The Kura River in Tbilisi

The Georgian name for the Kura River is the Mt’k’vari, possibly meaning ‘good water’ or ‘gnaw – river that eats through the mountains.’ Starting in northeastern Turkey it flows east for 1,515 kilometres (941 miles) to Georgia, Azerbaijan, and into the Caspian Sea.

People have lived along the Kura for about 7,000 years. In Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, it flows on the west side of the city, and passes under several bridges. It’s not particularly well utilized in terms of pathways along the river as they are only in parts. However, Rikhe Park at the Bridge of Peace is constantly being improved, making it an area for families, events, and the site of the cable car to the Sololaki Ridge.

Often there are people fishing in the shallows of the river.

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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