2015: more improvements to Rike Park in Tbilisi, Georgia

Another couple of years has passed, and more improvements have continued in Rike Park, on the Mt’k’vari (Kura) River in Tbilisi, Georgia.

From the Bridge of Peace, over the river, was an expanse of land leading the steps to Avlabari, one of the oldest areas in Tbilisi. Gradually the riverbank was landscaped to include trees, flowers, fountains, and sculptures, as well as the cable car to the Narikala fortress, the immense silver stature of the Mother of Georgia (Kartlis Deda) and the rambling Botanical Gardens.

The glass Music Theatre & Exhibition Centre designed by Italian Massimiliano Fuksas – the one I described as a “Cornetto ice cream” or “gape-mouthed sea cucumbers” are commonly called Rike Tubes. Their exteriors are finished and further landscaping extends to the river. Now there are more benches – one with a bronze statue. Also on the grounds is a large piano, close to the cable car entrance (the lopsided glass box).

The extensive landscaping gives the area a softer, more relaxed, natural air, and in the spring weather there is more color and contrast. More improvements to Rike Park will continue during the year.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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