“Ali and Nino” is a 26 foot tall moving steel sculpture by Georgian sculptor Tamara Kvesitadze. Located in the seaside city of Batumi, Georgia, the two figures represent a Muslim boy, Ali, and a Georgian princess, Nino, from a famous 1937 novel by Azerbaijani author Kurban Said. The story ends with the lovers separated by the invasion of Soviet Russia. The statues begin to move every day at 7 p.m., merging for a short embrace, before leaving each other behind. After 10 minutes the movement is complete. The statue was installed in 2010. Although not conceived as a peace monument (the original title was “man and woman”), its tragic theme of an forbidden interfaith romance destroyed by war nudges it into our realm.
Monday’s Monument: Ali and Nino, Batumi, Georgia
