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Article: Descent from Nirvana: Olivia Ward takes a plane to Yalta, the most beautiful spot in the Ukraine, and is rudely awakened from paradise.
- Article from:
- New Internationalist
- Article date:
- August 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 New Internationalist Magazine. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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To go to paradise, you have to go through hell. This is not a religious statement. It's a matter of fact for anyone who has the nerve, or perhaps the naivete to make the pilgrimage to Yalta, the most hypnotically beautiful spot in Ukraine, the place where the new czars of Europe laid the foundation for its disposal after World War Two.
But like a true pilgrimage, it is a journey back in time. On my earlier visits, day trips from the dusty Crimean capital of Simferopol, Yalta was a veritable shrine of natural delights. Its air, perfumed with lavender, jasmine and wild herbs, mingled with the breeze from the archaic Black Sea, the same smells that teased the ...