Ali And Nina Statue Of Love In Batumi, Georgia Editorial Image

One of the main tourist attractions of Batumi, Georgia, located at the foot of the Black Sea, is the 12 meters tall nearly 40 feet statue called `Ali and Nina,` also known as `Statue of Love,` and `Man and Woman.` It is a kinetic work because the couple slowly inch apart and then come together. They are, in effect, giant transparent metallic figures. They are based on a novel written by an Austrian writer in 1937 about the World War I era love affair between between Ali, a Muslim from Azerbaidjan, and Nina, a Christian Georgian princess. The tale ends sadly when Ali is killed during the war. The work was made by Georgian sculptor Tamara Kvesitadze in 2007 and laid in place in 2010.