Pankisi Valley
The last women performing Zikr in Pankisi — Georgia’s sacred Sufi chants edge toward silence
In Georgia’s Pankisi Valley, a sacred Sufi ritual endures — led by elderly women, the chants may soon fall silent with no one left to follow.
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Editorial
Editorial | Georgia’s show of force in Pankisi was reckless and irresponsible
A pitched battle between protesters and riot police in Georgia’s Pankisi Valley has undone years of work to build trust with a community that has been historically marginalised. The government needs to prioritise a more participatory approach to regional development over business interests. On Sunday, environmental protesters in northeast Georgia’s Pankisi Valley clashed with riot police over the resumption of construction work on a hydropower plant (HPP) — the third in the valley.
Feature Stories
Imam of Pankisi: There is no ‘radicalisation’ here
Salafi imam of Pankisi, Bekkhan Pareulidze, sat down with OC Media for an exclusive interview, in which he discussed the region’s religious divisions, the outflow of young Kists to Syria, and the role civil society has to play in the valley. Since the 1990s, Pankisi Valley, in the northeast of Georgia, has attracted international attention as a wild and dangerous place, due to it’s association with Chechen fighters, drug trafficking, and violence. Although nowadays Pankisi is a peaceful rur
