Odessa is a city straight from literature – an energetic,
decadent boomtown. Its famous Potemkin Steps sweep down to the Black Sea
and
Ukraine’s
biggest commercial port. Behind them, a cosmopolitan cast of characters
makes merry among pastel neoclassical buildings, lining a geometrical
grid of leafy streets. Immigrants from all over
Europe were invited to make their fortune here when Odesa was founded in the late 18th century by
Russia’s Catherine the Great. These new inhabitants gave
Russia’s southern window on the world a singular, subversive nature. As well as becoming a duty-free port and a major
Mafia stronghold – it is still the latter – Odesa also attracted
ordinary holiday-makers with its sunny climate, self-confidence and
sandy beaches.
True, the city’s appearance grows tattier as you head
south past half-empty sanatoriums towards its beachside nightclubs.
However, this East–West crossroads makes up for that with sheer panache. Local writer Issac Babel claimed Odesa had ‘more
charm than any city in the Russian Empire’ and that’s probably still
true in modern-day
Ukraine.
The source of this charm is Odesans themselves: a breed apart, they’re
stylish, cultured, funny, savvy and not easily impressed.
More about Odessa
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2 комментария:
Toujours de très belles captures photographiques... j'aime beaucoup celle avec les façades tirant sur les bleus et cette toute dernière qui m'entraîne à la rêverie et la liberté...
Odessa est un lieu merveilleux...
Gros bisous, je vous souhaite beaucoup de bonheur et de santé en ce jour de 1 mai.
Hello Martinealison & thank you for interest in my blog and for your wishes. I wish you health and success in everything, beautiful weather and a good spring!!! Until the next meeting, Alex.
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