Dubi Monastery on the eastern edge of the town of Kvareli lies south of the road out to Kvareli Lake. The church is a standard Kakhetian three church basilica that was excavated some years ago and dated to the seventh century. Today the church is the heart of a modern convent which has led to a few changes being made, but these have generally been sympathetic to the monument's original state. The most obvious alteration has been the extension of the small east window in the central nave to allow a great deal more light into the main body of the church. Interestingly in this case the north and south aisles are asymmetric with the south aisle being significantly narrower than that of the north side. As at Eniseli, the north aisle is truncated so that a pastophorion, entered from the central nave of the church occupies the eastern part of the northern aisle. However in this case the remainder of the aisle was apsed at the east end - and this segment of the building is now ruined. On the south side the aisle was originally barrel vaulted, but this has now been lost and most of the aisle is open to the elements although a small chapel with a flat east wall is enclosed at the eastern end. Originally the building functioned as a parish church but today is primarily the preserve of the nuns, although they are well integrated within the local community and are welcoming to all visitors. Dubi remains a relatively small example of the three church basilica.
Creator
Emma Loosley
Date of Visit
19th August 2017
Contributor
Emma Loosley
Peter Leeming
Rights
Metadata and all media released under Creative Commons
unless otherwise indicated
Type
Architecture
Tags
Architecture, Basilica, C7th, Church, Convent, Dubi, Georgia, Kakheti, Kvareli, Monastery, Three Church Basilica
Collection
The Early Christian Architecture of Georgia
Citation
Emma Loosley, “Dubi, Kvareli,” Architecture and Asceticism, accessed December 3, 2024, https://architectureandasceticism.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/858.