A Journey through Ukraine
In 2019, I travelled along the Dneiper river from Kyiv to Kherson at the mouth of the river, then along the black sea coast to Odesa.
I gazed in awe at the magnificent 11th century mosaic of the Virgin Mary in the apse of St Sophia cathedral (see photo), listened to the choir chanting in St Michael’s church, where the priests were dressed in blue and gold robes and wore golden crowns, squeezed on to a crowded metro train on a Saturday night in Kyiv and mingled with the families in Maiden Square where the children played in the water of the coloured, illuminated fountains.
I remember a bearded old man playing the xylophone at the open-air museum among old wooden houses (see photo) , a wooden church (see photo), windmills and fields of sunflowers. A Ukrainian male voice choir entertained us with religious and folk songs in an elegant 19th century house.
Further south, at Zaporizhia, we visited a reconstructed, wooden Cossack settlement and witnessed a demonstration of expert horsemanship and fighting skills (see photo).
Near Kherson at the delta of the Dneiper, we watched the wild birds and local people enjoying the sunshine outside their riverside houses. Later, we were serenaded by a group of middle-aged ladies (with plenty of gold teeth!), wearing traditional costumes, who sang comic songs to the accompaniment of an accordion.
In Odesa, we observed the attractive 18th century townscape, visited the art gallery, churches of various denominations, a synagogue and a mosque and climbed down the famous Potemkin steps. Our journey ended with visits for both opera and ballet at the Odesa opera house with its splendid and glittering gold and white interior.
Precious memories, but now tinged with great sadness!
