Keghoshvili Darbazi

Walking along the footpath from the heart of Khizabavra village, accompanied by the soundscape of spring and the tones of catholic church bells, one gets close to the wall of rocks, covered with the verdant grass. Stepping over the threshold from the heat of present lives of locals to the chill of past paused stories of ancestors, one gets into the hay-shed, filled with spider webs and cadavers of animals.

Setting foot on the earthen floor feels like entering the middle of the 20th century. Looking into the very first open door on the right hand from the entrance, currently filled with hay bales, is a former storage space for produce. Continuing to the left is a space with a low wooden partition separating a narrow hall from the space of the Furne (ფურნე), where the ghostlike smell of Meskhetian bread can be felt. On the opposite wall from the kitchen entrance is the door to the sleeping chambers, that connect to the Boseli (ბოსელი) - a cattle shed.

Finally, moving through the hall, venturing into the distant past, one encounters the Darbazi (დარბაზი), where the fire once crackled and warmed the family. Built with rough, hand hewn logs the crown room, the Gvirgvini (გვირგვინი), is made up from 7 layers that rest on a frame supported by 15 wooden perimeter columns as well as one freestanding column that connects to Gvirgvini directly. As the logs step inward, an atypically large opening, called an Erdo (ერდო), is left unenclosed at the roof's peak, allowing smoke to rise and ensuring ventilation and ever changing illumination. Being open to the sky and the elements, the Erdo added a spiritual element to the Darbazi space, serving as kind of observatory and sundial.