Gorgasali Street, Tbilisi

Gorgasali Street in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, runs parallel to the Kura River (Mtkvari River), the longest river in Transcaucasia. The street is named after Vakhtang I Gorgasali, known as Vakhtang the Wolf Head, the King of Iberia in eastern Georgia in the 5^th and 6^th century.

The street was previously called Vorontsov Street in 1850 after Count Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov, and leads into the Old City and Maidan Square. On the opposite side of the river, opposite Maidan Square, is a monument to King Vakhtang on his horse, installed in 1967 by sculptor Elguja Amashukeli.

Along the street are the numerous stone domes of the sulphur baths dating to the 17^th century. On the hill overlooking the street are the mosque, built in 1895, and the Narikala Fortress.

Further down the street, travelling away from the Old City, is the Memorial to the 300 Men of Aragvi, to commemorate the rescue of King Herekle II in 1795. The soldiers rescued the King, but none survived. It is a white and gold engraved slab, jutting into the air, sculpted by Alexander Bakradze in 1961.

Next to the slab is the Machabeli Wall designed by Nodar Mgalobishvili and sculpted by Teimuraz Chkonia in 1967. It commemorates David Machabeli, an actor who was also in the battle to save King Herekle II. It is a square slab with a warrior’s head. A mask statue and horse statue are at the same location, with part of the Old City wall, marking the outer southeastern boundary of the original city.

MARTINA NICOLLS is 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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