Zugdidi, a beautiful European town in Samegrelo, celebrates the Vlakernoba public feast on July, 15. On this day, Orthodox pilgrims from all around the world gather in Zugdidi in order to worship one of the great Christian relics, the Virgin Mary’s Holy Robe, currently preserved in the Historic-Architectural Museum in the Dadiani Palaces. Once a year, on this day, the pilgrims take the robe from the Museum and carry it in the central boulevard of the town in a litany procession.

In Zugdidi, a grandiose temple after Iveria’s Virgin Mary is being built, which will host the relic of the Virgin Mary’s Holy Robe, allowing everyone to worship it, similar to the Shroud of Turin.