Vanis Kvabebi

Vanis Kvabebi ('the caves of Vani') is another cave monastery with more than 200 well-developed caves, several churches, a defensive wall and a tunnel system. Located in South Georgia, not far from Vardzia, it dates back to the 8th century. This makes Vanis Kvabebi several centuries older than the famous nearby cave city of Vardzia. 

In addition to the historical and architectural aspects of the complex, the monastery's law book (Typikon) dating from the early 13th century and the oldest manuscripts of the national epic " The Knight in the Panther's Skin" are of particular interest.

The name

Kvabebi definitely means "cave", but there are several explanations for the origin of "Wani". Two of them are

1. the place around the monastery was called Vahani, so the monastery was later called Vahanis Kvabebi, meaning the caves of Vahani. Later Vahani was shortened to Wani. In fact, many old sources refer to the monastery as "Vahanis Kvabebi".

2 Wani may also be an abbreviation of Savannah.  In Georgian, "Savannah" means a place of spiritual peace, relaxation and serenity, and the monasteries of the past were often called "Men's" and "Women's Savannah" instead of "Men's" or "Nunnery".

General information and early everyday life of Vanis Kvabebi

In the 8th century, some monks in Georgia began to lead an ascetic life. They chose the steppes of Dawit Gareja as their place of residence or founded new cave monasteries. Vanis Kvabebi is a good example of the spread of ascetic life among monks in Georgia.

Soon after the monastery was founded, about 70 monks lived here, and new members were accepted only after a long period of probation. The cave monastery had a strictly structured daily routine, with life at Vanis Kvabebi, as in monasteries in general, consisting of prayer and work.

The monastery had its own lands, some of which still exist today. The monks did hard physical labour, but sometimes they had to hire local farmers to help with agricultural tasks. The monastery also received many voluntary donations from kings, princes and simple farmers. This enabled the monastery not only to feed itself, but also to help others.

In the monastery, manuscripts were copied, books were designed and many were translated. The resulting books were given away for free, but people usually donated to the monastery when they wanted a book or when they asked the monks to write a letter. 

Vanis Kvabebi also had its own house rules, for example women were not allowed to enter the monastery. Even if the guest was a man, he was asked who he was staying with - the head of the monastery or a monk - and was received and looked after accordingly. A guest was allowed to stay in the monastery for a maximum of three days, regardless of social class or position.

For beggars and the poor, the monastery had monks assigned daily to ensure that anyone who came to the monastery for food or help received something. However, those seeking help were not allowed to enter the monastery grounds, but were met and fed at the entrance to the monastery in a specially equipped area.

Unlike most monasteries today, where everyone is at least allowed into the church, the monastery of Vanis Kvabebi was a relatively closed world with its own strict house rules, which were written down in detail in the Typikon (monastic code) in the 13th century.

History of Vanis Kvabebi

The cave monastery was founded in the 8th century and both the caves and the ruins of the church from this period are still preserved at Vanis Kvabebi.

Between the 9th and 11th centuries, more cave dwellings and a church dedicated to St George were carved into the rock.

Vanis Kvabebi was the family monastery of the Gurgenidze dynasty until 1191, and the entire monastery was rebuilt by these princes after the great earthquake of 1089.

From 1191 the monastery was owned by the royal family and during the reign of Queen Tamara, especially at the beginning of the 13th century, extensive reconstruction work was carried out in Vanis Kvabebi. The monastery's famous legal code was also written during this period.

Between 1256 and 1282, the portal of the church of St George, the bell tower and the small basilica were built, but another earthquake in 1283 severely damaged the monastery.

During the reign of Giorgi V in the 14th century, Vanis Kvabebi was rebuilt and monastic life flourished for another 200 years, until the Persians invaded in 1551 and the Ottomans sacked the monastery in 1576.

For the next nearly 300 years, the area of Vanis Kvabebi was under Ottoman control until 1829, when it was returned to Georgia after the Turkish-Russian War.

The monastery was only reopened in 2010. Since then, two or three monks have lived there permanently.

It is also important to note that since 2018, visits to Vanis Kvabebi have been limited (as of 2020) due to the risk of a severe fall and subsequent reconstruction work.

Interesting facts

Vanis Kvabebi consists of around 200 rooms carved into the rock, spread over 16 floors. In addition to the living quarters, there are workshops for the production of ceramics, a wine cellar with several amphorae, secret rooms in case of siege, a well-developed tunnel system, rooms for the burial of the monks and a total of 6 churches. The monastery also had a well-functioning water supply system with ceramic pipes and reservoirs.

Fragments of 13th century frescoes are preserved in the small basilica on the western side of the complex.

On the top floor of the monastery, in a church built into the rock, there are several poems and inscriptions from the 15th century. These inscriptions are several verses from the folk epic "The Knight in the Skin of a Tiger" and other works of Georgian lyric poetry, which were carved here by noblewomen who were forced to stay in the monastery. The poems and inscriptions give us an idea of the level of education of the women of the time, but also of the fact that it was these women, the authors of the inscriptions, who struggled with their fate in the convent.