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ODESSA - THE PEARL OF THE BLACK SEA
Odessa (Odesa) - in Ukraine - has always shown more color, spunk, and irreverence than other cities in the former Soviet Union. There's an excitement, an anything-is-possible feeling in the streets. The city has a reputation for its irreverent humor that is flaunt each April 1st with Odessa's most famous holiday, "Humor Day". Odessa is referred to as the "Pearl of the Black Sea". It is the 3rd largest city in Ukraine, the largest city along the Black Sea, and the most important city of Ukraine for trade. Odessa's mild climate, warm waters and sunny beaches attract hundreds of thousands of people year around. Its shady lanes, beautiful lightly pastel buildings and cozy squares give the city a certain air of intimacy. Odessa is simply enchanting with its marvelous architecture. Odessa's history as a thriving enterprise has left the city with some splendid architecture from the 18th and 19th centuries and a multifaceted, irrepressible spirit. Some buildings display a curious mixture of different styles, such as distinct French architecture with a distinct Russian flavor, and some are built in the Art Nouveau Style which was in vogue at the turn of the century. Its stately 19th century classical architecture is set on orderly planned streets that are surrounded with green space, giving the city an air of elegance.
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WHY DO UKRAINE SPEND THEIR CHRISTMAS AT ANOTHER DATE AND HAVE 2 NEW YEAR'S EVE DAYS ?
Old New Year's (January 13th) has recently gained importance among Russia's growing number of Orthodox Christian believers, who returned to the church after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The holiday is celebrated only in Russia and some former Soviet republics, including Belarus and Ukraine, where the Julian Calendar, which left behind its Western counterpart by 13 days, was used until the 1917 Russian Revolution.
The reason for this discrepancy is a small mathematical error done by the Julian Calendar's Roman authors when it was introduced in 46 b.c. failing to calculate some leap year days. This oversight was corrected in the West in 1582 with the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar.
The Julian Calendar was discarded after the Bolshevik Revolution, so Russia would be as the rest of the world, but it was still retained by the Orthodox church for religious holidays.
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ODESA: CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT
Climate
Moderately continental and comparatively dry. There are more than 290 sunny days in the year. Winter is short and mild with an average temperature of around freezing point. Falling snow and temperatures below minus 10 Celsius are rare. Summer is long and hot with an average temperature of 25 Celsius degrees. Temperatures above 35 Celsius are quite often.
Economics
Odessa is the largest seaport of Ukraine as well as an important rail junction and highway hub. Odessa is a major industrial center. Grain, sugar, machinery, coal, petroleum products, cement, metals, jute and timber are the chief items of trade at the port of Odessa, which is the leading Ukrainian Black Sea port. Odessa is also a naval base and the home port of a fishing and an Antarctic whaling fleet. The city's industries include shipbuilding, oil refining, machine building, metalworking, food processing, and the manufacture of chemicals, machine tools, clothing, and products made of wood, jute, and silk. The relatively mild climate of Odessa draws visitors to the city’s many resorts. Large health resorts are located nearby.
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APRIL 1st - THE HUMOR HOLIDAY IN ODESSA
Since April 1st, 1974 Odessa has had an outdoor festival called "Humor Day".
Thousands of people from the former Soviet Union come to celebrate.
Thousands of people descend onto the Deribasovskaya Street. In the late morning there is a parade to the Shevchenko Park Stadium, where a show is performed.
Often parachutists, dancers and singers entertain the crowds.
In addition there is the International Imposters Club, The Extraordinary Congress of the Humorist Party, The World's' Only Odessite Olympic Games.
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THE BEACHES OF ODESSA
Odessa's beach, which actually is made up of several beaches running some 20 km or more, has a sea wall and many scales provided with restaurants, bars and clubs. During the summer, particularly the Lanzheron, Otrada and Delfin beaches are wall-to-wall people, but solitude seekers can find quiet by walking farther.
The cable car ride at the Otrada beach is fun and costs less than a hryvna. Besides sunbathing and swimming, you can rent paddle boats or rowboats usually for 2-3 hryvnas an hour.
Arkadia beach is the largest and most developed. Check out the yacht club - open to the public - at the south end of Lanzheron beach where you can charter a boat with crew for $5-10 an hour.
The best technique is to approach a likely-looking vessel and ask the young men how much they charge for their time. The steep hill dividing the beaches from the city is a green zone and usually closed to vehicle traffic. It is a favourite sight for picknics.
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THE ODESSA PUZZLE
Odessa is the largest city along the entire Black Sea and the 5th largest city in Ukraine and arguably the most important city of trade. Many years ago, Odessa was the 3rd leading city in old Russia, after Moscow and St. Petersburg. Odessa looks more like a city located on the Mediterranean Sea, having been heavily influenced by French and Italian styles. Odessa has always had a spirit of freedom, probably gifted to by her location and by her ability to accept many different peoples. The city has a wide variety of people including Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Greek, Bulgarian, Caucasian, Jewish, Turkish and Vietnamese. Today Odessa has a total population of about 1.2 million people. The city's trades include shipbuilding, chemicals, oil refining, food processing and metalworking. Odessa also has a naval base and several fishing fleets, which adds to the cities economy.
Odessa is beautifully situated on green rolling hills, overlooking a small picturesque harbor. The best time to visit Odessa is during summer, when everything is in bloom and absolutely beautiful. The summer is especially favourable for those who are looking to tan on one of Odessa quiet white sandy beaches. Russian is the primary language spoken in Odessa, however, Ukrainian is the official language and many advertisements and signs are written in it. English is the most widely used tourist language.
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THE ODESSA MAP
Odessa is a well planned and well laid out city, and to top that fact it is extremely tourist friendly. Visitors do not encounter too many problems while finding their way around town, the line networks for buses, trams and trains are all comprehensive and have a wide reach.
Moreover, the timetables, routes and stops are prominently displayed at all stops, for the convenience of the traveller. The same information can be accessed over the internet or on the phone or can be picked up from the buses and trams while travelling.
All in all, Odessa is a wonderful city to visit and discover, and the experience is enhanced by the brilliant public transportation system, and the efficient administrative body.
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ART AND CULTURES IN ODESSA
The city of Odessa is the most important artistic centre in the Ukraine. Its landscape stands firmly within the artist's field of vision, transformed into a creative image by figurative experiment. Indeed, with its spectacular topography and pan-meditteranean display, Odessa has long been an inspriation to the great painters, who exploit the bright sun filled colours of the Odessa landscape.
List of Odessa Museums: Archeologic Museum, Maritime Museum, Fine Arts Museum, Western and Eastern Art Museum, Odessa State Literary Museum, The Jewish Museum, Odessa Museum of Numismatics, Pushkin's Museum, Odessa Regional History Museum, Wax Museum etc.
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RELIGION AND CHURCHES IN ODESSA
If you come to Odessa don't forget to visit the picturesque historical center of Odessa and you will plunge into the history of the Orthodox Church, its traditions and rites. You can visit famous churches and cathedrals such as the Cathedral of the Assumption, which was built in 1869. This is an impressive blue-and-white ensemble of five swooping domes and a very tall bell tower rising over the entrance.
There are two fine churches on the southeast side of the city center, near the railway station. Five very bulbous silver domes and a pointed bell tower rise from the now Byzantine Panteleymonovsky Church.
Just down the Pushkin avenue is the blue Illinsky Cathedral (1886), very richly adorned beneath a large central dome.
Many years have passed by since one of the most interesting Odessa architecture monument - St. Paul Lutheran Church - was built. The tower vertical line of its western front crowned with tiled roof is seen from distant approaches of the city and determines the originality of the silhouette of the church.
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BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN
Bronenosets Potemkin
Indisputably, the film "Battleship Potemkin" increased the fame of Odessa and made the steps famous. The silent film of S. Eisenstein was a worldwide success, remaining until today in the top of the best movies.
Clearly, the reality was deformed in the film, but - however - the movie had a huge footprint on those who saw it. Everybody is convinced that the great infernal scenes from the Potemkin Stairs even took place! It is one of those occasions when the film is above reality!
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THE ODESSA OBLAST
Like most Ukrainian oblasts which take their name after the administrative capital, the Odessa Oblast (region) is named after the largest city in the region and its capital. The oblast has an area of about 33,300 square kilometers, it is a territory with steppes on both sides of the Dniester estuary. From the Danube Delta and beyond Odessa, the coastline of the Black Sea is dotted with estuaries, lagoons and generoussandy beaches. An important number of Russian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Greek and Gagauz people live in the province. The Serpent Island is part of the Odessa Oblast.
An important commercial, tourist, industrial and cultural city, Odessa (Odesa) is one of the major cities of Ukraine. It was founded two centuries ago, abd became the third greatest center of the Russian Empire, after St. Petersburg and Moscow, particularly because the status of Porto Franco (free port), which was awarded by Catherine the Great. Today the city is booming and it is considered one of the most important industrial, cultural, historical and tourism cities in Ukraine and it is categorized in the same time as one of the most beautiful cities in the world as a city museum.
Border crossings from the Danube Delta (Romania) to Ukraine
Galati - Reni
Isaccea - Orlivka
Plaun - Ismail
Chilia Veche - Chilia (Kilia)
Periprava - Vilkovo
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RENI
Reni is a city currently located in Ukraine, Odessa region. Historically speaking, Reni was a part of Moldova in Bessarabia which was ceded to the Russian Empire in 1812. Between 1856 and 1877 Reni has become part of Moldova and in 1859 part of the United Romanian Principalities and back in the Kingdom of Romania after 1918. Reni City has a population of 20,000 people and it is the capital of the Reni Region, which includes 41,000 people, of which nearly 50% are Romanian. Reni is the only district in Bugeac which still has a majority of Romanian population. Reni is located next to the Romanian city of Galaţi.
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ISMAIL
The name comes from the Romanian "Smil", which the Turks turned into the current name - Ismail / Izmail. The town is situated in the Danube Delta and it is known for the beauty of its nature. Today is a railway junction and port on the Danube, surrounded by vineyards and orchards.
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BILHOROD - DNISTROVSCHI: THE WHITE FORTRESS
The White Fortress (or Akkerman or Bilhorod-Dnistrovschi) is a city in the former Romanian historical region Bugeac, now in Ukraine. The fortress belonged to Moldova between 1392 and 1484, after that being captured by Turks and renamed Akkerman (White Cliff). Between 1918 and 1940 the city belonged to the Kingdom of Romania, returning in 1940 to the Soviet Russia and renamed Bilhorod-Dnistrovschi. The city has an ethnographic museum that contains archaeological findings belonging to the ancient fortress Tyras. The fort is well preserved, as a citadel with walls nearly 2 km long.
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ZATOKA
Bugaz (Zatoka | Затока) is a town in southern Ukraine, a seaside resort on the Black Sea coast, attended in particular by people with low income from Ukraine and Moldova. Up to 28 June 1940 it was part of the Kingdom of Romania (White Fortress County). In Bugaz there is the bridge over the Tzarigrad Straits, providing road and rail communication from Ukraine into Odessa region. Tzarigrad Straits has a width of 200 meters in the narrow place, where the Dniester joins the Black Sea. Bugaz resort is on the right side of the Straits and on the left - the Karolino resort.
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THE SNAKES ISLAND
The Snakes Island was named by the ancient Greeks the island of Leuca - Λευκός ( "White Island"). According to legends, in ancient times, the Greeks built a temple here in the grand honor of Achilles. The Serpents Island is close to the Ukrainian Danube Delta. The nearest point on shore is Kubanskyi Island (Coban), part of the Ukrainian Danube Delta, located between the Canals Bystroe and Vostocinoi. The nearest settlement is the Romanian town of Sulina, at 45 km. The nearest Ukrainian city is Valcovo, located 50 km from the island. The Serpents Island has not had a significant importance in economic terms. Its economic importance has increased since the early 1980, with the discovery of large reserves of petroleum and natural gas in the basement of the continental shelf around the island. The water snake, which gave the name of the island, has a maximum length of 2 meters and was completely harmless, but with an unpleasant appearance. He completely disappeared from the island in the middle of the XX century.
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