The disappearing villages of Samtskhe-Javakheti

In Georgia’s southern Samtskhe-Javakheti region, many once populous villages are facing rapid abandonment, with their former inhabitants driven to leave by harsh environmental conditions and government neglect.  For many years, one family remained resilient in the village of Aspara, nestled on the western shores of Lake Paravani, Georgia’s largest lake. Long after their neighbours had left, the Ispiryans stayed firm in one of 20 houses that remained standing in the village, with the ruins of 6