G e o_s y n_c h r o n i_c i t y

St George (l) and Mother Georgia (r)monuments, Tbilisi Old City, Georgia, December 2006

The former is a new work of Georgia's patron saint by Zurab Tsereteli, replacing the banished Lenin statue in what is now Freedom Square. The latter is a Communist-era piece higher over the city, holding a wine bowl for guests and a sword for enemies. The joke is that she's saying to her guests, "Drink this all or I'll cut your throat!" - welcome to the subtleties of Georgian hospitality...