Patara Kvabebi Cave Monastery (David Gareja)
The monastery, called Ratara Kvabebi (“Little Cauldrons” (caves)) (Georgian: გარეჯის პატარა ქვაბების მონასტერი ) – The monastery is located at the end of the Gareja desert, on the outskirts of the Vashlovani Nature Reserve. The monastery is carved into a small rock in the area of the left tributary of the Iori River, 12 kilometers from the neighboring monastery – Didi Kvabebi (“big cauldrons”). The monastery complex includes a domed church, a refectory and small caves for various purposes.
The ceiling of the main domed church is destroyed. On one of the walls, traces of paintings have been preserved, in which the red color predominates. According to experts, the wall should have depicted the Virgin Mary. Small cells, located one after another, are connected to the main church by a common, rather large tunnel, cut into the rock. The monastery is a kind of eastern “Outpost”, the extreme eastern part, among the numerous monastery complexes of David Gareja. Further, there are no more caves.
Gareji Desert (Georgian: გარეჯის უდაბნო), Sagarejo Municipality (Georgian: საგარეჯოს მუნიციპალიტეტი)
