Odessa, an ancient Greek colony, is a seaport town located about 300 miles South of Kiev founded in Jan 1795. It was a town inhabited from those placed in excile from Russia. The people in Russia's government had never been to the area to check it out and the people got to choose between Siberia and Odessa. Odessa was a favorite choice because it was warm and had lots of educated people. It was a melting pot of European nationality. Alexander Pushkin lived here in internal exile for awhile. There was also a large group of Jews who settled here. Most of these immigrated between 1970-1990s to Israel, US and Western Europe. Today Odessa is a city of over a million people. It is one of the best know tourist cities of Ukraine. This is a picture of the Government building. It overlooks the seaport.
The next few pictures are just some of the many different styles of architect that we saw as we walked the city. They are located down narrow streets and I do not know what kind of buildings they are: apartments, office, etc. There are modern mixed in with older as the WWI soldiers did not destroy all the buildings as they did in some areas.
One of the biggest attractions of Odessa is the Opera House. We were able to see Verdi's "Masquerade Ball" performed. The first Opera House built in 1810 was destroyed by fire in 1873. In 1887 the present Opera House was opened. It is designed in baroque style. A whisper from the stage can be heard in any part of the hall. It is the second most famous Opera House in the World, Milan being the first. When the people learned that the construction cost 1.3 million gold rubles they gasped, but when they saw the new theater they gasped again, this time in admiration. Almost immediately after it was built the foundation began sinking and there were cracks in the foundation. The east side of the theater sank almost seven inches in the first three years. It was remodeled in 1960 and just finished being remodeled again last Oct.. It was beautiful inside and out. The next are outside and inside pictures of the Opera House. The. coustumes and staging was esquisite!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Trip to ODESSA
Posted by J and J at 7:04 AM
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3 comments:
Was that just for fun or did you have to go see some missionaries? Looks like a great city, glad you are getting to see some different areas.
It looks very beautiful. The Greeks sure know how to build cities. Glad you're traveling and seeing the sites. I like the man's long pipe. Why is he dressed that way? Daniel said he was a pirate.
We just picked up/dropped off DNA. We had lunch with them first. Their first port of call is San Diego, so the kids and I are going to drive there in the morning to pick them up and go see the city.
That picture is one of a Cossack. They were the ruling order in the 1600's. Our mission life is quite different than the Junior Elders, as you can see from the IV's posting he is wondering if we are on vacation. Sometimes we are! It seems that way until I get home and night and I am so tired. even sitting in meetings can be tiring. And we always have to walk and walk and walk. We have no rules except that we are our own stewards of our time. We are keeping busy in the mornings with telephone calls from the missionaries and their problems. We have one from the States withe hyperthyroidism that is going to be sent home for treatment. I must say I didn't worry a lot about my boys/future son-in-laws while they were serving their missions and maybe that was best. After being out here and among the Missionaries I must say that this work is very hard. They have to deal with many daily things, companions, language, finding, etc. and it is hard work. So thanks to all for your efforts in being obedient to your Heavenly Father. Luv mom
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