Spaces & people
As a result of the war in Abkhazia about 10,000 of the approximately 250,000 Georgians who flew the conflict were accommodated in the sanatoria of Tskaltubo. As they had been living in Abkhazia for several generations, they lost all their property with the expulsion from their homes (cf. Zhvania 2010 for an overview on the privatisation of residential property in Georgia). This left them at an acute disadvantage when it came to rebuilding their lives; many remained living in the sanatoria to 2022 (cf. Mestvirishvili 2012 on structures of social exclusion in Georgia).
The bazaar of Tskaltubo
Tskaltubo is located 15 km northwest of Kutaisi, Georgia’s second-largest city. The town’s history as a spa resort in the Soviet period has given it a repository of tourist experience to fall back on. An ongoing complication in this development arises from the occupation of the now-decaying Soviet-era sanatoria by internally displaced Georgians fleeing the conflict in Abkhazia, and another stems from the persistence of fundamental, unresolved infrastructure issues. The bazaar represents the centre of the city. It is the place where the people from Tskaltubo and the surrounding little villages meet. Additionally, it is a traffic hub where busses arrive and taxi drivers wait for customers. The bazaar building was constructed in the style of Soviet modernism with a lot of glass, iron and concrete. Its structure is more and more decaying. However, groceries, clothes, electronic devices and other convenience goods are sold on the ground-floor and on the first floor.
(c) Photography: Stefan Applis
(c) Text: Stefan Applis
Stefan Applis | Photography | Spaces, Places & Practices 