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Ancient monastery ignites modern-day feud in Caucasus
by Michael Mainville
Thu May 3, 2:10 PM ET
Perched high on a cliff side in the remote borderlands of eastern
Georgia, the ancient Davit Gareji monastery hardly seems the kind of
place that could be at the centre of a modern-day diplomatic dispute.
Monks settled on this arid land in the early 600s, less than 200
years after Georgia became one of the first countries to adopt
Christianity. They carved their homes into the stone and over the
centuries built churches and towers that loom overhead on the long
road to the monastery.
A handful of black-robed Georgian Orthodox monks still live here much
as their forebears did, maintaining long-held traditions of seclusion
and reflection. The modern world intrudes only in the form of
occasional tourists on day-trips from the Georgian capital Tbilisi,
about 85 kilometres (55 miles) away.
Behind the monastery grounds, a narrow trail snakes up to a stony
ridge from where it becomes clear why Davit Gareji is threatening the
attempts of two ex-Soviet neighbours to build closer ties.
from one side of the ridge, eastern Georgia spreads out below at the
foot of the snow-capped Caucasus Mountains. On the other, a steep
drop leads down to the western steppes of Muslim Azerbaijan.
But neither country can agree on exactly where the border lies and
tempers have flared in recent weeks with both sides claiming the land
Davit Gareji sits on as their own.
"This is a holy place, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean we are
immune from politics," said Zaza Datunashvili, a heavily bearded
novice monk at Davit Gareji.
More than 15 years after they became independent countries following
the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia and Azerbaijan have yet to
resolve claims over about 35 percent of their shared border.
Despite their cultural and religious differences, the two countries
have become increasingly close, especially as relations with Russia
have faltered over their increasingly pro-Western foreign policies.
They have worked in tandem to build a corridor of oil and gas
pipelines to ship Caspian Sea reserves through their territory to
Western markets. When Russia cut off gas supplies to Georgia a few
months ago, Azerbaijan boosted its gas exports to Georgia to fill the
gap.
In February, oil-rich Azerbaijan loaned Georgia 200 million dollars
(147 million euros) to finance its share of a new railway link from
the Azerbaijani capital Baku, through Georgia, to the Turkish city of
Kars.
But new friendships can be fragile in the patchwork of nations around
the Caucasus Mountains on Russia’s southern border. Memories here are
long and ancient claims not easily set aside.
The border dispute reignited when Azerbaijan’s deputy foreign
minister, Khalaf Khalafov, told a press conference in April that it
was "out of the question" for Azerbaijan to give up its claims to the
borderlands that include Davit Gareji.
Khalafov, the co-chairman of a joint border commission, then
controversially said the monastery actually belonged to the Caucasian
Albanian culture — an early Christian civilization in what is now
Azerbaijan.
Authorities in Azerbaijan also say the region is on strategic high
ground and is essential to maintaining the country’s security.
Khalafov’s statement drew angry responses from Georgia.
"It is absolutely unclear to me why my colleague made these remarks,"
Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili told reporters in
Tbilisi. "His history lessons are absolutely incomprehensible. He
should read up on world history."
The patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Ilya II, said the
monastery was a holy shrine that must lie entirely on Georgian soil.
Protesters rallied outside the Azerbaijani embassy and the Georgian
foreign ministry in Tbilisi.
Senior officials, including Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili,
have downplayed the dispute, saying it can be resolved through
friendly dialogue.
But neither side appears willing to give ground.
"Georgians will never, under any circumstances, give up this
territory," said Giga Bukia, a member of the Georgian parliament with
the opposition Conservative Party, which has accused the government
of softening its position on Davit Gareji in order to secure
financial aid from Azerbaijan.
"Azerbaijan has absolutely no historical rights to this land," he
said. "And what is this talk of it being a strategic location? Are
they planning to go to war with Georgia?"
In Baku, historian Ismail Umudlu said there was ample evidence of
Azerbaijan’s historic claim to the site, which Azerbaijanis call
Keshish Dagh.
The monks who first settled at Davit Gareji were missionaries from
Syria who spread Christianity not only in present-day Georgia but
also in the ancient Caucasian kingdom of Albania, which controlled
the territory of Azerbaijan before the arrival of the Azeri Turks and
their conversion to Islam.
Umudlu said the territory including the monastery only became part of
Georgia in the 12th century, after the Caucasus Albanian culture had
disappeared.
"This is a sacred place in Azerbaijani history as well and we are not
required to give it up simply because it is not Muslim," Umudlu said.
Datunashvili, standing at the foot of the monastery’s gate, scoffed
at those claims. He said Georgian inscriptions found at Davit Gareji
date back to the sixth century and that there are no traces of
another culture at the monastery.
"The idea that this monastery was founded by the Caucasus Albanians
is simply absurd," he said. "You might as well say that Georgians
built the Great Wall of China."
Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.