Tadzarani

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Nino Bagrationi
Giorgi Bagrationi
Giorgi Bagrationi
Gia Shervashidze

Tadzarani complex lies 2 km away from the village of Alabalik across the valley. There are churches dotting the hill slopes and a round tower perched on the top. The complex consists of two paired churches, a small hall-type church, a basilica and a fortress.

Two hal churches are erected at the foothills. The one standing to the south dates from the earlier period. It is built of dark grey stone with dark red stones used for the corners and structural elements. The masonry consists of horizontal courses. The vault is ruined. The church used to have a door on the south and a window on the east and west. It is annexed with another single-nave church of almost same size from the north. Its vault is also destroyed. It has windows in the east and west walls. There does not seem to be a great interval between the construction dates of the two churches; most of them should have been built in the 10th century. However, this church does not contain any dark red stones.

Slightly above, on a hill slope stands a small single-nave church built of dark blocks of almost identical sizes. Stones are arranged in horizontal courses. There is a door on the south and windows on the east, south and west. The sanctuary is almost undivided from the hall. The vault is ruined. The church must be dating from the early Middle Ages.

To the east of this small church are to be found ruins of a basilica which has an extension on the north. The basilica has a projecting apse and extremely narrow naves, the latter being a typical feature of early basilicas.The south part of the church is completely ruined and the vault and the conch are destroyed. The north nave ends in a slightly rounded apse. The church has a deep chancel. The lateral apses had apses projecting in a triangle, and the sanctuary had an pentagonal apse.

The complex is overlooked by a round tower.

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