The four-year-long documentary photo series is about displacement, the long wait, life in the in-between, and finally, finding a long-awaited home. It follows the journey of a family who spent over 30 years in a former sanatorium in Tskaltubo, Georgia—a Soviet-era resort turned shelter for those displaced by the 1992-1993 war in Abkhazia. When they arrived, the sanatorium still functioned, and no one expected to stay long. “We behaved as if we were on vacation,” Khatuna, the protagonist of the story, recalls.
The sanatorium was never meant for permanent living and lacked basic amenities like private kitchens and bathrooms. Families made adjustments—transforming balconies into kitchens and expanding living spaces. Weddings were celebrated in halls, and neighbors supported one another.
Once a place of rest, later a symbol of uncertainty, the sanatorium became home for decades. Images document resilience, adaptation, and the long-awaited moment of stepping into a place of their own.