Golden figures in shapes of horses, rams, tigers and other animals featured on the fountain in the centre of Kutaisi surprise everyone who visits the city for the first time. Among the animals you will see a figure of tamada (toast-maker during Georgian feast), greeting guests with a horn of wine in his hand. Many people take photos of the fountain and move on without even thinking why it was decorated in that way. Sometimes you can hear somebody saying that it’s another Georgian fantasy and not many people know that the statues are important symbols of Georgia. They are much enlarged versions of tiny figures made of gold and bronze which were found at archaeological diggings all over the country.

The originals were created thousand years before Christ and they are exhibited in National Museum in Tbilisi. They prove that the mythical ancient kingdom of Colchis rich in gold really existed on Georgian land and Jason together with Argonauts was taking the right course while he was searching for golden treasures.