Rike Park, Modern urban park in Tbilisi, Georgia
Rike Park occupies the left bank of the Mtkvari River, bounded by Baratashvili Ascent and Vino Ascent. Opened in 2010, it is Tbilisi's newest park, with young trees, soft-surfaced playgrounds, green mazes, a climbing wall, and a large chessboard with pieces about one metre tall. Two glass-and-steel tubes house a 570-seat concert hall and exhibition space.
The area was an island in the early 20th century; the left arm of the Mtkvari dried up in the 1920s, leaving sand that gave the district its name (rike, 'sands'). The present park was laid out in 2010 on these consolidated sands. In 2002 a five-metre bronze monument to the merchant and patron Davit Sarajishvili was erected, funded by AO Sarajishvili.
The name Rike comes from the Georgian word for sand, left behind by spring floods on the low left bank of the Mtkvari. In the 19th century this was a market and craftsmen's quarter. Today the park hosts the Independence Day concert on 26 May and, in summer, an evening show of singing and dancing fountains.
The Bridge of Peace links the park directly to the Old Town, and a cable car runs from the park up to Narikala Fortress. The park is bounded on the east by the Baratasvhili ascent and the Wine ascent. The singing and dancing fountains operate every evening during the warmer half of the year.
The park's most debated structure is a cultural complex shaped like two glass-and-steel tubes, housing a 570-seat concert hall and a temporary exhibition space. Nearby stands a five-metre bronze of the merchant and patron David Sarajishvili, erected in 2002 at the initiative and expense of Sarajishvili JSC, sculpted by Teodor Kikalishvili.
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