The Ambara church ( ka, ამბარას ეკლესია) is located near village

Myussera ab, Мысра , pushpin_map = Georgia#Abkhazia , image_map = Mysra na mapě.svg , mapsize = , map_caption = Location of Myussera in Abkhazia , image_skyline = Ambara_church_ruins_in_Abkhazia,_1899 ...

in the Gudauta District,

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...

/ Georgia, on the cape of Miusera, close to the mouth of the Ambara stream. Ambara three-nave basilica represents an important example of this type's architectural monuments. Ambara church has been given the status of culture heritage monument.

History

The Ambara church complex consists of a half-ruined three-nave

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

(first built in 7–8th century), a stone fence (Middle Ages) and remains of several additional secular structures, dated by scholars from the 8th to the 10th century. The basilica has a roughly processed

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

stone surface stones that have survived almost in its original form, a two-storey

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

and an upper gallery on the west facade. The main

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

vault bears traces of the Late Medieval reconstruction. The Ambara church is one of the tourist destinations in Abkhazia. The area is reportedly increasingly being littered. Georgia has inscribed the church on its list of cultural heritage and treats it as part of cultural heritage in the

Russian-occupied territories Russian-occupied territories are lands under Russian military occupation. The term is applied to territories in Georgia ( Abkhazia and South Ossetia), Moldova (Transnistria), and parts of Ukraine. Additionally, the four southernmost Kuril Isl ...

with no known current state of condition.

References

Churches in Abkhazia Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance of Georgia Tourist attractions in Abkhazia {{Abkhazia-stub