Tetri Udabno Cave Monastery (David Gareja)
Tetri Udabno Monastery (Georgian: გარეჯის თეთრი უდაბნოს მონასტერი) – The part of the David Gareja monastery complex. Only a small part of the once large monastery remains – two churches and several cells carved into the upper part of the rock massif. Before the monastery was preserved in 1996, a large rock massif collapsed on the right side, which also covered the southwestern part of the northern extension of the church. The church itself was subjected to the same destruction and after the collapse only the painted apse remained. Based on the iconography, scientists suggest that the paintings in the apse of the main temple date back to the 7th-8th centuries.
The geological layer of the rocks in which the monastery complex, Tetri Udabno, is carved, consists of granular sandstone, which is very soft and crumbles even at the slightest touch. A deep vertical crack crosses it, threatening the preservation of the main temple of the monastery. In 1998, conservation work was carried out on the paintings. Preliminary studies led experts to the conclusion that, due to the critical geological situation, the only solution for preserving the paintings was to remove them and store them in a museum. In 1999, the paintings were separated and transferred to Tbilisi.
Gareji Desert (Georgian: გარეჯის უდაბნო), Sagarejo Municipality (Georgian: საგარეჯოს მუნიციპალიტეტი)
