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http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/michaelasanda-2576493-georgia7-tbilisi/

Kartvlis Deda, Mother Georgia, standing tall over the capital city of Tbilisi, who holds a sword in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. The statue was erected on the top of Sololaki hill in 1958, the year Tbilisi celebrated its 1500th anniversary

Prominent Georgian sculptor Elguja Amashukeli designed the twenty-metre aluminium figure of a woman in Georgian national dress

Kartvlis Deda symbolizes the Georgian national character: in her left hand she holds a bowl of wine to greet those who come as friends, and in her right hand is a sword for those who come as enemies

At the top of a ridge near Tbilisi’s Old City is the Narikala Fortress. Near the fortress is the statue of the Mother of Georgia (Kartvlis Deda). She can be reached by cable car from Rike Park on the banks of the river. The silver monument, lit at night, is situated on Sololaki Hill with panoramic views of the city.  During the day her aluminium lights up with sunlight, and during the evening she glows silver in the floodlights and moonlight

The city rises in terraces from both banks of the River Mtkvari

Narikala is an ancient fortress overlooking Tbilisi and the Mtkavari (Kura) River

Opened in 2012, a cable car connects Rike Park on the left bank of the Mtkvari river with Narikala

Fortress

The fortress consists of two walled sections on a steep hill between the sulphur baths and the botanical gardens of Tbilisi

On the lower court there is the recently restored

St Nicholas church

Newly built in 1996–1997, it replaces the original 13th-century church that was destroyed in a fire

The new church is of "prescribed

cross" type, having doors on

three sides

St Nicholas church

The internal part of the church is

decorated with the frescos

showing scenes both from the

Bible and history of Georgia

The fortress was established in the 4th century as Shuris-tsikhe (i.e., "Invidious Fort“)

The fortress was considerably expanded by the Umayyads in the 7th century and later, by king David the Builder (1089–1125)

The Mongols renamed it "Narin Qala" (i.e., "Little

Fortress")

Most of extant

fortifications date from

the 16th and 17th

centuries

In 1827, parts of the fortress were damaged by an earthquake and demolished

Bridge of PeacePresidential Palace

Metekhi Church

Sameba - Holy Trinity Cathedral

Rike Park on the left bank of the Mtkvari River and the Bridge of Peace

The Bridge of Peace is a bow-shaped pedestrian bridge over the Kura River in Tbilisi

The bridge which stretches 150 metres over the Kura River was ordered by the City Hall of Tbilisi to create a contemporary design feature connecting Old Tbilisi with the new district. The official opening took place on May 6, 2010

The bridge stretches over

Kura River providing a

unique view of Metekhi Church, Narikala

Fortress and statue of city's

founder Vakhtang

Gorgasali on one side, and Baratashvili Bridge and Presidential Office on the

other

The bridge a design of which

reminds of a marine animal

has a curvy steel and glass

canopy top which shimmers

with an interactive light display at night,

generated by thousands of white LEDs

the lighting is switched on 90 minutes before sunset illuminating Kura River below and buildings on both banks of the river

The bridge was designed by the Italian architect Michele De Lucchi, who had also designed the buildings of the Presidential Administration of Georgia and Ministry of Internal Affairs; the lighting design was created by French lighting designer Philippe Martinaud

Several architects were involved in the project for the Presidential Palace but IMichele De Lucchi is credited with its final appearance

The structure of the bridge was built in Italy and transported to Tbilisi in 200 trucks while the lighting was installed on site during the assembly of the structures

Text: InternetPictures: Internet Sanda FoişoreanuCopyright: All the images belong to their authors.

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasandahttp://www.authorstream.com/michaelasanda/

Sound: Ananuri - Georgian folklore ensemble: Khevsuruli; Kalo gixdeba