A Beautiful View from the Mother of Georgia

Kartlis Deda[1] (Georgian: ქართვლის დედა; Mother of Kartvel or Mother of Georgians) is a monument in Georgia's capital Tbilisi.
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-meter aluminium figure of a woman in Georgian national dress. She 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 enemieshttps://en.wikipedia.org/

After we visited Metekhi Church, my husband and I decided to make a quick stop at Mother of Georgia. Our tour guide did not include this place in our itinerary and we honestly did not know why. But it's okay. We can manage to visit it without him. Even though I was tired from walking around and exploring the city. We wanted to make the most of our time in Georgia. We knew this was something we would regret missing, especially since it was our first trip to Tbilisi. We called our tour guide to ask how we could get there. He said we could ride a cable car at Rike Park. The cable car cost 5 GEL, around 1.92 USD. We were both excited when we found out that we could easily get there this way. The ride gave us panoramic views of Old Tbilisi, the Mtkvari River and the surrounding city. It was such a beautiful sight and I remember feeling amazed that we were able to see so much of the city from above.

When we got off the cable car, we were greeted by the sound of an accordion. A man was playing music nearby and naturally, we stopped for a while. We listened to him play and enjoyed the unexpected little performance. We continued walking around the hillside, stopping from time to time to pose for photos with the beautiful scenery behind us. We were both amazed by how lovely Tbilisi looked from this higher viewpoint.

Then we finally stood in front of the Mother of Georgia and I was surprised by how massive the statue looked in person. It was a 20-meter (66-foot) aluminum statue. The Mother of Georgia stands proudly on the Sololaki Ridge, overlooking the historic district. From what I read, she holds a bowl of wine in one hand to welcome friends and a sword in the other to represent those who come as enemies. We, of course, couldn't resist taking some photos in front of this impressive monument.

We strolled around the area and took some pictures of the surroundings. The hillside was covered with evergreen conifers, tall and slender cypress trees, and deciduous shrubs, giving the place a peaceful and natural atmosphere. Although I was tired, I felt happy and grateful that we made the effort to come here. We didn't stay too long because the weather was gloomy and we could already tell that rain was coming soon.

Our visit to the Mother of Georgia was only a quick stop but my husband and I truly enjoyed the moment. We took some time to admire the beautiful statue and the wonderful views of Tbilisi from above.

Photos taken using Samsung S25 Ultra
Collage using Canva