If you have never been to Odessa, then you should definitely go there. And how can you not visit a city that you know so much about? Have you not heard about Deribasovskaya, Peresyp or Moldavanka? About scammers full of mullet? About Privoz, Malaya Arnautskaya street and Potemkin stairs? About Sonya Golden Pen and Benya Scream? And just don’t tell me that you didn’t read Valentin Kataev and Ilya Ilf with Evgeny Petrov!
Odessa is a beautiful southern city, the third largest in Ukraine, which speaks a variety of languages and connects the unconnected, where the spirit of Ostap Bender invisibly hovers, where people live funny and witty, cheerful and cheerful. Odessa is a unique city, over which time and historical cataclysms seem not to have power. And this is evidence of vitality, innate optimism and refined humor of Odessa residents, whose favorite pastime is to laugh at oneself. A lot of jokes, feuilletons and songs are made about Odessa. But I will not pour jokes and jokes in the Odessa manner. Let me tell you about that Odessa, which you probably do not know about. About Odessa through the eyes of Odessa.
If you come to Odessa in the season - from May to September, the city will meet you with bright sunshine, green trees, heady blooming acacia, crowds of tourists filled with beaches, a huge number of summer discotheques on the coast and, of course, an infectious good mood. The rhythm of life does not stop in the summer for a second. The mild climate, many sandy beaches and the warm sea annually attract thousands of tourists to this city, which has long and deservedly bears the title of South Palmyra. Local residents, however, like residents of many other resort cities, quietly chuckle at visitors and do not interfere in the course of their lives.
You rarely meet native Odessa residents on city beaches; this is a privilege for visitors. Odessans themselves prefer to rest on Carolino Bugaz, or abbreviated Bugaz, which is a strip of sandy beaches a few kilometers from Odessa. There are a myriad of surrendering small private houses, boarding houses, cafes, restaurants and discos, where you can "hang out" for the weekend or during the holidays.
And also, everyone who has visited Odessa knows what Arcadia is, which is considered to be the local Black Sea Ibiza. Where the green alley leads to the sea, the best summer discos, restaurants and bars of the city are located in the resort area. This is a place where you can change several clubs overnight, moving from one to another, where the morning comes completely unnoticed and then you can have breakfast in some cafe overlooking the sea and the rising sun
If you delve into history, then by European standards, Odessa is a young city. It was founded by Catherine II in 1794, when the Russian Empress decided that the country needed a port on the Black Sea to expand ties with Europe. Successfully located geographically on the site of ancient Greek villages, Odessa quickly turned from a small settlement into a commercial, industrial and scientific center of European significance. (By the way, the name Odessa itself came from the name of the Greek settlement of Odessa; Catherine wanted the name of the city to be necessarily feminine, and so Odessa appeared). Odessa was laid as a port, stood out for a long time as a “window” or even a “door” to Europe, formed and developed under the strong influence of European culture and with the direct participation of European political and military figures, builders and architects, financiers and businessmen.
The prosperity of this beautiful southern city was promoted by the great mayors - Admiral De Ribas, the French Duke De Richelieu (the same Duke), the Russian Count Vorontsov, Count Langeron and others ... Each of them has many glorious deeds for the benefit of the city and its inhabitants . They turned Odessa into a European city, a shopping center known throughout Europe, attracting merchants and artisans here. A harbor, hospitals, educational institutions, bazaars, a theater, barracks, temples of various types, and beautiful architectural structures were built under them.
The rich color and the presence of a huge number of different nationalities and faiths is explained by the policies of the Russian Empire at that time. To attract residents to the new city, foreign merchants and settlers were given all possible benefits, the activity of which revived trade in the city and the region. For the first time “port-free” was introduced here - Odessa became a duty-free zone, which contributed to the growth of the city, trade, turnover and population. Now in Odessa there are so many different nationalities that not a single foreigner (and there are many foreigners here) will feel like a stranger here. You can profess any kind of faith, wear a national outfit, speak any language or dialect, still fit into the picture of the city instantly and you will feel “your own”.
Everyone knows that Odessa rapidly developed and grew rich, to a large extent thanks to the active participation of the Jewish population and Jewish capital in creating and building up the trade and economic potential of the city. At one time, Jews provided about 90% of grain exports, they owned most of the commission and intermediary firms, many industrial enterprises. Jewish culture and cuisine firmly entered the life of every Odessa citizen. You will ask any citizen, regardless of his nationality and religion, about his preferences in dancing or cuisine. And you will find out that his favorite dance is Seven Forty, and his favorite dish is stuffed fish. And this characteristic Odessa dialect with a Jewish accent, and Odessa expressions and sparks in the eyes ...
However, in order to see the real Odessa, to feel its character and unique cosiness, you need to come here in the early autumn, because Odessa in the summer and Odessa in the fall are, as they say here, “two big differences”. When crowds of tourists subside and the leaves of the trees turn red-yellow-green, the tired city will finally take off its mask of a cheerful clown, and you will be able to feel all its beauty and that elusive nostalgia that hovers in the cobblestone-lined streets and lurks behind each by turning.
In autumn, fog hangs over the city and you can scatter yellow leaves from trees on the waterfront. On such days, a rumble sweeps over the city - Odessa lighthouses begin to work. But the streets and the soul are still very warm and comfortable.
Foreigners call Odessa "little Paris", in this city rich traditions and European spirit are preserved. Walking along Deribasovskaya and Primorsky Boulevard, you will definitely pay attention to the architectural masterpieces of Italian and French masters, to the famous Odessa Opera House. And what are the names of the streets worth - Ekaterininskaya, Rishelievskaya, Staroportofrankovskaya, Italian Boulevard, Vorontsov Lane! On the pedestrian Deribasovskaya well at any time of the year. The cobblestones of the pavement and the public idly staggering along it, two-three-story pre-revolutionary houses, an abundance of restaurants and bars, street musicians, the small town of Montmartre in the city garden with an opening day of Odessa artists create a cozy and homely atmosphere that is strikingly different from the noise and crowded central streets of other cities . Very often on the streets of the city you can meet the groups of young foreign sailors whose ship has entered the port. With wide eyes, they see the city as a toy and, in mute admiration, follow the eyes of beautiful girls.
One of the symbols of the city - the monument to Duc de Richelieu - looks at the sea. The Potemkin Stairs run away from the monument to the embankment, the lighthouse winks, the yachts quietly swing on the waves, cruise laners that have come into the port stand, the Sea Terminal and the recent acquisition of the city landscape, the high-rise of the 5-star Kempinski-Odessa hotel, shine with mirrored glass.
The city changes every year and takes on a new look. Modern neighborhoods and multi-storey buildings are stepping on a quiet and comfortable world. The population of Odessa has already exceeded one million. The old part of the city is full of expensive boutiques, chic restaurants, malls and open cafes. Everything old is gradually becoming a thing of the past. Odessans sadly perceive these changes, the city loses its former appearance. But I still know a couple of places where the old spirit of the old Odessa is stored, where there is a slight irony and unquenchable optimism of the townspeople.
Come to Odessa, to this kind and warm city - have a drink in Gambrinus, walk along the fish row on Privoz, sit on a bench on Primorsky Boulevard, breathe in the sea air on the night promenade, sunbathe on the beach, see with your own eyes the most beautiful people in the world the girls. Come to Odessa to relax in your soul - walk along the cozy Odessa streets, look into a typical Odessa courtyard, for example, on Bolshaya Arnautskaya Street, where my childhood passed and where a couple of dozen domestic cats bask in the sun and squint. Come to Odessa, and I will take you to the Antelope Wildebeest restaurant or the Golden Calf, show the street of Lieutenant Schmidt, we will sit on Deribasovskaya on the monument to the same “twelfth” chair of Kisa Vorobyaninov ... We’ll also walk along the milk and meat rows of the famous We’ll bring you everything and try everything from loin to cheese and then a couple of stops on the Odessa tram or pleasure boat.
Everyone who has visited Odessa at least once takes away a piece of it in his heart, hoping to someday return to the city on the shores of the world's most black Black Sea. And if you were born in Odessa, it’s a state of mind, and it’s forever. Living on Brighton Beach in New York, as well as in Israel, Germany and other countries, Odessa residents remain faithful to their city and return to it again and again. Because Odessa is a Lifestyle, lifestyle and lifestyle.
Before leaving, I will come late in the evening to the city garden on Deribasovskaya, there is a monument to Leonid Utesov there. The famous performer, whom our grandparents, mothers and fathers still remember, sits on a bench, leaning on his back, smiling. Next to the bench is an old record player. I will throw a coin into it, sit on a bench and the player will sing to me in the voice of Utesov:
"There is a city that I see in a dream,
Ah, if you knew how dear
At the Black Sea appeared to me
In blooming acacia city.
In blooming acacia city.
At the Black Sea ... "
Culinary secrets of an experienced Odessa hostess (excerpts from the menu of the restaurant "Odessa Restaurant" Boulevard ")
- An experienced Odessa hostess knows that nothing can improve the taste of eggplant caviar, as if replacing it with black or red
- An experienced Odessa hostess knows that on a silver platter with a blue border, the keys to the apartment where a lot of money is lying are most appetizing
- An experienced Odessa hostess knows such a secret of the special ambassador that in the morning the ambassador no longer remembers which country he is ambassador
- An experienced Odessa hostess, buying pork, measures it by herself and never makes mistakes in the gastronomic result
- An experienced Odessa hostess knows that our Odessa borsch is the very thing that brings representatives of different nationalities to peace and harmony
- An experienced Odessa hostess knows that she is the best table decoration
"I won’t tell you for all of Odessa ..."
Odessa is a state in a state that lives according to its own laws that are only known to it. Only in Odessa there is the concept of “Deribasovskaya, the corner of Rishelievskaya”. (This very “corner” also means the intersection of streets, that is, at the intersection of Deribasovskaya and Rishelievskaya streets). Only in Odessa the waiter will let you read the menu, and then he will say: "Now you better ask me, I will tell you for what we really have." Only in Odessa is the expression "make a bazaar" - this means making grocery purchases for the house (pah, how long). Only in Odessa there are the words "tomato", "fruit" and "piano" - the feminine, of course. Know that the meaning of the phrase “YOU HERE NOT HERE” is a polite warning about a possible conflict (eg, “Man, that you are walking ahead of me. You were not standing here!”), And the expression “WHAT I WILL HAVE FROM THIS” is the main question Odessa philosophy. Remember a few more basic expressions that will come in handy:
"ASKED QUESTION" - the question arises
TAKI YES - statement
"SO NOT" - denial
"YES, SO NO" - not really
"I KNOW?" - I find it difficult to answer.
To visit the city at the very blue Black Sea, you may need the following information and recommendations:
- Ticket: Dubai - Odessa - Dubai or Dubai - Kiev - Dubai at a price of (approximately) from $ 400
- Visa: CIS residents do not need a visa, Europeans and Americans at the moment, too (but just in case, check at your embassy). Residents of other countries should contact the Ukrainian Embassy in the UAE in Abu Dhabi.
- Local currency: Ukrainian hryvnia. There is no shortage of exchange offices. 1 US dollar = 5 hryvnia
- Language: Russian, Ukrainian
- Air temperature in summer: ranges from + 20 ° С to + 35 ° С
- Restaurants: dinner in a good restaurant in the city center will cost you about $ 30-100. I recommend: restaurants of Ukrainian cuisine "Kumanets" and "Khutorok", Odessa restaurant "Bulvar", Japanese "Yakitoria", international "Buffalo", Italian "Mario", "Zara Pizzara" and others
- Hotels: from $ 40 to $ 400 per room per night, depending on the "star rating"
- Transport: taxi and plenty of minibuses
- Beaches: sandy, free and paid, such as "Arcadia", "Riviera", "Kon-Tiki" and others with sunbeds, towels and other amenities
- Night clubs: summer - “Ithaca”, “Pago”, “Ibiza” and others, winter: “Palladium”, “ё!”, “SkaZka” and so on.
- You definitely need to go: on a city tour, at the sea station, in the city garden on Deribasovskaya, on the beach, and, of course, at a disco in Arcadia. It is worth visiting the bar on the top floor of the Odessa-Kempinski Hotel, Irish Pub or the Friends and Beer Bar on Deribasovskaya
Zhanna Fabrikova
