Maka
Bulia

Art Historian and Researcher

Maka Bulia is a Georgian art historian and senior researcher at the Chubinashvili Centre in Tbilisi, where she also serves as the editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Academia. Her research centers on medieval Georgian wall paintings and the cult of saints.

Maka Bulia's articles

Maka Bulia · August 20, 2026

THE DAVID GAREJI DESERT, UDABNO MONASTERY

Opposite the ridge which boasts the oldest monastery in the Gareji Desert - the Lavra of St. David of Gareji, founded in the 6th century, is a rock-hewn monastery commonly known as Udabno (said to have been called Tsamebuli until the 19th century). Emerging at the turn of the 10th- 11th centuries, and active until the 14th century, Udabno comprises several dozen caves that house large and small churches, chapels, hermit cells, and utility chambers.