Friends and Beauty in Odessa

Welcome to Odessa! 

WELCOME TO ODESSA!
Here are some more photos of our SNAC meeting in beautiful Odessa. One of my favorites is of an elaborate carved window. What craftsmanship!

Above, the stunning Odessa Opera House and Ballet Theatre. Breathtaking beauty. Gold and light. The majestic chandelair and painted ceiling. Jud and Vickie reading program. We enjoyed classical ballet and a great orchestra (acoustics fantastic).

Next, we are in the Richelieu plaza at the top of the famous Potyomkinski Skhody, a beautiful stairway named after the Russian Imperial battleship Prince Potyomkin, which was stationed at the Odessa seaport in 1905 and supported a workers' uprising. The uprising was squashed, and the mutinous sailors fled to Romania, but the events were made famous by a 1925 film, "Battleship Potyomkin," which I would now like to find and see.

Richelieu by the way, whose statue is at the top of the stairs, was the great grandson of Cardinal Richelieu of France, an early governor of the city under Catherine the Great of Russia. Tour guides say he was responsible for much of the Italian and French architecture of the early city's built environment. It still shines.

Next, new SNAC chair Jim Eleazer (Alaska), PCV with his wife Robin in Ivano-Franko oblast, SW Ukraine, here with our young tour guide Anatoly, as we gather in the hotel lobby. It was a bit like herding cats!

Group photo right,left to right and around: Barbara and Cheryl, working with Tatar communities in Crimea; Debbie is in the South at a university; Ed is in Nikolaiov; Vickie is also in Crimea; and Jim Eleaser, new SNAC chair.

Last but not least: One of many beautiful fountains in Odessa, this one capturing a rainbow. It brought us good weather and good luck in the proud and friendly city of Odessa.