| Introduction|Kyiv| Chernihiv| Odesa| Kherson|Sevastopol|
| Sudak | Zaporizhzhia| Poltava to Kyiv| Final Thoughts|

Introduction:

From September 2nd through September 14th, 1997, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to visit the land of my ancestors- Ukraine. I would like to take a moment to thank everyone I met while in Ukraine for making this trip a memorable visit and I hope to one day be able to return to visit again. A special thank you goes to my cousin who escorted/interpreted/travelled with me while I was there and who made it possible to communicate with everyone (Note, not many people speak English in Ukraine and most signs are in Ukrainian or Russian using the Cyrillic alphabet.)

Ukraine's history can be traced back to the 8th-9th century when the medieval Kievan Rus' state was formed. Further back in time, to the between the third and eighth millennium B.C., the roots of the Ukrainian nation can be found in Trypillian and Scythian culture. But enough of the history lesson, on August 24,1991, Ukraine declared itself an independent nation once again.

A visit to Ukraine takes many months of planning in order to have an enjoyable vacation. First, Ukraine requires a visa for entry. To get the visa, it is necessary to have a letter of invitation from someone or an organization already in Ukraine (or go on a packaged tour). Once this letter of invitation has been obtained, a visa application is required (which usually cannot be found in English) and a check for $50 - $300 depending on the type of visa requested. These are processed at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, DC or the Ukrainian Consulates in Chicago, IL and New York, NY. Next, it is highly recommended by the CDC that you get vaccinated for a number of different illnesses. The hepatitis A and B series of shots take several months to complete. It is also recommended to check with the State Department to see if there are any travel advisories. Finally, try to book the airline tickets as far in advance of the desired time because the flights between the U.S. and Europe are always full. Even the flights between Europe (usually Amsterdam, Vienna, or Frankfurt) and Kyiv are usually full.

Now let's take a look at some of the cities that I travelled to while in Ukraine...

Kyiv:

Click on picture for 15K full 298x222 image	Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine. It is a cosmopolitan city of over 2,600,000 people. (To find out today's weather forecast, I recommend The Weather Channel.) Unlike similar sized U.S. cities, the modes of transportation are walking, the metro, and buses which criss-cross the city. The buses run quite frequently M-F, but are much more infrequent on weekends. Because so many people walk to get to work or shop, Kyiv, like most Ukrainian cities, has numerous well maintained parks, walkways, plazas, museums, and monuments. As can be seen in this photo on the left, the first order of business once I was in Kyiv was finding something to eat. I ate at McDonald's once just to say I did. The local cuisine was quite good, and one afternoon I had the real deal -'Chicken Kyiv' in Kyiv.
Click on picture for 29K full 424x284 image	The next photo shows the monuments to Princess Ohla, St. Cyril, and St. Methodius. Although it is not obvious from the photo, monuments like these are located throughout the city in traffic circles. Art students from the local academies come to practice their painting/drawing skills on sunny days.
Click on picture for 31K full 424x286 image	The last photo from Kyiv, shows a view of St. Sophia's Bell Tower from the monuments shown in the previous picture. The bell tower was built in the 18th-19th century and is part of the St.Sophia's Cathedral complex. St. Sophia's is just one of several cathedrals and/or monastery complexes located in Kyiv. St. Sophia's Cathedral was originally constructed in 1017-1031 and was where the Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was based. A tour of the cathedral is a must, complete with an excellent tour guide who can explain the history and interior of the cathedral in most major languages (well worth the extra cost).

Chernihiv:

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Chernihiv, with a population of over 350,000 people, is one of the oldest cities in Ukraine. Chernihiv has several beautiful pedestrian walkways and parks. There are several notable monuments, including one to Taras Shevchenko which is located in Dytynets (Fortress) next to the Desna River. There are several interesting churches and museums in Chernihiv. One is shown in the photograph on the left. The Pyatnytska Church was originally constructed in the 12th-13th century for the patroness of commerce, St. Paraskeva Pyatnytska. A tour of the inside reveals the history of the church, including photographs of the numerous reconstructions of the church. The church also contains numerous religious icons and is now once again used for religious services.

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St. Catherine's Church (on the left) is located a short walk away from St. Pyatnytska's Church near Dytynets. In fact, this photograph was taken from Dytynets. The slope in front of the cannon is part of the old fortress walls. St. Catherine's Church was built in the Ukrainian baroque style. Unfortunately, I visited Chernihiv too late in the day to visit the museum of Chernihiv decorative art that is housed within the church.

Odesa:

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Odesa, with a population of well over one million people, is located in southwestern Ukraine on the Black Sea. A hub for shipping, cultural events, and tourism, Odesa has numerous theatres, parks, restaurants, and other amenities. Odesa is famous for the Prymorsky Skhody (Maritime Stairs) which rise from the harbor to the city. Although I drove from Kyiv to Odesa, in retrospect, if I had had more time, it probably would have been easier to fly there from Kyiv. A side trip from Odesa that is definitely worth the trouble (since you have to take a longer route to avoid the Moldova border crossing unless you have a multiple entry visa) is to visit Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky. There you will find the Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky Fortress which was built in the 13th-15th century on the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Tria. Inside the fortress is a small castle that was built in the 12th-13th century. This fortress is incredible when you consider when it was made and how large it is. Finally, the photograph above was taken near some Greek style columns in Odesa. I do not understand the significance of this structure, however most of the seaports in Ukraine had one of these. Note the wedding party in the picture. After the wedding services, there is a tradition of the bride and groom going to local historical locations to have photographs taken as keepsakes. It was not unusual to see several different wedding parties walking from location to location in the central districts of Odesa, Kyiv, and other large cities.

Kherson:

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Kherson is a relatively young city founded in 1778 with a population of over 350,000 people on the site of fortifications that date back to 1737. On the way from Odesa to Sevastopol, I saw this building which looked rather interesting, so I took a picture of it. I haven't a clue as to who designed or built it, but the style is very different from most of the nearby buildings. Also note that even in Kherson, that the familiar red and white Coca-Cola sign is everywhere.

Sevastopol:

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Sevastopol is one of the better known cities in the Crimean Republic. It couldn't possibly be because the Black Sea Fleet used to be based there? Of course not. Sevastopol harbor is very pretty and there are several interesting buildings and architectural styles present. Sevastopol was a closed city to foreigners for a long time because of its military significance to the former USSR. Despite the fact that Soviet warships still anchor at Sevastopol, Ukraine has opened the city to tourists which is great because of the incredible ruins of the ancient Greek colony of Cheronese Taurica. Spread out across the Heraclian Peninsula, the ruins stretch in all directions. Remains of homes, an acropolis, temples, a theatre, and marketplaces highlight these ruins on the coast of the Black Sea (see photograph to the left). As an American in a country barely 221 years old, to walk among ruins from the 5th century B.C. is a unique experience.

Sudak:

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Sudak is a small city on the southern coast of the Crimean Republic on the Black Sea. The drive from Yalta to Sudak was definitely one of the hardest of the entire trip. It was full of switchbacks and constant climbs, downgrades, and turns. Sudak is only 120 kilometers from Yalta but if it was a straight road Sudak would be a lot closer. Founded in the 3rd century, Sudak is another one of the ancient cities in Ukraine. As a trading city on the Great Silk Road, Sudak eventually came under control of the Venetian and Genoese who erected the fortress shown in the picture to the left. I took several photos from one of the towers on the ridge to get this composite picture. The entire fortress has several towers, interior buildings, and underground passages. The exterior walls enclose a huge area which is quite unlike Western European castles.

Zaporizhzhia:

Zaporizhzhia has a long and colorful history. Settlements in the surrounding areas date back to the late Paleolithic and Bronze Ages. Zaporizhzhia has been ruled by the Scythians, the Huns, the Khazar Khanate, the Polovtsians, the Tatar Golden Horde, and the Zaporozhian Kozaks. The Kozaks created the Zaporozhian Sich which was an important center of Ukrainian statehood for many years in the 16th to 18th centuries until Tsarist Russia decided to destroy the independence-minded Kozaks. Some of the tombstones in the photograph of this graveyard are several hundred years old.

Poltava - Kyiv Highway (E-40):

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The picture at the left shows how wide open the spaces are between cities in the Ukraine. Most cities in Ukraine are compact compared to the suburban sprawl that is common in the U.S. Driving across Ukraine, one becomes numb to the miles and miles of cropland, orchards, and vineyards this fertile country has.

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The variety of crops becomes evident when one stops at the roadside stands or markets that people have in each city. Cabbage, eggs, honey, raw milk, sunflower seeds, potatoes,tomatoes, peppers, grapes, apples, squash, watermelon, carrots, onions, and other products could be bought depending upon what region of the country you were in and time of year it was. In the south, it appears that the growing season is almost year-round.

Final Thoughts:

This concludes a review of my visit to Ukraine. I hope to add photos from some of the other cities I visited when I have a little more time. I also recommend the following book: 'Ukraine - A Tourist Guide' for anyone considering a trip to Ukraine (Published by Smoloskyp Publishers, 2nd Ed.1995). I also recommend the Peugeot map book published in 1997 for the adventurous person that will be driving in the Ukraine. However, the book is in Ukrainian and printed in Cyrillic. There are also some excellent topographical maps mostly in Russian and printed in Cyrillic, but I have yet to find any of them outside Ukraine. If you have any questions or comments please send them to mmuzik@mindspring.com

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Last Updated December 3rd, 1998