Didi Khanchali

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Didi Khanchali (Georgian: დიდი ხანჩალი - Armenian: Մեծ Խանչալի), is an Armenian-populated village in the Ninotsminda municipality of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia. Mets Khanchal settlement is located 2 km south of Ninotsminda, the administrative center of the municipality, and 19 km south-east of Akhalkalaki. The village is located not far from the south-eastern shore of Lake Khanchal, 1940-1980 m above sea level. The village of Mets Khanchal is one of the Armenian settlements in Javakhk.
The ancestors of the current inhabitants of Mets Khanchali settled here in 1829-1830, moving from the village of Hindzk in Erzurum province.
It is known that before the settlement of Russian Dukhobors in the province in 1847, the population of Khanchal had large lands. After the arrival of the Russian settlers, the villagers were taken from the areas where the villages of Spasovka, Orlovka, Bogdanovka were established.
It is also known that 202 people from the village of Mets Khanchal took part in the Second World War as a part of the Soviet Union, 72 of whom died. There is a church named after Surb Astvatsatsin in the village of Mets Khanchali, the exact date of its foundation is not known. According to monument expert Samvel Karapetyan, the current church was probably built on the site of the old church or completely rebuilt on the basis of the old one. It is known that the old church existed in the 1830s. The present church has been renovated several times during its history. From the architectural point of view, it is a stone, wood-covered structure. It is made of polished և hardened basalt, and the stones are fixed to each other with lime mortar. It has 19.67 x 11.68 m external dimensions. The roof is supported by 3 pairs of wooden pillars. The entrance is from the western front. The lighting of the hall is provided by 10 windows.
One of the sanctuaries of Mets Khanchali village is St. Minas sanctuary, where a cross-shaped pedestal of a square dating from the 5th to the 7th centuries and a fragment of a monument are preserved. The pedestal has dimensions of 100 x 81 cm, and the fragment is 78 x 33 x 29 cm. One of the sanctuaries for the population of the village of Mets Khanchal is the sanctuary named after St. George. It is located on a hill near the village. The historical cemetery of Mets Khanchali village is located on the northern edge of the settlement. During the research of monument expert Samvel Karapetyan, tombstones typical of the 19th century were discovered.