••• It has been said that Georgians ‘think with European minds and feel with Asian hearts’. Their nation, clamped between Russia and Turkey, is neither fully European nor Asian but rather in a category all of its own. If one symbol encapsulates the Georgian psyche it is the Kartlis Deda “Mother of Georgia” statue, which towers above the hills of Tbilisi. Holding a sword in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, she symbolises the Georgian readiness to fight for liberty while welcoming friends with a stiff drink. Such a defiant spirit and love of life has ensured that this b...