Pre-tour 1

Crimea (6 days)

Day 1

Morning flight from Kyiv to Simferopol, from where a comfortable bus will take the group to Bağçasaray, the ancient capital of the Crimean Khanate (1) (see page 48, paragraph 6). After visiting the splendid Khan’s Palace with its famous Fountain of Tears poetized by Alexander Pushkin, the tour will take you to the master class from a Tatar confectioner who will teach you to make traditional Crimean honey-based sweets. After that, lunch in chaikhana with Tatar beekeepers and a short trip to Çufut Qale cave city (2), from where the bus will take you to Sevastopol (3).

Day 2

A walking tour around Sevastopol will take you to the mysterious ruins of ancient port city Chersonesos (4, see page 49, paragraph 4) which was founded in the 5th century bc and existed until the 15th century. After lunch, you will be offered a motorboat cruise around once-closed for general public Sevastopol Harbor, naval base of the Ukrainian Black Sea Fleet, and in the evening – dinner with representatives of Crimean beekeeping industry.

Day 3

You will head west along the picturesque southern coast of Crimea, take a short stop by the wonderful Church of Ascension in Foros (5) built on a high steep rock, and then will visit a unique mountain beekeeping farm located on the slopes of Ay Petri (7). In the evening you will be offered a short trip to a unique architectural landmark, the Prince Vorontsov’s Palace in Alupka (6).

Day 4

Day 4 will start with learning about comprehensive apitherapy practices developed by Crimean scientists at the Dnipro Resort and Sanatorium Complex. After that, you may take pictures near the fantastic Swallow’s Nest castle (8, see photo), the main emblem of Crimea, and visit the Livadia Palace (9), formerly a summer retreat of the Russian Czars where in 1945 Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill have signed a treaty ending the World War ii. Upon arrival to Yalta you will attend an apitherapy seminar conducted by the best scientists and practitioners of Crimea.

Day 5

You will go to Massandra (10) and visit another, older retreat of the Russian monarchs – the exquisite Massandra Palace. After that, you will be invited to visit the Massandra Winery, the most famous Ukrainian winemaking enterprise, and take a tour along the twohundred- year-old wine cellars and modern production facilities and also, taste the best Crimean wines. The rest of the day may be spent by walking around Yalta.

Day 6

After leaving Yalta the tour will take you to the Nikitsky Botanical Garden (11) featuring unique collection of melliferous fl ora from all over the world. After that, you will bid good-bye to the Black Sea and return to Simferopol from where you started your Crimean tour, to board the plane and the same evening arrive back to Kyiv.