Abstract:
Tbeti is an old village in the historical Shavsheti and its inhabitants
are of Georgian origin, but by the 70s of the nineteenth century a large part
of the locals changed their ethnic identity and the area of spreading the
Georgian language was gradually limited. Since 1925, the village has been
officially called “Jevizli”, which means “Kakliani”, but the old name of the
village is still used nowadays and it is pronounced in Turkish manner as
“Tibet”. Tbeti is 13 kilometres away from the current administrative centre
of Shavsheti, which is called Shavshati (historical Satleli). According to
2010 statistics, the population of the village is 362 people. In the middle
of the village is the ruin of Tbeti Monastery. Despite the change of ethnic
identity of the villagers, the image of the village is a typical example of a
settlement of the traditional Georgian cultural-economic type of this region,
the local variation of the Georgian folk architecture is still preserved
– the black-and-white residential and agricultural buildings; The farming, cattle-breeding, beekeeping and handicrafts, blacksmithing, wood carving,
metallurgy; traditional nutrition system, historical micro and macro toponyms,
etc. are still preserved.
This village is also relevant for pilgrimage tourism, as there is a Tbeti
Monastery. In recent years, the idea has emerged among the people of Tbeli
to restore the Tbeti Monastery to make it an attractive place for tourism.
In 2020, Van Yüzüncü Yıl University Assistant Professor, Archaeologist Osman
Aitekin carried out the cleaning works of the Tbeti Monastery (under
the supervision of the Arzrum Museum Directorate). An important source
for the study of the history of Tbeti and Tbeti Monastery is the story of Fakir
Baikurt (1929-1999) “The Church of Jevizli”, translated by Mzia Gurgenidze.
Fakir Baikurti worked as a teacher in the Shavsheti region in the 1950s. He
was a writer and publicist with a social-democratic worldview. While working
in the Shavsheti region, Fakir Baikurt collected rich ethnographic data
from locals (legends about the Tbeti Church, history of the church’s demolition),
based on which he wrote the short story “The Church of Jevizli”. This
story is included in his book “Efkar Hill”, which has been published several
times. Fakir Baikurt’s story “Jevizli Church” is an important source for studying
the being of the village of Tbeti and the history of the Tbeti Monastery
of the Mother of God.
