Sevastopol Ukraine

Once again we woke to sunny skies and temperatures around 60 degrees. A great day for taking a tour of Sevastopol. For those who may not know, Sevastopol was established by Catherine II after Russia gained control of the region in 1783. The harbor was fortified and the Russian Black Sea Naval Fleet came to the port in 1804. Today it still remains primarily a military city, and the Russian Fleet still has ships docked here.

After meeting our guide, we were off to the East and the city of Bakhchisarai to see the Khan’s Palace, which was begun in the 16th century, and now houses the Museum of History. While there we were able to see the palace and suites, the state council and courtroom, the harem, the palace mosque, and mausoleum. Also located there is Fountain of Tears which was built in 1764.

After spending some time at the palace, it was back toward Sevastopol, where we stopped at the Jewish Welfare Center which provides support for about 4000 jews living in the city. At that point, the tour went downhill. Because of possible miscommunication between the tour operator and us when it was booked, we assumed that because they asked for US dollars for the tour that we would be able to use them or Euros for lunch. As it turned out that was not the case. We were told by our guide that she didn’t know of a restaurant in the city that would take anything but local currency.

At that point we decided that we would cut the tour short after visiting one more area, the Panorama Museum, which recalls the 349 day defense of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. I can recommend this museum for anyone who decides to visit the city.

Beware however that most of these tourist places do require a entry fee and it must be paid with local currency, and there is a small fee as well for using the toilets in these places. We are quite upset at our tour operator who did not inform us of these extra fees or that fact that they only accepted local currency. There are some small kiosks around the city that will accept US dollars or Euros, but any “government” run institution will not.

My personal opinion is that they are still struggling to get out from under the old Russian regime and while prices seem to be quite reasonable, be prepared.

Tomorrow is a rest day at sea thankfully, and then it’s back to Turkey and the cities of Kusadasi and Ephesus.

Cheers!