112-southern-ukraine-ukr2.indd 160 2 - s SOUTHERN UKRAINE o u wicked nightlife,wicked it’safavourite break weekend fromthecapitalandis,inmanyways,cooler. is alsoUkraine’scapitalofhedonism.CloserthanCrimeatoKyiv,withsandybeachesanda especially thelargest city,Odesa(OdessainRussian).Entrepreneurial andcosmopolitan,Odesa invited topopulate thearea andsetupbusinessalongthecoasttotrade. Bulgarians, Germans,Greeks, Italians,Moldavians,Russians,Swedesandmanyotherswere the CossacksandthatofCrimeanTatars. UnderCatherine itbecameameltingpot, as ambitiously christened, betweenthedomainof hadbeenaWildWest–styleno-man’s-land Russia hugewealthbyopeningituptotheBlackSea. Novorossiya, ornewRussia,asitwas territorial acquisitionsinthelate 18thcentury,itvastlyexpandedherdominion and brought This southerlyregion theRussianempress oncehelped make Catherine great. ofher As part Україна Південна Ukraine Southern 160 settler. ‘UkrainianVenice’ You’llalsofindtheso-called andanisolated cityofSwedes. multicultural theme–southernUkraineboastsanAfrican-style safariparkcreated byaGerman animals suchasmink,freshwater otters andmonkseals. Even nature seemstoemphasisethe Ukrainian nookofEurope’s largest wetlands,you’llfindmore than300different birdspeciesand threatened –isthatoftheDanubeincountry’s farsouthwestcorner. Here, inthesmall Odesa; theDnister, estuary–and,sadly,themost 40kmsouthwest.Butthemostspectacular also hometothree majorriver estuaries. The DniproemptiesintotheBlackSea60kmeastof t h e Southern Ukrainehas,however, more tooffer thanjustOdesa’s This history,coupledwith atemperate climate, hasshapedthecharacter oftheregion today,
HIGHLIGHTS
POPULATION: 4.7 MILLION r n Spotzebras, bisonandflamingosonsafariatthe Charge throughremote Bessarabiatothecanalsandbird-infested Danubewaterways around madnessatthefamous Witnessmarket Imbibeculture atthe famous Doasummerclub-crawlat therestaurants Hit inandaroundOdesa’scentral Enjoyamovie momentonOdesa’smassive - Vylkovo Bazaar Pryvoz Market Beach ( p178 vul Derybasivska Potemkin Steps Philharmonic Orchestra Theatre u k r a i n e - u ( p179) ( p173 ) orthemuch-lauded k (p184) r 2 . i n ) d d
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