Georgians
in the Holy Land Accompanied by over 60 stunning images by top Georgian photographer
David Tskhadadze, this collection documents the devastation over the past two
centuries of Georgian monuments in the Holy Land. Today, the last vestiges of
this ancient culture stand on the verge of destruction, threatening a two-way
relationship that has existed for 26 centuries since the first Jews came to Georgia,
fleeing the razing of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. From the fourth to the 18th
centuries, Georgians were a significant presence in the Holy Land, where they
built over 40 churches and monasteries. But after its conquest by Russia, the
state of Georgia was unable to protect this ancient heritage, which was lost to
other groups, notably the Greeks and Armenians. The greater part of what
travellers and scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries surveyed and described
has now almost entirely disappeared. Accidental and deliberate damage has been
inflicted upon ancient Georgian monuments up to the present day, including the
destruction in 2004 of the fresco of the only known likeness of the Georgian national
poet Shota Rustaveli. Expeditions by Georgian scholars from 2001-2007 have sought
to locate and document what has survived, a task notable not only for the detective
work involved but also the intensity of opposition by some to their work. Furthermore,
in making a compelling case for the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem to
be designated a United Nations World Heritage Site, Georgians in the Holy Land
highlights the problems facing small nations such as Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan
that have ancient and unique monuments yet lack sufficient resources for their
preservation or protection. 192 pages with more than 60 colour
illustrations |