place where
there had previously been cave cells. The large hall church of the
Assumption was hewn out of the cliff and adorned through the initiative
and at the expense of Rati Surameli, eristavi of Kartalinia. We have been
able to clarify this by reading the inscriptions on the portraits of the
founders. The third stage of development took place between the complation
of work on the church and the battle in the hills of Basiani (1186-1203).
Around the church of the Assumption work was finished on the hewing out of
the monks' rock houses, a defensive cover, a complex tunnelled
water-course and an irrigation canal. The Vardzia monastery was well known
from the moment of the consecration of the church, and its popularity grew
continuously. Thus by the turn of the thirteenth century, Vardzia was an
important political, religious and cultural centre, exerting a powerful
influence on the formation of public opinion, and the very word
"Vardzia" became the epitome of the spirit of the people of
Georgia, with their humanity and love of freedom. The earthquake of 1283
heavily damaged Vardzia. The partial rebuilding of the monastery after
this disaster is linked with the fourth stage of construction under Beq
Dzhakeli-Tsikhisdzhvareli (1285-1306). In 1578, when Turkish ways took
over in Meskheti, the church and its priests were persecuted, the
monasteries emptied and the monks sought refuge in Imereti and Kartalinia.
The inhabitants left. The caves of Vardzia fell into decay. The monastery
ceased t o exist. The nineteen tiers stretched east to west, and all the
dwellings were hollowed out into the depth of the cliff from south to
north. The construction of Vardzia followed a pre-determined plan: the
many-tiered living accommodation was placed around the foca l church of
the Assumption, which was situated in the depth of the cliff. The church
divides the ensemble into two unequal parts - a western part and an eastern
part. The main architectural element of the rock complex, an entrance
gallery in front of the house, distinguishes the Vardzia monastery from
early cave cells of hermit monks. Short tunnels
between the galleries linked the rock houses
horizontally along the tiers. Vertical links between the galleries were
made by hatches to which wooden ladders we re attached. Besides these,
long vertical tunnels were also used, with exits
on every tier. Even when a house led straight on to an open terrace, the
entrance gallery nevertheless formed a necessary part of the house; it
served not only as a link between houses, but also
as a room where the monk spent a great part of his day. In Vardzia there
were two-roomed, three-roomed and four-roomed cliff dwellings, including
two-storeyed ones. In the middle of the Vardzia rock complex is the church of the assumption.
The functional centre of the monastery, it also serves as compositional
centre. The vault and alter are hewn out of the rock, but the walls are
mainly of stone-work. Behind the church is a pool for the spring water,
which was considered holy. Near the church, in the rock, are several
graves. To the north of the church is a tombstone, on the front face of
which are visible the remains of coloured glazed slabs. In the d epths of
the cliff are hidden tunnels and secret caves. The artistic value of the
Vardzia ensemble is in no small measure dependent on the presence in the
church of the Assumption of some unique frescoes.
Ananauri occupies a vast area. In addition to the cave complex, it includes the sunken terraces of the former gardens and vineyards stretching to the ruins of the tunnelled irrigation canal. Here there are secular rock houses (including a two-storreyed house with a cattle-shed), a wine-making shop and a reservoir. On the upper terrace is the cliff church of Ananauri, which dates from at least the tenth century and has a small refuge. This church is of the hall type. The walls and ceiling are covered with paintings.The entrance gallery of the church has not been preserved; there is only an antechurch, on the eastern wall of which, over the entrance to the church itself, are frescoes including the Descent of the Holy Ghost, the Annunciation, the Deesis, St. Ivlita, a portrait of an unknown founder and representations of two angels.
Because of the smallness of the church, the compositions on Gospel subjects are correspondingly diminutive. The wall paintings have suffered greatly, and the faces of the saints have been barbarously erased. But the color has been well preserved. The frescoes always have a black background; the inscriptions are largerly in white paint; the choice of colours is harmonious and original.
The wall paintings of the Ananauri church have not been so far studied thoroughly. They can be tentatively attributed to the sixteenth century: they are executed in a drier manner than the mural decorations of the preceding periods, the lights marked in white strongly contrasting with the brownish black used to intensify the pupils of the eyes and the contours of the eyebrows.
The episcopal church of Kumurdo is in a few kilometres from Vardzia. It is famous as the one of the Ist historical monument of the Ist century.
Monastery of Safara is located in the mountains of Meskheti to the South-East. It is the st.Saba's monastery build in 13th century.
We offer some legends about Vardzia.
Designed by Lika mamulashvili
