In the middle of one of Kutaisi’s busiest roundabouts is the Colchis Fountain, a suitably restrained arrangement involving cascading water and around thirty golden animals. This is, of course, entirely reasonable. Designed by Georgian architect David Gogichaishvili and unveiled in 2011, its figures are enlarged copies of jewellery and other objects discovered at archaeological sites associated with the ancient Kingdom of Colchis. The animals include deer, rams, goats and lions, while the horses at the top are linked to King Aeëtes, the legendary ruler encountered by Jason and the Argonauts during their search for the Golden Fleece.
It has become one of the most recognisable sights in Kutaisi, combining the city’s ancient past with something that looks unashamedly modern and theatrical. I rather liked it, although its position within a busy roundabout means that close inspection requires substantially more confidence in Georgian driving than I possessed. I therefore admired it from the pavement across the road, while wondering whether one day the city might pedestrianise the square and allow visitors to approach it without first demonstrating their commitment to Georgian road safety. Being flattened by Georgian traffic seemed an excessive price to pay for a closer photograph of a golden goat.