On the southern wall of the church of St. Saba are depicted donators of the monastery – family portraits of Jakeli: Sargis I (1266-1285) who was ordained as a priest under the name of Saba, his son Beka I – with a model of a church, Beka’s children Sargis II (1309-1334) and Kvarkvare (1334-1360). To the west of the cathedral, at the top of an anteroom window, there is an inscription of its builder Parezasdze. Cathedral both in the interior and from outside is adorned with various decor and ornaments. Bell tower located to the west of the main cathedral is the family cemetery of the Msakhurtukhutsesi (Chief minister) of the Jakeli family, Lasurisdze. There are ruins of the old fortress overlooking the monastery from western side. During domination of the Ottomans, in XVI century, monks left the monastery. The monastery life was renewed in Sapara in XIX century.

Belfry of Zarzma is one of the biggest belfries in Geor­gia. On the I floor of the belfry some Khurtsidze opened a church of John the Baptist in XVI century. At the beginning of the XX century Georgian Exarchate of the Russian church made a restoration work of Zarzma. The painted part and iconostasis were changed during the works.

<p class="\" no-paragraph-style"="" p=""> Author: Publishing House "Klio"