People of Georgia

More from Tbilisi's monuments and other art, top to bottom:

St George killing the dragon, watched over by Mother Georgia and her sword/winebowl combination ("Drink this wine, dear guest, or I'll cut your throat!" goes the joke, though the sword is supposed to be for enemies...). This combination of two far-apart sculptures had to be lined up quite carefully from near Freedom Square

Chased copper icon of Jesus, from the doors of Anchiskhati Church

A huge stone woman's head with an enigmatic smile, outside another of the Old City's very many Orthodox churches

The muse of theatre, near the Philharmonia

Etim Gurgi, poet who wrote in Georgian, Azeri and Armenian

More from Tbilisi, December 1999, as I discovered it.

Lowest, a night shot (tripod-mounted slow exposure) of the Old City.

Then two large sculptures of women's faces that I think are wonderful.

Mother Georgia above one of the Old City's many churches.

The Old City during the day, similar angle to the night shot below.

Above, the city's founder, King Vakhtang Gorgasali, with Metekhi Church.

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...