Kerch:

The town of Kerch sits on the eastern tip of Crimea where the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov meet.  A mere 4 kilometers of water separate Crimea from Russia at this point.  Sitting on a hill top above the city is this ruin of the Greek city of Pontepacay.  The city dates back 2600 yrs and although excavated in the mid 70's for most of it's treasures, the Soviet state ran out of money to further it's restoration.  Artifacts from here can be found in the museum of Simferopol and at the renown museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.  The cool thing about this place is that various pieces of pottery still lay around.  On the day we visited, a group of Russian men were on the hillside drinking vodka and socializing.  One of the men, through a translator, proceeded to tell us about the history of the city.  He also mentioned that Kerch is the only city in the history of Crimea where no Tatars lived.  Later in the conversation he gave us the definition of the city's name.  He said that Kerch is the Tatar name meaning "lime".  This statement posed an interesting dilemma.  If the Tatars never lived there, how did it acquire a Tataran name?  My translator shared that many historical "facts" taught in Russian based schools have been altered.

The Victor writes the history books, as the saying goes.

Wedding Traditions:

Beidarsky Vorota was an interesting area to visit.  The little chapel sits amidst these instruments of war.  The area is a commemoration to a battle won by the Russians against the Germans in 1944.  The machinery displayed is both Russian and German.  It is now a part of a Russian wedding party's celebration day.  During our visit we encountered 11 wedding parties making their way to the chapel for a blessing, ringing three bells, admiring the view, drinking champagne, and then before leaving, the newlyweds kiss while the onlookers count it's length.  Maybe the length of the kiss signifies how many years their marriage will last.  The wedding party then loads up into their respective cars and head off to the next stop along their route, Sapun Gora.  Here the wedded couple is stopped as they make their way to an over look.  Two young Tatar boys hold a ribbon across the steps impeding their ascent.  They recite a poem.  The impatient wedding entourage pays a small fee to the boys that they may be let to pass.  Getting to the overlook is very important in their tradition.  Once at the top, the groom climbs a large rock and places the bride's bouquet upon it.  They all drink champagne to his success then toss the bottle over the edge of the overlook, another kiss is counted and their off to their next destination.  Sadly we parted ways with these groups of voyaging newlyweds.  Oh, and let me say, from what I could tell during my stay in Crimea, the people are very conscientious about have designated drivers. The view from Sapun Gora is magnificant.