Countless Georgian families once depended on seasonal work in neighboring Turkey to support their families. That work became one more victim of the coronavirus after the pandemic forced both Georgia and Turkey to close their borders.

Up to now, there were only 20 families living in the mountainous Adjarian village of Gurdzauli. Pandemic and the state of emergency has suddenly changed the village life. To avoid the danger of being infected, families started to move back to ancestor’s houses. Once deserted households are now full of people. The family of Givi Bolkvadze, 51, is one of them. 13 family members are back to their parental house.

Architect Levan Tkemaladze, who fled the noise of Tbilisi, began transforming his grandfather's house into a house-museum far from the city center. Meanwhile, the ruling party reintroduced the so-called 'foreign agents' law in parliament, sparking mass protests in Tbilisi.