Crafts

Craftsmanship, agriculture and other fields of production economy have long played played a great role in the economic and public life of Ajara. The main branches of craft were metallurgy and blacksmithing, woodwork and masonry, pottery, and weaving. According to 19^th century data, craft centers were centered in Khulo, Didachara, Chvana, Mariti, Uchamba, Skhalkta, Machakheli Gorge and Batumi.  Various types of farming and household tools were made of iron and steel, including the scythe, axe, elongated axe, hoe, ploughshare, saw, door-window hinges, nails, guns and side-arms. Guns and side-arms were specially advanced fields of craft, particularly in Machakheli Gorge and Kveda Achara, famous for the Machakhela gun.  

Wood processing was a well developed craft as well. The Ajarian plank house is regarded as the best sample of Georgian popular architecture. Interiors and exteriors of the best houses were usually well ornamented. Traditions of wooden carpentry are well preserved in mosques which are regarded as the excellent examples of material culture with great artistic and architectural values. Mosque decorations often repeat varieties of Georgian ornaments including the ones depicted in Christian churches. 

Ceramics and pottery used to be among the most ancient and widespread branches of craftsmanship in Ajara. According to the archaeological finds ceramic traditions were particularly developed in Makhvilauri and Kobuleti. Apart from clay vessels, long wine pitchers of various capacity and shape as well as construction ceramic production (tiles, bricks, pipes), earthenware pans were common.

Ajara is a region of Georgia which played a large role in development of the textile industry. Items connected with weaving have been found in the ancient site of Pichvnari dating from the pre-antique and antique periods. According to ethnographic information, the local population was clad in flax, silk, wool and hemp materials. Clothes made here were distinguished by their originality. Georgian, Russian and European travelers and explorers paid special attention to the dressing styles of the Ajarian population. Thus, craftsmanship played important part in the economic and cultural life of the region.