FEAST OR FAMINE

  MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the  author of:-  Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the  author of:-  Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

The Svetitskhoveli Monastery in Mtskheta, 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, is an 11th century Georgian Orthodox monastery. Since 1994, it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Svetitskhoveli means ‘the living pillar.’ Architect Arsukisdze started the monastery in 1010 and completed it in 1029. The defensive stone and brick wall surrounding the monastery was built in the reign of King Ereckle II (Heraclius) in 1787. Originally the interior was decorated with wall paintings and frescos, but these were white-washed over. Recently, fragments of the original paintings have re-emerged from under the white-washing.  MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the  author of:-  Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Kn...

The Jvari Monastery in Mtskheta, 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, is a 6th century Georgian Orthodox monastery. Since 1994, it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The view of the dome from the inside shows that the dome rests on the walls, and not on pillars, therefore creating a single space. Under the dome, near the centre of the interior, is a postament with a new wooden cross. The new cross replaces Nino’s cross – the cross of 4th century Saint Nino, a female evangelist credited with converting King Mirian III of Iberia to Christianity. She erected a large cross, made from the branches of a vine, on the original site. The internal walls were originally covered with ashlar and later plastered and painted in frescos, few of which survived. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the  author of:-  Similar But Different in the An...