Welcome to Odessa, Ukraine

I must admit that I was not that impressed with our visit to Odessa, probably because the weather was not that inviting.  I did go one a tour with Barbara but I spent most of the time sitting in the bus.  I took very few pictures, so I am relied on Barbara to share that attached pictures. Of course  I had the very daunting task of editing over 260 great photos, down to less than  60.

Here is what our daily program had to say about Odessa:

“Odessa is located on the Black Sea and is the chief trade and fishing port of the country.  Its harbor is kept open in the winter by icebreakers.  It has a mild climate, and is a popular resort. The city has several interesting museums, theaters and a beautiful ornate opera house.

Odessa was founded in 1794 as a Russian naval fortress and by the 19th Century it had become an important grain-exporting port.  In 1905 the city was the site of a worker’s uprising, supported by the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin. After the sailors on the Potemkin mutinied, the people of Odessa gathered on the harbor steps to show their support.  Odessa’s 192  waterfront steps cascade down the hillside from a statue of the Duc de Richelieu toward the toward the sea.  This classical sweep of steps is best seen from the bottom where they seem higher that they are, and then continue to narrow near the top. 

The steps were immortalized in the famous 1925 film Battleship Potemkin by director Sergei Eisenstein.  As the local Odessans run down the steps towards the ship in support of the sailor’s uprising, they are fired on by Tsarist troops, their blood spilling down the steps. The rich political history of the region is equally matched by its cultural significance.  This beautiful city is known as the “Paris of he Black Sea”.”

		4-9-2012 Odessa, Ukraine VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Next: We return to our former home in Kiffisia, Greece.