Zaza spent the semester breaks from 1984 to 1987 in the monastery of Gelati in western Georgia. It was founded in the 12th century by the famous Georgian king Davit the Builder. Square centimeter by square centimeter, the students, with simple means and a lot of patience, clean the walls of the churches, bringing to life the beautiful figures of the saints and the scenes of their vitae. In Gelati, Zaza also participated in the restoration of the apsis mosaic of the Church of Our Lady, created by a Greek artist.

In 1988, the budding restorer lived and worked for nine months in the church of Ateni Sioni. Here he made his thesis, a copy of the Archangel Gabriel, a wall painting from the 11th century. The magnificent Annunciation Angel of Ateni Sioni is not missing in any Byzantine art history.