Crimea
| The Black Sea | |
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Crimea, a peninsula of Ukraine, lies in the northern part of the Black Sea. This sea is connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Mediterranean Sea and separates Eastern Europe and Asia. The region of Crimea has fallen under the control of many peoples throughout history, including the Greeks, the Ottoman Empire, and the |
| Mongols. More recently part of the Soviet Union, Crimea is now a parliamentary republic, abiding by the rules of Ukraine. The photo here is of Bear Mountain, which juts out into the sea. |
| The Swallows Nest Castle | |
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Swallows Nest Castle was originally built for a Russian general in the 1800's, and was called at the time the "Love Castle". The castle has undergone many different changes by the various owners. These owners included a doctor for the Russian Tsar, a Baltic German noble, and eventually P. G. Shelaputin, who turned it into a |
| restaurant. It was also used as solely a tourist attraction and a reading club, but in 1927, Crimea experienced an earthquake, which cracked the cliff on which Swallows Nest was built. The castle was closed for forty years until 1975 when it was reopened as an Italian restaurant. Since then it has appeared in several movies including a Jackie Chan film. |
| Livadiya Palace | |
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Built in the early 1900's and modeled in the Renaissance style for the last emperor of Russia, Nicholas II, Livadiya Palace served as the family's summer residence. The palace was essentially forgotten until 1945, when it housed the United States' President Roosevelt during the Yalta Conference. Although once used as |
| a mental hospital, the structure now serves as a Ukrainian museum. |
