 CRIMEA
 Capital:
Simferopol
Time:
GMT + 2 hours
National holdays:
1 January New Year's Day
7 January Orthodox Christmas
8 March International Womens' Day
27 April Orthodox Easter
1 & 2 May Labour days
9 May Victory Day
15 June Holy Trinity
28 June Constitution Day
24 August Independence Day
National characteristics:
Many of the traditions that the Tatars have are the result of years spent living among the Russians and Uzbekistanis and necessity. Pictured here is a traditional Uzbekistani bread baking oven. The dough is formed into discs and "slapped" onto the oven walls where they actually stick. On the floor of the oven are burning embers of wood. After about 4 minutes the bread is done and ready to eat. Yum Yum
Most homes are build out of bricks and covered with concrete. The outside walls can be quite elaborate with a variety of colors and intricate designs etched into the thin concrete layer. The inside of the homes are decorated with hand woven rugs and tapestry. The walls of this home are about 18" thick and provide a cool environment against the summer heat and insulation during the winter months.
Geographic sketch:
Crimea is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea and on the western coast of the Sea of Azov, bordering Kherson Oblast from the North. Although located in the southwestern part of the Crimean peninsula, the city of Sevastopol has a special but separate municipality status within Ukraine. Crimea's total land area is 26,100 km² (10,038 sq mi).
Crimea is connected to the mainland by the 5–7-kilometre (3–4 mi) wide Isthmus of Perekop. At the eastern tip is the Kerch Peninsula, which is directly opposite the Taman Peninsula on the Russian mainland. Between the Kerch and Taman peninsulas lies the 3–13-km (2–9 mi)-wide Strait of Kerch, which connects the waters of the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov.
Climate:
The southern coast from Aya Cape to Kara-Dag Mountain has a subtropical climate, the northern part has continental mild one.
From the middle of May to the end of September it is sunny, hot and dry with seldom short rains. The autumn is sunny as well, but it often rains. Winter on mountains is wonderful: dry frosty air, clean fluffy snow. Thousand of Crimeans leave for Angarsky Pass and Ai-Petri Mountain for weekends.
Population:
As of 2005, the total population of Crimea is 1,994,300.
Language:
In Crimea, Russian is the language of choice (Stalin imported Russian families into the Crimea, whilst exporting the local Tatars to Uzbekistan) in addition to the Tatar and Ukrainian languages. The point being, memorize your phrase book as you most likely will be communicating mainly with Russian speakers. A lot of young people speak or understand English.
There is a University in Simferopol, and many young people study English. Their English is usually of a very good standard.
Some of the street signs in Yalta are in English from the time of the Yalta Conference in 1945.
Religion:
The primary religion of the Ukraine is the Eastern Orthodox Church (also know as the Orthodox Catholic church).
Currency:
As it is part of Ukraine, Crimea uses the Ukrainian hryvnia, which works on the decimal system: I hryvnia = 100 kopiykas.
Currency Exchange:
It is best to take cash in US dollars or Euros, and exchange it there. There is no shortage of banks and exchange kiosks in the larger towns. There are also plenty of cashpoints where you can withdraw cash using Switch, Cirrus or Visa cards. Cashpoints pay out in hryvnias, but some also pay out dollars. If you want to withdraw western currency, you can use a Visa card for a counter payment in a bank. Some also accept travellers cheques.You will need your passport for identification.
Communications:
There are plenty of public telephones in the larger towns. You can buy phone-cards in post offices and at some news kiosks. Alternatively you can pre-pay an international call from a booth at a post office (any unused time is refunded after the call has been made). If staying in a hotel you can usually phone from your room but this is much more expensive than using a public telephone. The larger towns have internet cafes where you can pick up and send e-mail. Most western mobile phones will automatically tune to the local Ukrainian network, but calls will be expensive because they go via your home network. You can send and receive text messages, which are a lot cheaper.
Shops:
 The total consumer market in Ukraine is estimated at 48 million consumers, owing to which there are excellent facilities for shopping in this country. Some of the shopping centres in Ukraine surpass all standards and will leave you pleasantly surprised. You will undoubtedly find more than what you are looking for, with a stupendous range of designer clothes, handmade art and craft, woodwork and paintings available here.
Food:
Crimean food is tasty and very varied, reflecting the Ukrainian, Russian and Tatar `ingredients' which combine to form Crimean culture and society. Some dishes have already made a name for themselves abroad - for example, you're likely to be familiar with Chicken Kiev, Beef Stroganoff and Borshch from the pre-cooked versions on your supermarket shelves.
But these are just the tip of the iceberg. You should try Pelmeny - delicious meat-filled dumplings, or the sweet equivalent Vareniki with a cherry or sweet cottage cheese filling. Or Tatar Lagmaan soup, or Shashlyk - kebabs which rival their Greek or Turkish counterparts in marinade and flavour.
You'll find restaurants and cafes to suit every conceivable taste and pocket, from the cheap Stolovaya (self-service cafeteria) or the pavement snack kiosk to the high class Restoran for a candle-lit dinner. Apart from restaurants serving Crimean-style dishes, there are those which specialise in Tatar or Georgian food. And because you're by the sea, there's no shortage of restaurants serving really tasty seafood and fish dishes.
If you want to be really adventurous, why not visit a Tatar eatery and try charcoal-grilled sheeps' testicles (delicious - tastes like a cross between chicken and kidney).Or if the very idea makes you feel queasy, you can opt for something familiar instead like a Chinese restaurant - or even MacDonalds (there's one in Yalta and one in Simferopol).
Transportation:
You can get anywhere in Crimea by mini bus. You can also go by taxi. Prices vary, be prepared to haggle a fare as you will always find someone to do a deal with. Many private citizens also work as sudo taxi drivers, sometimes it is difficult to tell. Taxi's range from modern comfortable cars to 1950's gas powered Soviet cars!
Frequently while traveling in the country if you look like a foreigner (for example with a backpack) and you are standing on what passes as a 'major' road people will stop and ask if you want a ride ... for a price, fortunately that price usually amounts to only a few USD to go some very long distances.
The road system in Crimea as well as most of the Ukraine, is in very poor repair, expect huge potholes. There is a very strict zero policy to drink driving. Police patrols are frequent as well as roadside checks for documents. The death toll on Ukraine roads is very bad, you have been warned.
|
