Chronicle of Georgia

A monumental complex of towering columns on a hill above the Tbilisi Sea reservoir on the city's northern edge, begun in the 1980s by the sculptor Zurab Tsereteli. Each massive pillar is carved with reliefs depicting kings, queens and heroes of Georgian history in the upper register and scenes from the life of Christ below. The unfinished monument rises dramatically against the sky and is reached by a long flight of steps. Its scale and dark bronze figures have made it a striking, somewhat surreal landmark on the outskirts of the capital.