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Journey to the Borderland

May 5

Posted by Lindsey Whissel on 05/07 at 03:10 PM

Alushta here we come!

This morning we went to plant flowers at a monument commemorating WWII veterans. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of the town, but the people were very gracious and kept thanking us for our help. One of the men told us the monument had been vandalized many years ago and the metal lettering had been removed, so the townspeople wrote the names on the stone with what looked like mud so they would not be forgotten. Now they have restored the monument to its former state and are going to unveil it on May 9- Victory Day (very big day in Ukraine).

After our work at the monument, we had a shot visit to a monastery that was built into the mountains and caves. We had Чeбypek (Cheburek) for lunch and were told it’s traditional Crimean Tatar cuisine.

On the road back to Simferopol, we passed a Tatar carnival (for the spring festival). A little background on the Tatar population [disclaimer: I’m doing my best to summarize information, but we learn so much every day I ask for understanding if I am mistaken in anything I say about the history/ politics/ culture of the country]: the Tatars are an ethnic population of Turkish decent whose home is in Crimea. Under Stalin’s rule, many were deported to Siberia and other parts of Asia. Now they are returning to Crimea and claiming the land as their ancestral home. This has caused some problems because the land they are claiming is prime real estate for resorts and tourism.

Now we’re in the car heading for Alushta. I’m excited to see it because everyone says it’s a beautiful seaside resort-town. However, like always, I’m sad to leave my new friends behind—especially my little friend Kristina. It’s amazing how welcome everyone has made us feel and I know I will always treasure the memories I’m creating during my time in Ukraine.

PART II

During the drive to Alustha, Dymitri pointed out the Red Caves in the Crimean mountains and explained how troops would train in and around them in the former Soviet days. This prompted me to ask my new friend a bit about life under Soviet rule, a question I’m always very curious about, but don’t always ask because different people have different feelings on the subject. I think Dymitri understood I was simply curious and he was open with sharing his opinions. He said he was 15 when the USSR dissolved and his most prominent memory is that even after the Soviet government was no more, he was still able to obtain all of his higher education at no cost (this is not the case these days). He summarized his feelings by saying things are not black and white and that in any type of government in any country, there’s always good and bad. I’d also asked my first host family about Soviet times and was told Ukraine is a paradox- when it was part of USSR, people had money, but there was nothing to buy; now there are things to buy, but people have no money. I digress…

Upon arriving in Alushta, we found out we will be spending the night at the Olympic training complex. This is wonderful because there is a gorgeous view of the sea and staying in a hotel will provide us with an opportunity for some quiet time. We only have one day here, so we had a casual dinner at the studio of a famous Crimean filmmaker Boris Ivanovich Maevski. He showed us some clips from his films and we were able to get to spend time with some of the Alushta Rotary club members. Tomorrow, we have an easy schedule and are more or less free to do as we please, which of course will include a trip to the beach!

Word of the day: Морозиво (ma-rose-eh-vo) – ice cream.

* Amendment to May 4 entry - I mentioned we went to Balaklava Harbor, but it was here where the Light Brigade made their ill-fated charge, immortalized by Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem. The ‘Valley of Death ‘ is now a vineyard.