The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-27

Stephen Graham, in the London Standard. "RAMPING to the Turkish frontier, I visited lately the five well known \ watering places, Gelendzhik. Tu- apse Scotchi, Gagri and Sukkhum, ana when later I recrossed the Black sea 10 Sevastopol I tramped through Yalta also. Yata is the most famous and fashionable resort 1t is near the Czar's Crimean es- tate of Livadia, and is constantly filled with courtiers. After Yalta, Sukkhum IS most popular. Gagri is veryyselect and aristoeratic, Tuapse is going to be Cau- casian Brighton when tho ~-slway from MailSop is finished, and Gelendzhik, be- ing the cheapest to get to, is most popular with the lower middle class short of
 means.
 I arrived at Gelendzhilx one evening. It is indeed a pleasant place, picturesque and quiet Hills stand around it, the sea is many colored and of extraordinary va
 riety of tone and beauty, and there is no noise but the cattle lowing in the pastures. and the children playing in the roadway. There is no railway, no electric tram, no factory, no pavement on which boots can chatter, no niggers on the beach. It is indeed quiet even to the point of boredom
 at least so any English person would think, accustomed to seek diversion at the seaside.
 Yet visitors seldom come for less than two months, and lodgings are let for the
 whole season,
 What happens is something like this: A | nd p ptlil- dren down-women manage everything in
 Russa-and they go into the miserable but many roomed hotel for a day, till they find lodging. The woman goes out and examines every lodging in the village, spending a quarter of an hour at each haggling over the price and demanding al teratons in the furniture and convent ences and in each case saying she will return on the morrow and let them know" In the end of ends she chooses largely by whim, but certainly beats the landlady down to lowest terms. For e10 it is possible to get two or three rooms
 for the season, simply furnished; for e3o to eco fine villa, garden and orchard
 with abundance of cherries, grapes and roses, place with two verandas creeper
 shaded, balcony with couches for sum- baths and if the villa is on the shore,
 private dressing room over the water. One has ones own servants, and they cook; or one has the dinner sent in hot
 every day from one of the many restau- rants The latter Is, of course, a very economical and time saving arrangement. as for guineas a month it is possible to
 get good dinner.
 | Beyond grocers' and bakers. there are no shops to speak of at Gelendzhilk, cer- tainly no fancy shops with bathing cos
 tunes, spades and pails. and fishing nets,
 as one sees in England Only the So-
 ciety of Civilization has kiosk, where it | sells picture post cards. newspapers nov
 els and polished pebbles and one Petrol sells curios and memontos, tiger shells. ! fossiized swordfish and presents from Gelendzhik.'
 l Along the shore there is little anima-
 tion. Only a very few children are inter l ested to make sand castles, and fewer
 still to fish. Bathing is the great func- | tion whereby life really has variety
 Everyone goes in to bathe, when the
 weather has reached that point of heat l
 but no one remains more than 10 minutes
 in the water. As the sea is very quiet, it is possible to go out every day. There
 are fixed wooden structures over the
 water, a penny charge is made for the use
 of dressing room, and if the visitor pur-
 chases certain number of tickets he can
 use the village library free. Despite this very encouraging arrangement, goodly
 number of people simply strip on the open beach; the bathing costume is rather
 rarity. and even women of culture and re-
 fnement seem to feel no self conscious
 ness while splashing naked in the water. Along the shore from the pier to the
 high rocks of Tolsty Meess there is a promenade on sunny evenings Here may
 be seen, if not fashion, at least color and
 form. The young Russian lady at the sea
 side wears colors that would be impos-
 sible in England-bright reds, and blues,
 and yellows, gorgeous Caucasian scarves. purple and crimson Turkish slippers. dresses with bright stripe down the middle: but she does it with grace. There
 gre no hats to be seen; the scarf and tho