Enirabat (Akhaldaba)

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Nino Bagrationi
Giorgi Bagrationi
Giorgi Bagrationi
Gia Shervashidze

Yeni Rabat domed church is semi croix-libre on plan. It dates from the 10th -11th century.

The apse of the east chancel is flanked by pastophoria. The west arm, which is slightly elongated, projects outside.

The dome rests on the wall corners the interior side of which is provided with pilasters. The apse is semi-circular. The south and north arms are short, while the west arm is elongated and is divided into two parts by means of pilasters and supporting arches.

The pastophoria have entrances from the lateral arms. The north pastophorium is directly connected to the apse.

The transition from the square bay to the dome is effected by means of squinches. The arches before the arms, as well as the edges of the walls and pilasters are built of neatly hewn stone. The arches are pointed.

The bottom of the dome has a cornice with semi-circles and the drum is decorated with a slightly carved arcade. There are four clerestory windows, piercing every third arch in the interior. Of the church windows, most remarkable is the south paired window.

The west arm used to have a gallery.

The interior walls, except the structural parts, are built of roughly cut stone. Traces of mural paintings survive in small fragments.

The façades of the church reveal later alterations. Entrance to the church is possible from the south and the west. The façades are lavishly adorned. The windows with ornamented frames terminate in head decorations. The façades of the south and west arms preserve an unbroken arcade.

The east façade has four triangular niches, two of which, larger in size, are located in the depth of the middle wall between the apse and lateral rooms, while the other two, which are smaller, are to be found at the edges of the façades.

The twenty-four-faceted drum of the dome is adorned with deep triangular niches. The arches of the drum are supported by paired shafts. The dome has four windows with five arched sections between them. Every second section has a triangular niche. The dome terminates in a cornice and a low cone-shaped roof.

The single-pitch roofs of the lateral rooms are low. The cruciform shape of the volume is retained in the outer masses.

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