Gialia Monastery
Encyclopedia
The Gialia Monastery is the ruined medieval
Georgian Orthodox monastery at the village of Gialia (Yialia), Paphos District
, northwest Cyprus
. The monastery is dedicated to the Virgin Mary (The Golden Virgin Mary of Gialia; Greek
: Ιερά Μονή Παναγίας Χρυσογιαλιώτισσας, Panayia Chrysogialiotissa).
Located in a forest some five kilometers from the coast near the small town of Polis Chrysochous
, the ruins were identified, in 1981, by the Georgian
scholar Wachtang Djobadze
of California State University
on the basis of the medieval Georgian accounts. It was not, however, until 2006 that a systematic archaeological research followed after the Georgian and Cypriote governments agreed to jointly investigate the ruins.
The monastery is certainly attested in the twelfth century, when it was renovated at the behest of Queen Tamar of Georgia
(1184-1213); and it has been suggested that it was in continuous existence at least since the end of the tenth century until it was abandoned in the fourteenth century and plundered and destroyed in the sixteenth. So far, the two main structures have been identified: the earlier Virgin church, and the later St. George's church dated probably to the eleventh and twelfth centuries respectively. Remains of Georgian paintings and inscriptions from the thirteen and fourteenth century have also survived.
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
Georgian Orthodox monastery at the village of Gialia (Yialia), Paphos District
Paphos District
Paphos District is one of the six districts of Cyprus and it is situated in the western part of Cyprus. Its main town and capital is Paphos. The entire district is controlled by the internationally recognized government of Cyprus...
, northwest Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. The monastery is dedicated to the Virgin Mary (The Golden Virgin Mary of Gialia; Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: Ιερά Μονή Παναγίας Χρυσογιαλιώτισσας, Panayia Chrysogialiotissa).
Located in a forest some five kilometers from the coast near the small town of Polis Chrysochous
Polis, Cyprus
Polis is a small town at the north-west end of the island of Cyprus, at the centre of Chrysochous Bay, and on the edge of the Akamas peninsula nature reserve...
, the ruins were identified, in 1981, by the Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
scholar Wachtang Djobadze
Wachtang Djobadze
Wachtang Djobadze was a Georgian art historian and Professor at the California State University, Los Angeles. During the Soviet Union, he lived as an émigré in the United States, and was the only Georgian scholar to have opportunity to travel to Turkey where a number of medieval Georgian churches...
of California State University
California State University
The California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...
on the basis of the medieval Georgian accounts. It was not, however, until 2006 that a systematic archaeological research followed after the Georgian and Cypriote governments agreed to jointly investigate the ruins.
The monastery is certainly attested in the twelfth century, when it was renovated at the behest of Queen Tamar of Georgia
Tamar of Georgia
Tamar , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was Queen Regnant of Georgia from 1184 to 1213. Tamar presided over the "Golden age" of the medieval Georgian monarchy...
(1184-1213); and it has been suggested that it was in continuous existence at least since the end of the tenth century until it was abandoned in the fourteenth century and plundered and destroyed in the sixteenth. So far, the two main structures have been identified: the earlier Virgin church, and the later St. George's church dated probably to the eleventh and twelfth centuries respectively. Remains of Georgian paintings and inscriptions from the thirteen and fourteenth century have also survived.