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The Vanishing World of the Ukrainian Jewry

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ODESA

[ODESSA] 
Quick Facts and History
Places of Interest
Hotels
Restaurants

Quick Facts and History
The administrative center of Odesa Province (area - 33,300 sq.km, population - 2,635,000). The population of Odesa - 1,132,000. 

From the ancient times the area was inhabited by Scythians, Sarmats, Greeks, Slavs. In the times of Kyiv Rus it was a part of this huge Slavic state. In the 13th century it was annexed to the Tartar-Mongol Empire "The Golden Horde". At the beginning of the 15th century it was annexed to Lithuania, and in some 50 years - to Turkey. In 1791 the territory became a part of the Russian Empire.

In 1794 the construction of Russian naval base started and in 1795 the Tartar settlement of Khadzhi-Bey (15th century) was renamed Odesa. The modern Odesa is one of the biggest Ukrainian cities, and the "Southern Gateway" of the country. 

Included in: "Super Grand Tour of Ukraine" (brief description, detailed program), "Black Sea" (brief description, detailed program). 

Places of Interest
The standard city tour includes a lot of architectural sites of 19th-20th centuries, many of them designed by world famous architects and engineers. The main are: the Opera House (resembling the Vienna Opera and the Dresden Court Theater) built in 1884-87 by Viennese architects Helmer and Fehlner; the Marine (Potyomkin) Stairway (1837-41, designed by Boffo) - one of the largest stairways in the world; and the heart of Odessa - Deribasivska [Deribasovskaya] Street with plenty of shops and pubs.

The Museum of Western and Oriental Art is worth visiting. 

Visit to the catacombs which run for several hundred kilometers under the city and its environs. The catacombs have been used as hiding place by revolutionaries and criminals; during World War II they served as a command post for the Resistance.

Hotels
LONDONSKIY [LONDONSKAYA] HOTEL ****
Overlooks the harbor and has a nice courtyard, where one can have breakfast under the trees

CHERVONIY [KRASNAYA] HOTEL *** ++
Picturesque red and white exterior, atmospheric.

CHORNE MORE [CHERNOYE MORE] HOTEL *** 
Comfortable but lacking special style.
 

Restaurants
The restaurants at LONDONSKIY HOTEL and CHERVONIY HOTEL have distinctive style and serve good European food. The rest of the hotel restaurants are less cosy, though the food is also good.

The city abounds in night clubs, casinos, etc. However, not all of them are safe.