Weekend Getaways
Neither Ukrainian, Russian nor Tatar – Crimea maybe has some identity problems but due to its wonderful nature and fascinating history it has also an exceptional charm.
At first you might think you are on Corsica or one of the Cyclade Islands. But if you look more closely, particularly at the inhabitants – mixture of Slavs, Tatars, Armenians, Greeks and Bulgarians – you will quickly realize where you are. You are in Crimea, in a little town of Sudak which used to be an important trade and transport centre located on the Silk Route.
You won’t find Soviet concrete blocks here; it is not a typical Crimean Riviera with lots of bars, laud clubs and often dirty beaches either. In Sudak you can chill out like in every provincial town and enjoy the Crimean climate and atmosphere at the same time. And what’s important – you don’t have to look for a hotel as local inhabitants offer sea or mountain view rooms at the station.
The advantages of Crimea were first discovered by Russians who, in the nineteenth century, started to build their summer houses here. Then Lenin decided that Crimea will be the main holiday destination for the working class. Many Russians came, found a job and stayed there. In 1954 Ukrainian by birth Nikita Khrushchev who was in the head of the Soviet Union at that time is said to cede the peninsula to Ukraine as a gift to mark the 300-th anniversary of Pereyaslav Rada, the historic event which resulted in Ukraine to have turned into a colony within Russian empire for many centuries ahead. It started a conflict that lasts until today. The fact is that mentally the inhabitants of Crimea are closer to Moscow than to Kiev. You hear the Russian language on the streets and Russian hits in the clubs.
Everyone experiences Crimea in his own way. Some come here for its beaches or swimming with the dolphins attractions, others for the mountain hiking or climbing. I love the Crimean evenings most of all. The air becomes light and everything gets quiet and peaceful. Yes, it is peaceful even though the restaurants at the sea shore are filled with tourists who eat, drink and sing. No-one comes to a restaurant in trainers and a t-shirt. It used to be a riviera, Soviet riviera but still riviera.
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