Chobareti

Where is Chobareti?

Chobareti village is located in the Aspindza Municipality, Samtskhe-Javakheti Region, that used to be a historical province called Meskheti.

The most impressive thing about this village are its Meskhetian flat-roofed houses, which are nearly three centuries old and vastly different to modern houses. In the past, enemies would have come to Georgia from the south first, so the people in this region built their houses to ensure that they were unnoticeable by the invaders.

The Meskhetian houses are half underground - Tolkien fans might think about hobbit houses, actually. The inhabitants made use of hidden tunnels to stay in contact with one another during times of war.

Another highlight of any visit to Chobareti is the chance to sample Meskhetian foods such as flavourful Meskhetian khachapuri, layered pastry kada, apokhti khinkali, and, of course, the locally made tenili cheese.

The History of Chobareti Village

Chobareti has been inhabited since the 4th-millennium BCE, with archaeological evidence showing that these people were practicing agriculture even then. 

The Legend of Chobareti Village

At the edge of the village stands a large, half-bent stone pillar. One of the village’s many legends tells us that during an invasion, one woman was not able to hide herself in time. In desperation, she asked God to turn her into a pillar, rather than allow her to be captured. God answered her prayers and turned her into stone, and she stands at the edge of the village to this day, safe from invaders, but unable to ever return home.