Intro to Crimea

Crimea. In Russian it is called "Krym." Pronounced "cream."

What a magical place. The topography is stunning. A low area in the North connects Crimea to mainland Ukraine. And down in the South of Crimea there are huge rock cliffs that drop precipitously into the Black Sea about 4000 feet.

Crimea was long the playground of the Tsars. And even today it is traditional for Russians and Ukrainians to travel to Crimea to "have a rest." Soak in the sun. Breathe the fresh air blowing off the Black.

The center of Crimea holds the city of Simferopol, International Airport Identifier- SIP. Try putting that into your online flight reservations system!

Yalta is an amazing city with it's beautiful boardwalk along the sea and fine restaurants and even a few nightclubs and casinos.

Sevastopol is the famous home of the Russian Black Sea Navy. In Sevastopol there are more than 1800 various historical monuments including ancient greek ruins and World War 2 battlegrounds. More about the history of Sevastopol later....

Kerch is the city perched on the eastern edge of the Crimean Peninsula looking across the Kerch Strait to Russia.

Crimea is currently part of the country of Ukraine. But it was only recently so. Since 1954.

Most of the people in Crimea speak Russian, not Ukrainian and consider themselves Russian, not Ukrainian. More about the future of Crimea later....right now we are just getting to know the various points of interest and spatial relationships between the Black Sea and it's cities and rivers and so forth....