Adishi Small Church

　　Attraction Introduction
　　     According to tradition, women in the Svaneti Valley were generally not allowed to enter churches, as their blood was believed to “defile the holy sanctuary.” Nana was able to enter the small church because she was pregnant at the time the photo was taken. For centuries, the Svans have been known for their fierce bravery, embodying the martial spirit of the Georgian people.

　　    Svaneti has long been regarded as the eastern outpost of Christianity. In the remote villages of the Caucasus Mountains, the Svans have hidden their artistic treasures and guarded them with their lives. They even secretly concealed icons from other Georgian religious traditions within the small churches of Svaneti to protect them from destruction by invaders.

　　    When peace was eventually restored, these icons remained in the hands of those who called themselves the “defenders of the faith.” Today, they stand as magnificent works of art and also as symbols of a bygone golden age.

　　Features

　　    According to tradition, women in the Svaneti Valley were generally not allowed to enter churches, as their blood was believed to “defile the holy sanctuary.” Nana was able to enter the small church because she was pregnant at the time the photo was taken.

　　 Tbilisi, Georgia