There are many places in Georgia that you might not even know existed. In this country, every piece of land is saturated with the history of the depth of centuries. And among such scraps there are those who for many centuries somehow miraculously manage to remain in the shadow of Time and human attention. I want to tell you about one cave monastery, which was founded over 1000 years ago and is inhabited to this day. It was from him that the construction of the more famous cave monasteries in this area began.
Welcome to Vanis-Kvabebi
It is located not far from its more famous brother - the cave city-monastery of Vardzia. But tourists are not taken here by whole buses. Usually it is quiet here and there are no extra eyes.
There is very little information on Vanis-Kvabebi. Few sources give scant information that it was founded in the VIII century, and in 1204 a protective wall was built in Vanis-Kvabebi, the remains of which can be seen there today. Huge human-sized boulders protected the modest life of monks from the raids of the Turks.
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Surprisingly, the monastery is now inhabited. On the lower tiers there are cells in which monks and laborers (worldly helpers) live. They have a refectory, a small patch of cultivated land with beds, a couple of friendly dogs. Monks lead an ascetic lifestyle and pay almost no attention to rare tourists.
If you are going to come here, it is better to ask permission to wander through the abandoned cells and specify where you can climb and where not.
Life in caves
The place amazes with its energy and sacredness. The wind rarely comes in here, keeping the centuries-old silence, broken only by the squeak of swifts.
You ask, what is it like to live here, without electricity and heat? In summer it is quite comfortable for yourself, but in winter the main problem for monks is water. Kura seething below completely freezes in severe frosts, testing the strength of the local inhabitants. The climb uphill on the icy road is not easy. More recently, there was nothing here except the usual primer, until the concrete was poured. The machine is the only connection with the outside world.
Vanis-Kvabebi consists of 19 levels (for comparison, there are only 8 in Vardzia). In contrast to the tourist Vardzia, the passages between the cells and the levels in Vanis-Kvabebi are poorly equipped.
You should be ready for unfenced balconies at a height of several tens of meters, stone "skinned" stairs, low aisles and swaying ladders.
There were three churches at different levels, two of which have survived to this day.
"Built-in" church
This church is visible from afar, because it is located on one of the upper tiers.
The church is built of rubble mixed with brick, and is stuck to the rocks, like a nest of swifts, of which a great many live here.
How and when it was built - no one can say. Some sources indicate that the church is XV century. The dating was based on a study of the inscriptions inside the church. The layer of inscriptions is regularly overwritten with a layer of more modern signs of an intelligent civilization. Who knows, perhaps in thousands of years archaeologists will draw appropriate conclusions about the level of cultural development of the humanoids of this period based on the remaining "Uasya was here, 21.04.15" …
Services are held in this church, it looks well-groomed and inhabited, thanks to the monks living here.
I would not recommend coming here with small children in order to avoid accidents. Not long ago it was impossible to reach this church, but now the way is clear.
The architectural style of the "built-in" church is not similar to any known today.
Church of Saint George
It is located on one of the lower levels. Unfortunately, this church was destroyed by earthquakes and all that remains of it is the altar vault and dome carved into the rock. There is no information about the date of its construction, but it is assumed that this happened not earlier than the XI century. The height of the Church of St. George is 12 meters. Services are also held there. This is the first open-air church that I have seen.
Stone anthill
All the surrounding rocks are pierced with dark eye sockets of cells carved into the rock. It’s incomprehensible how much time and effort it took.
It is already impossible to get into some of the cells without special equipment. But does it stop us?
Here is one of those cells that we just looked at from the church. Part of the outer wall has collapsed and lies inside. A stone with a hole is a millstone or some kind of vessel.
The walls and ceiling were smoky from fires, and the walls had been soaked through with candle wax for hundreds of years.
Vardzia
From the Vanis-Kvabebi caves you can see another city - Vardzia. You can get here by tourist bus. There is a large parking lot, a ticket office, a souvenir shop and opening hours.
The cave city is well equipped with fences, and even children can feel relatively safe here. It is easy to move around here and inspect the caves without a big risk of falling somewhere or hitting your head strongly against the ledge.
It is very beautiful in Vardzia. I would even say "refined beautiful", but this is my personal feeling. And it is good that there is an opportunity to maintain the ancient monument in such a state. And it's good that tourists come here.
Cave photographer
I visited the Vanis-Kvabebi caves twice and spent several hours there waiting for the beautiful light at dusk and dawn. If I was lucky with the first, then I simply did not wait for the second. At this time of the year, the sun looks into this natural amphitheater long after noon. But I do not regret the time spent.
Even just being here in complete silence, contemplating the green slopes of the mountains and imagining the life of this cave city at its peak, is already a delight.
And remember the main rules of visiting Vanis-Kvabebi: go quietly, say little, think a lot.
Alexey Marakhovets