Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-12-16
HISTORICAL CRIMEA
Lnnd Of Cxars' Pleasure DOmes Has
Atmosphere of Asia

Lnnd OF Cznrs' Pleasure Domes Has
Atmosphere of Asia
1t is the land of the Cimmeraus about
whom Homer sang in the Odyssey and
from whom the peninsula takes it's
name; the land of the C-inean War, the
siege OF Sevss.opol. and the Charge of
the Light Brigade the land in which
Florence Nightingale first caused eff
Client, ordered mercy to have a part in
war
THE Crimea is known as The Little
Paradise to the Tatars, l;1st % .he many
races to overrun the peninsula before
the land fell under the sway of the Nus
covite. A traveller journeylng from the
north Is likely 10 accept this appelation,
il at all, with strong mental reserva-
ton as he crosses the almost desert-like
plains Of northern Crimea: but once over
the mountains that rim the southern
shore he will approve the description with
enthusiasm. There nature has made a
wonderful garden spot. the Riviera of
Russia, a combination of sea, mountains
and riotous verdure that really Wed with
its famed Italian counterpart in the days
when Czarhcod was in flower.
Though a part of what has come to
be looked upon as cold Russia the
southern shore of the Crimea brought
to the old empire touch of the tropics.
On the mountain slopes and in the shet-
cred valleys grow grapes, figs olives and
all the tender fruits; magnolas. bays
and myrtles: and a profuSion of wild
flowers and grasses. That the delights of
It's mild climate were discovered early Is
testified by tce ruins of Greek. Byzan-
tine. and italian architecture which are
to be found among the mosques of the
later Tatars. the palaces of the Russian
imperial family and nobility. and the
magnificent modern hotels of the pleas
ure towns to which the prosperous class
es Of Russia flocked before the World
War Yalta. In those care-free days, was
Russia's Nice. Newport. and Miami rolled
into one: It's cafe and casino life was
>as hectic, gay. and expensive as that
to be found in any of the worlds pre-
war playground.
THE Cr.mea is peninsula that bare
ly escaped being an island 1t hangs
from the mainland, Of South Russia
down into tlo Black Sea. like a gigantic
watch fob shaped Ike n rlounlor. 1t is
attached by the narrow ribbon of the
Isthmus of Perekop. a strip of land only
three-quarters of a mile vice and only a
few feet ABOVE sea level. On one side Is
the Black Sea and on the other the stag
nant. shallow, malodorous waters OF the
Swatch, o. Putrid Sea a lagoon Of the
Sea OF Azov. This is the only unbrokeu
natural land Connection between the main
land and the Crlmea, but a few miles TO
the east narrow part of the Putrid Sea
has been bridccd by the railroad which
enters the peninsula. Still farter east
ward n peculiar natural formation a
mere thread-.ike causeway OF sand known
as the Tongue of Arafat, stretches for
more than % miles from the mainland 20
the base of the founders tail that
forms the easternmost extension of the
Crimea. A canal mas been cut through
his spit OF sand near its northern end to
connect the waters of the Sea Of Azov
and those oi Toe Putrid Sea. The in
trenching or mining of these three mar
row land entrances to the Crimea are
relatively simple matters from the point
of view of military engineering.
THE greatest width OF the Crimea
north and south Is 1l5 miles. and it's
greatest length from head to tail Is
2o5 miles. II contains about 800 square
miles. and Is thus approx mately the size
of the State OF Vermont or the island Of
Sicily Before the World War its popula-
ton was about 100000
1.-THE Cimmrrians, Celts and close cou-
sins of the WEIGH, were the first people
known TO be in possession of the Criniea.
at the early dawn of Greek history. They
were driven out by the Scythians. Coast
communities We're established by the
Greeks at later date. The Huns over
ran the Crimea when they sursed into
Europe. II was colonized by Byzantine
Greeks, Venetians and Genoese. The
Tatars later took control and set up a
Mohammedan state under line of
Khans. Bakshi-S arai, their capital re-
mains little changed to-day, a slice of
Asia IN Europe. The dominant feature
of the old Tatar city is the palace of
Khans, which in many ways is like the
Alhambra of Granada.
THE Crimea was conquered by Cath
crime the Great of Russia in Ill and re-
manned part of the Russian Empire I'M
iii that political entitys collapse in 1917.
The bulk Of the population remains
Tatar though there is an admixture OF
both Greek and Italian blood In the
nominally Tatar people.
"Sevastopol. on the west coast of the
Crimea. was a great military post in
the days of the old Russian regime. and
1t was as well the home port of the
Russian Black Sea fleet. From there.
according to cherished imperial dreams.
was to go forth on the Russian counter
part of Der Tag the forces that would
wrest the Bosphorus and Dardanelles
from the Turk, and place the cross OF
st. George over Constantnople and the
Cross OF Christ over Sancta Sophia"