Crimea
From World travel guide
The Crimea is a region in the south of the Ukraine. The Crimean Peninsula is connected to the rest of the Ukraine by a narrow neck of land, making it more like an island with a natural land bridge than simply a bit of land jutting out into the sea. The peninsula was the site of the Crimean War, between 1854 and 1856, and gave rise to modern nursing, live war reporting, The charge of the Light Brigade and the Balaclava.
Contents |
Regions
- The Coastal Beach Cities -- The Coastal beach cities are very hospitable to tourists (if you speak Russian). Accommodation is plentiful and cheap (minimum cost for a one night stay is 7 USD). Houses advertising accommodation will usually have a large white sign stuck on the door that has about three words written in Cyrillic. During the tourist season expect the beaches to be quite packed. The whole coast line is dominated by the mountains that tower above them, sometimes reaching up to 2000 meters.
- The Coastal Mountains -- The mountain area that stretches from the coast to about 70 km inland contains some very pristine untouched nature. The mountains are formed by ragged limestone that has been shaped into high peeks with canyons, cliffs and valleys transecting them in all directions. Most of the area is extremely rural and poor. Expect a great adventure if you want to go hiking here, but also expect to rough it. Camping sites are few and far between so you'll probably have to just find one of the many secluded fields to camp in. The area has numerous caves as well as small lakes. There are almost no marked trails
- The Sea of Azov and Kerch --
- The Inland Plains -- A lot of really nice farm land. Looks nice while passing through it by train. About as interesting as say...Iowa.
Cities
- Alushka -- The first beach city on the way to Yalta, this city does not have much in it except old boat docks that have been transformed into beaches.
- Bahkchisaraj -- Located in a canyon between Simferopol and Sevastapol, this town has a wealth of interesting sites to see including the Khan's palace, the cave city and the Armenian monastery that is built in a cave. The town is predominantly Tatar.
- Feodosija -- Feodosija is located 100km to the east of Simferopol. From the outskirts it looks like an urban industrial disaster but once past the factories it has a very nice old town. Very similar to Odessa in architecture but just on a smaller scale.
- Kerch -- Your last stop before reaching the eastern edge of the Crimea and heading across the straits into Russia
- Koktebelj -- Located between Feodosija and Sudak, this small town has a great beach area that has a carnival type environment. It sits below a spectacular wilderness area to the west that regrettably you can only visit on a guided tour.
- Sevastopol -- A major port for the Russia's Atlantic fleet. Given the title 'Hero City' for its resistance to the Nazi's during WWII.
- Simferopol -- The capital. The train station is very clean and beautiful. For the most part this is a place of transit to the coast or to the mountains. It is famous for having the world's highest trolley bus. Its really slow and boring, take a minibus.
- Sudak -- A beautiful coastal city with the remains of a very old Genoan (as in Italy) fortress.
- Yalta -- Supposedly a very beautiful city containing many of the Russian Czar's palaces and other great monuments. From the bus station it appears to only have very large numbers of communist style apartment blocks and a mad rush of Russian tourists.
Other destinations
- The Balshoi (grand) Canyon
- Bahkchisaraj
Understand
When you get to the Crimea you can buy the local guide book "TIME to COME to CRIMEA!" (in both English and Russian) at many of the small booths on the street. For your reading entertainment here are some quotes from the book.
"The attitude of the population to lesbians is curious and benevolent; to gays it is hostile, except for the famous ones."
"The modern military tourism including, for example, shooting from grenade launchers and flights by supersonic fighters, is developing at numerous polygons and air stations that used to be secret ones."
Weather and Water
The weather in the Crimea during the summer season is very much Mediterranean. Expect relatively hot weather and lots of thunderstorms that come and go.
The water is fairly warm although not as warm as the Adriatic. The water is clean and clear, although also a bit less than the Adriatic.
Genealogy & Research
All historical documents (including birth records) for all nationalities (Russian, Tatar, Jews & German) are kept in the National Archive in Simferopol.
You may contact them by email at archive@home.cris.net although the best way to receive a response to your email will be to send it in Russian. The archive is open from 8:00 to 5:00 Monday through Friday. Individual access to much of the archive is not permitted, although for 30 USD you can pay someone to who works in the archive to do the work for you. Nobody in the archive speaks English so either be prepared to speak Russian or bring along a translator.
The archive is located at No. 3 Keckemetckaj, which is the main street running directly east from the train station in Simferopol(about 1 km).
The archives and its staff are not accustomed to foreigners so be prepared to explain to the guard at the front desk what it is you want to do.
The Lutheran Church in Simferopol supposedly has a list going back to the early 1800's of all German families who emigrated to Crimea under Catherine the great, or so it was said at the Archive. This information has not actually been confirmed at the Lutheran Church. For that matter, finding the Lutheran Church, though mentioned in the guide book, is actually a quite difficult (and as of yet unaccomplished) task.
The city of Feodosija has a Jewish Community Center that is very active in doing research on the Jewish community of the Crimea. You may contact them at ruslilya3@mail.ru, they can communicate in basic English (so you can send the email in English) but more than likely the response back will be in Russian.
Talk
In the Crimea, Russian is the language of choice (in addition to the Tatar and Ukrainian languages). The point being, memorize your phrase book as you most likely will not be communicating with anybody without it.
Get in
There are overnight trains running to the Crimea from throughout the Ukraine. The cost will vary based upon where you will be leaving from, but from the Slovak border to cost is about 13 USD.
Get around
You can get anywhere in the Crimea by bus.
Frequently while traveling in the country if you look like a foreigner (for example with a backpack) and you are standing on what passes as a 'major' road people will stop and ask if you want a ride ... for a price, fortunately that price usually amounts to only a few USD to go some very long distances.
See
- The Khan's Palace -- The Khan's palace is located in the small mountain village of Bahkchisaraj a halfway between Simferopol and Sevastapol. The Khan's palace was the seat of the Tatar rulers of Crimea dating back to 1443. With the Ottoman conquest of The Crimea in 1475 the Khan's became a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire but were left as the rulers. After the Crimean war with the victory of Russia all of the Khan's were made Russian nobility but the capital of the Crimea was moved to Simferopol. The palace grounds include impressive gardens, several old mosques including cemeteries, a harem and of course the palace itself. You can take a guided tour of the palace but only in Russian.
- Chufut Kale Cave City -- An hour and a half walk up a beautiful canyon from the town of Bahkchisaraj you will find the Chufut Kale cave town dating back to the 6th century. It is located high up in the cliffs so the walk is a bit strenuous but not overwhelming. It is a city of what appears to have been several thousand people who built/dug their homes into the limestone rock. The city was abandoned in the 19th century.
- The Balshoi Canyon -- The Balshoi Canyon is located on the opposite side of the mountain range that Yalta sits below. It will take about an hour and a half to get there by automobile from Yalta. It can also be reached from Bahkchisaraj by hitch hiking or minibus. Balshoi means 'Grand or Large' in Russian. After reaching the entrance to the park you will have to pay a small fee (2 USD) to start down the trail. From there it is about an hour hike into the canyon along a small mountain stream. You never actually end up getting a perfect view of the canyon as you are also down in the middle of it surrounded by lush vegetation but it is impressive all the same. The trail ends at a small picnic area where a local man is selling awful wine and really good fried food. There is a small waterfall and a pool where you can do some minor diving/jumping. You can continue further up the stream without the trail but it is a bit more rough going.
Do
- Hiking in the Crimea is wonderful. There are very few other backpackers and almost no clearly marked trails (as in posted signs) so you're going to be roughing it. The trails themselves though appear to be well used. In the mountainous region though you can pretty much pick and two small towns and hike between them and be assured of an adventure. Campsites are few and far between but there is lots of open space for camping, be environmentally sensitive of course about the place you choose to camp. For a brief description of a hike see Bahkchisaraj
Eat
Drink
The beer in the Crimea is outstanding and cheap. The wine is extremely sweet which is the way the local seem to like it.
Stay safe
The Crimea does not have a major problem with crime. At most there is minor thievery but none of the cities have any of the problems associated with urban poverty. The countryside, which is extremely poor, is also very safe. You are more likely to get kicked by a wandering horse than robbed.
Get out
External links
WikiPedia:Crimea Tatar.Net for Crimea and Crimean Tatars
