Our train arrived at about 5:40 am, which was 30 minutes late. Of course, we didn't understand that there was a time zone change, so we were up an hour too early.
Anyway, we met our guide and were driven to our hotel in the centre of Sevastopol. We got our room immediately and caught up on missing sleep. After a few hours, we had breakfast and did a preliminary recon before we met our guide, Anna, for a tour.
Sevastopol is a very attractive city on a large and pretty harbour, so that it has a Mediterranean feel in the blue skies and sunshine. There are a number of coves and inlets within the harbour, with the main harbour being over 7 km long. Both the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the Ukranian Navy are based here, with ships of both evident in the harbour. The Russian Fleet is a major employer, because of its use of Sevastopol services and companies.
We were driven to the nearby ruins of the Greek (and Roman) city of Khersones, which was founded in 421 BC.. At its height in the 4th century AD, this was a city of about 20000, though the city didn't die out until about 1400. This site includes remnants of Greek and Roman houses, fortifications and a theatre, along with subsequent alterations by the Ottomans. Famously, the Rus leader Volodymyr the Great was baptised here in 989 AD and thereafter launched the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia.
From there, we drove to the Panorama Museum on a nearby height, which was the positon of a bastion defence in the Crimean War. This consists of an immense painting (115m x 14m) in a circular building, with 3-D props in the foreground (much like the Belgorod diorama), which portrays the siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean war. The seige lasted 349 days. Of course, the Crimean War made no real change to the status quo, other than the loss of about 500,000 men (Russia "lost", but in the peace negotiations kept Crimea and Sevastopol).
From there we went to the Diorama Museum on Sapun Mount, just outside the city. The diorama is dedicated to the assult on this mount by Russian troops to reclaim Sevastopol in the Great Patriotic War. The diorama is again a large painting (25.5m x 5.5m) with 3-D foreground props. It is well executed and vividly depicts the final rapid assalt which freed the city.
The observation deck in front of the diorama looks out over the Valley of Death, where the Charge of the Light Brigade happened at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854. It is a wide valley, with numbers of small rises, which today is largely vineyards. With some instruction, it is possible to understand where the battle occurred and how the famous charge happened.
From there, it was back to town. We were guided around part of the town, including squares and monuments, before we farewelled our guide and settled in for a beer by the waterfront. We continued to wander and after another beer, headed off to a well regarded local restaurant for an excellent fish meal washed down with some Inkerman sauvigon blanc - yes, we had found something close to Russian wine (actually Crimean wine, but it once was part of Russia and also part of the USSR).
It might be worth making a brief comment about ethnicity here. Eastern Ukraine and particularly the Crimea is peopled mainly by Russians, with Russian the local language. In many respects these people feel disenfranchised by the dissolution of the Soviet Union and their loss of Soviet (meaning Russian) identity. Western Ukraine is apparently different, with people seeing themselves as Ukrainian and speaking that language. The Russian Fleet is here in Sevastopol until 2042 (at least).
Anyway, we met our guide and were driven to our hotel in the centre of Sevastopol. We got our room immediately and caught up on missing sleep. After a few hours, we had breakfast and did a preliminary recon before we met our guide, Anna, for a tour.
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| The Foggy Bell at Khersones |
We were driven to the nearby ruins of the Greek (and Roman) city of Khersones, which was founded in 421 BC.. At its height in the 4th century AD, this was a city of about 20000, though the city didn't die out until about 1400. This site includes remnants of Greek and Roman houses, fortifications and a theatre, along with subsequent alterations by the Ottomans. Famously, the Rus leader Volodymyr the Great was baptised here in 989 AD and thereafter launched the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia.
From there, we drove to the Panorama Museum on a nearby height, which was the positon of a bastion defence in the Crimean War. This consists of an immense painting (115m x 14m) in a circular building, with 3-D props in the foreground (much like the Belgorod diorama), which portrays the siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean war. The seige lasted 349 days. Of course, the Crimean War made no real change to the status quo, other than the loss of about 500,000 men (Russia "lost", but in the peace negotiations kept Crimea and Sevastopol).
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| The "Valley of Death" at Balaclava |
The observation deck in front of the diorama looks out over the Valley of Death, where the Charge of the Light Brigade happened at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854. It is a wide valley, with numbers of small rises, which today is largely vineyards. With some instruction, it is possible to understand where the battle occurred and how the famous charge happened.
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| Harbourside restaurant in Sevastopol |
It might be worth making a brief comment about ethnicity here. Eastern Ukraine and particularly the Crimea is peopled mainly by Russians, with Russian the local language. In many respects these people feel disenfranchised by the dissolution of the Soviet Union and their loss of Soviet (meaning Russian) identity. Western Ukraine is apparently different, with people seeing themselves as Ukrainian and speaking that language. The Russian Fleet is here in Sevastopol until 2042 (at least).
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