In Georgian Village, Armenians And Azeris Find Common Ground

Ethnic Armenian residents of the Georgian village of Tsopi, where some 80 percent of the population is ethnic Azeri

Economic conditions are poor in the village, but life here is peaceful.

The ethnic distinctions in the village are not immediately obvious, and members of both communities speak one another's language.

With the local quarry no longer in operation, many men are unemployed and often seek temporary work elsewhere. Ethnic Armenians look to Yerevan while ethnic Azeris find work in Baku.

Ethnic Armenian and Azeri children attend a friend's sixth birthday party, where everyone shares a table with regional dishes.

An ethnic Armenian teacher, fluent in Azeri, teaches the Georgian language to a class of Azeri first-graders.

Ethnic Armenians and Azeris study in separate classrooms, but often help each other with homework after school hours.

An ethnic Armenian pupil in a dilapidated classroom. Students and teachers are waiting for the Georgian government to fulfill its promises to help repair the school.

Children play together after school.

Although most inhabitants claim one ethnicity, some residents have a mixed background, like this woman, who is half Armenian and half Greek.

Preparations for an ethnic Azeri wedding. Neighbors help out regardless of ethnicity.

Ethnic Azeri relatives of the bride wait for her to arrive.

Although most of the wedding guests are ethnic Azeris from the surrounding Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia, some are ethnic Armenians from Tsopi.

An ethnic Azeri in the village of Khodjurni, neighboring Tsopi. There, the numbers are reversed, with ethnic Armenians making up 80 percent of the population, and ethnic Azeris in the minority.