The Gialia Monastery ( ka, ღალია, ''Ğalia''; el, Γιαλιά) is the ruined

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

Georgian Orthodox The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...

monastery at the village of Gialia,

Paphos District Paphos District ( el, Επαρχία Πάφου, tr, Baf kazası) is one of the six districts of Cyprus and it is situated in the western part of Cyprus. Its main town and Capital (political), capital is Paphos. The entire district is controlle ...

, northwest

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. The monastery is dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

(The Golden Virgin Mary of Gialia;

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Ιερά Μονή Παναγίας Χρυσογιαλιώτισσας, ''Panayia Chrysogialiotissa''). Located in a forest some five kilometers from the coast near the small town of

Polis Chrysochous Polis (or Polis Chrysochous; el, Πόλη Χρυσοχούς or Πόλις Χρυσοχούς, tr, Poli) is a 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 ...

, the ruins were identified, in 1981, by the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

scholar

Wachtang Djobadze Wachtang Djobadze ( ka, ვახტანგ ჯობაძე) (March 8, 1917 – February 10, 2007) was a Georgian art historian and Professor at the California State University, Los Angeles. During the Soviet Union, he lived as an émigré in ...

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...

on the basis of the medieval Georgian accounts. It was not, however, until 2006 that a systematic archaeological research followed after the Georgian and Cypriot governments agreed to jointly investigate the ruins.Excavations at the Georgian Monastery of Gialia (Pafos)
. ''The Government of Cyprus Press and Information Office''. December 5, 2006. Retrieved on July 23, 2007. It was reported in 2008 that excavation evidence indicated the monastery was commissioned in the late tenth century by Georgian King

David III Kuropalates David III Kuropalates (, ''Davit’ III Kurapalati'') or David III the Great (დავით III დიდი, ''Davit’ III Didi''), also known as David II, (c. 930s – 1000/1001) was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid family of Tao, a histo ...

and that renovations were made during the reign of David IV Aghmashenebeli (1089-1125). The monastery is certainly attested in the twelfth century, when it was renovated at the behest of Queen

Tamar of Georgia Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr, lit. "King Tamar") ( 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dynasty ...

(1184-1213). Ancient Georgian sources report that it was in Georgian ownership until the fourteenth century, and graves and other items uncovered indicate that it was in use between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. It was reportedly plundered and destroyed in the sixteenth century, but appears to have been in use as recently as 1935, until final destruction by an earthquake in 1953. Two main structures have been identified: the earlier

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

church, and the later

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

'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.Angel Nikolaou-Konnarē, Christopher David Schabel (2005), ''Cyprus: Society and Culture 1191-1374'', p. 164. BRILL,

Gallery

File:Ruins of Ghalia Monastery, Cyprus 09.jpg, File:Ruins of Ghalia Monastery, Cyprus 06.jpg, Wall painting fragments File:Ruins of Ghalia Monastery, Cyprus 14.jpg, File:Ruins of Ghalia Monastery, Cyprus 10.jpg File:Ruins of Ghalia Monastery, Cyprus 12.jpg, Cistern

External links

* Book
Georgian monastery of Galia on Cyprus — Archeological finds. ''The National Parliamentary Library of Georgia''

References

Archaeological sites in Cyprus Churches in Cyprus Polis, Cyprus {{Georgia-hist-stub