Gavazi

Gavazi, the Old Gavazi, is a historical village. It was located on the territory of the modern Akhalsopeli (Kvareli municipality), on both banks of the Alazani River.

In Georgian written sources, Gavazi is first mentioned in the 11th-century chronicle “Matiane Kartlisa” (The History of Kartli), referring to events of the 9th century, when the bishop Samuel of Donauri defeated the Arabs there. Gavazi's significance notably increased in the 15th-16th centuries, as it was situated on the road from the capital of the Kingdom of Kakheti – Gremi – towards Shirvan and Iran. After the invasion of Kakheti by Shah Abbas, its significance declined. In the 18th century, the population of Gavazi was relocated to the Alazani Plain, where a new village of the same name emerged. Archaeological excavations between 1969 and 1972 (led by L. Chilashvili) revealed that the Gavazi area was also populated in the Bronze Age.

In the village, there are remains of an early Christian church, the Church of the Mother of God of Old Gavazi (dating to the end of the 4th century and the beginning of the 5th century). It is a building of tetraconch (four-concha) type, with a central square surrounded by arms ending in apses with a vaulted, semi-circular shape. The conchs under the dome are also C-shaped. There are two entrances: from the south and the west. Three windows are located in the dome's neck. In 1850, when the abandoned village of Gavazi was repopulated and renamed Akhalsopeli, the church was restored and thoroughly repaired. In 1852, Ivan Amilakhvari rebuilt and populated the village of Gavazi and renewed the church. The church of Old Gavazi was further repaired in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Restoration work on the monument began in 1985 (architects M. Dvali and G. Nikoladze).

In 2011, the National Agency for the Protection of Cultural Heritage carried out restoration work on the monument.

Literature: Чубинашвили Г. Н., Архитектура Кахетии, Тб., 1959.

L. Chilashvili

M. Dvali