On the Sololaki ridge above the Old Town stands a woman twenty metres tall, cut in aluminium, looking out over the city she guards. She is Kartlis Deda — the Mother of Georgia — and she has stood there since 1958, raised for the 1500th anniversary of Tbilisi by the sculptor Elguja Amashukeli.
In her hands she holds the whole of the national character. In one, a bowl of wine, held out to those who come as friends; in the other, a sword, ready for those who come as enemies. It is a portrait of a small country that has spent its history at a crossroads coveted by larger ones, and learned to be both fiercely hospitable and fiercely defensive.
She shares the ridge with the Narikala fortress, a short walk along the top, so the two are easily seen together. The climb from the Old Town is steep but brief, and the reward at the summit is one of the finest views in the city — the river, the bathhouse domes, the new bridge, the cathedral on its far hill.
Walk up in the late afternoon, take in Narikala along the same ridge, and let the statue be your turning point before the light goes. The cable car shortens the climb if you'd rather save your legs.
