UPDATED: Jvari Monastery Reopens to Visitors
Clerics of the Jvari Monastery say that vendors illegally occupied the parking area, which is not confirmed by the mayor of Mtskheta. Photo: National Archive of Georgia
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The Jvari Monastery, which was closed on Monday by clerics “due to unsanitary conditions and disorder” created by vendors near the site, has reopened to visitors again.
At this point, the issue has been solved - the gates of the Jvari Monastery are open [again]. However, it is also obvious that the conditions outside the monastery are not appropriate for a civilised environment.”
For this reason, and on the initiative of our [ministry], the Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation [and] the Municipal Development Fund are already working on developing an appropriate infrastructural project [which will] resolve the current situation,” Mikheil Batiashvili, the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia said in a comment about the development on Wednesday.
Vendors say that they are ready to move to a different place if such is offered.
Earlier: 10:54
The Georgian Patriarchate has called upon the Georgian government to settle the street vending problem near monuments of historic and spiritual importance, as existing “disorder and unsanitary conditions near such sites in the 21st century is inappropriate.”
The Patriarchate’s view mirrors that of the head of the Jvari Monastery in Mtskheta, Konstantine Jincharauli, who closed the site to hundreds of tourists and local visitors on Monday to “end illegal street vending” near the monastery.
Access to the Monastery was closed on Monday to draw public attention to issues of vendors outside the monument, clerics said. Photo: Milan Tvrdy on Flickr.
Jincharauli and other clerics of the Jvari Monastery wrote that the current “unsanitary conditions and disorder near the monastery, which is a site of world importance [as it is on the UNESCO World Heritage List] is unbearable."
They said that the local municipality did not help them settle the problem which was the reason why they used a “radical step” to close the monastery and attract public attention.
Vendors say that the sale of items near the monastery is the only source of income for many of them.
The Patriarchate responds that they understand that people are in poverty and take various measures to earn money.
However, when historic and religious sites in the country are being visited by so many tourists and pilgrims, such disorder and unsanitary conditions in the 21st century is inappropriate” the Patriarchate says.
It has not been decided when the Jvari Monastery, which dates back to the sixth century and is part of the UNESCO list as one of Historical Monuments of Mtskheta, will reopen again for visitors.
Deputy Minister of Culture Mikheil Giorgadze says that vendors are likely to be given another space and the problem will be settled "constructively."
He says that the monastery will reopen for visitors very soon.
The Mtskheta mayor says it is possible the site will reopen today.
Clerics of the sixth-century Georgian Jvari Monastery say in a statement that the closure of the site for the parish and tourists was a “radical step” by them to attract public attention.
After a meeting with UNESCO in 2016, a number of Georgia’s most treasured historical sites and monuments were placed under protection in case of armed conflict.
Some of Georgia's most cherished monuments will be protected in case of conflict after a special meeting of UNESCO granted three sites in the country's ancient capital Mtskheta the status of 'enhanced protection'.
Parish and tourists have not been allowed today to enter the Jvari Monastery in the town of Mtskheta today. The Georgian Patriarchate says that the reason for the temporary measure is “disorder created by vendors” at the entrance to the historic place.
The US Embassy will allocate $100,000 for the first stage of conservation work at Georgian 6th century Jvari monastery in Mtskheta. The project is intended to cover the first phase of the conservation cycle by carrying out a comprehensive study, to identify, classify, and map the extent of damage and deterioration of the façade, the embassy says.
The Georgian government is expected to postpone the date of obligatory use of cash registers at open markets, considering the economic complications created by the coronavirus pandemic.