Medieval monasteries in Georgia. Visit the monastery of Sapara and Zarzma.

The oldest structure of the complex - the Assumption Church - dates back to the X century . The main part of the monastery (the main domed church of St. Saba, the bell tower and the palace) were built at the turn of the XIII-XIV centuries, under the rule of Mtavar Samtskhe, Beki Dzhakeli (1285-1309).

On the south wall of the Church of St. Saba has a ktitor image - a family portrait of Jakeli: Sargis I (1266-1285), who later became a monk and took the name Saba, his son Beka I - with a model of the frame in his hands, his sons Sargis II and Kvarkvare (1334-1360). To the west of the temple, above the window of the narthex, there is a construction inscription by the architect Parezasdze. Both the interior and exterior of the temple are decorated with numerous decorations and carvings. The bell tower, located to the west of the main temple, is the ancestral tomb of the chief manager of the Jakeli - Lasurisdze family. On the western side of the monastery rise the ruins of an old fortress. In the XVI century, during the rule of the Ottomans, the monks left the monastery. Monastic life resumed here in the XIX century .

The monastery in Zarzma is located in the historical Samtskhe, 12 km away. from the city of Adigeni.The monastery consists of a domed church, a bell tower and a single-nave chapel. The monastery was founded in the IX century by a monk from Klarjeti, Serapion of Zarzma (Basil of Zarmz told about his life in the hagiographic work "The Life of Serapion of Zarmz"). Serapion was assisted in the construction of the monastery by a local nobleman Georgy Chorchaneli, who even donated a village for the new monastery. The church, which now does not exist, was built by the architect Garbaneli.

The present monastery complex was built at the beginning of the XIV century by mtavari Samtskhe, Beka Dzhakeli (1285-1309). In the arch of the entrance part of the chapel there is a historical inscription of the 10th century (telling about the history of the campaign of David III Kurapalat against Varda Sklir), preserved from the old building.

There are a lot of carvings and frescoes in Zarzma. In the paintings, along with religious subjects, there are also clerical portraits of laypeople. On the south side is a family portrait of the Mtavars of Samtskhe-Dzhakeli (Sargis I - 1266-1285; Beka I - 1285-1309; Sargis II - 1309-1334; Kvarkvare 1334-1360). On the northern wall there are paintings of the XVI century. The Zarzma Bell tower is one of the largest in Georgia. On its first floor of the XVI century, Khurtsidze opened the Church of St. John the Theologian. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Georgian exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church carried out restoration work in Zarzma. Part of the frescoes and the iconostasis were erased at this time.