Muslim Crimea

Part of the appeal of Crimea is its exotic, Muslim atmosphere.

Mandelstam's poem Feodosia is an Ode to the Tatar town of Kaffa.

Surrounded by tall hills,
Like a flock of sheep you run down the mountain,
And sparkle like pink and white stones in the dry, transparent air.
Pirates' feluccas rock back and forth,
Flags like poppies set alight the Turkish port,
Cane-like masts, elastic crystal of a wave,
And boats hanging like hammocks from ropes. 

The Black Sea and Crimea were fascinating and exotic, worlds away from Moscow, an idyllic, pre-lapsarian,

pre-revolutionary time and place they return to in their poetry. 

Tatars have returned to Crimea  :-*

                                                                 

Koktobel :

                             

Nicholas II (left) enjoyed walking in  vineyards in Massandra, near Yalta  8)

                                                 

March Break in Crimea : 

                                                           

                                 

nice thread......

What is clear is that Crimea is still sought after as a site to enact myths and desires :

and competing myths struggle for precedence !

Testament to a culture that was kept going despite the revolution, despite 70 years of Communism 

"Meteor shower of memories"

Inscribed on this neoclassical belvedere  8)