Sochi, Russia

Sochi lies in the Krasnodar Krai region of Russia, and the region embraces terrain from the islands and beaches of the Black Sea up to the tops of the Caucasus Mountains.  About two million people visit Greater Sochi each summer, when the city is home to the annual film festival "Kinotavr", and is considered a getaway for Russia's elite.  Besides the main city area of Sochi, divided into four distinct cities, there are also 79 rural regions. Inside Sochi itself, there are many beautiful places to visit:  The Riviera Park was established by Vasily Alexeyevich Khludov in 1883; the park is popular with both residents and tourists, having a variety of attractions, including groupings of funny statues and a "glade of friendship" where magnolia trees were planted by every Soviet cosmonaut.  Also to be seen is the Tree of Friendship, a lemon tree planted in 1934 by Otto Schmidt; multiple cultivars from foreign countries have been grafted onto this tree as a token of friendship, and the associated museum contains over 20,000 gifts from around the world.  Among the natural wonders of the district is the Akhshtyr Gorge with a 160-meter long cave that contains traces of human habitation from about 30,000 years ago.  There are innumerable things to see and experience in and around Sochi.
  The outside, snow events for the Olympics will occur on Rosa Khutor, in the Krasnaya Polyana - the Mountain Cluster.  Besides the Rosa Khutor Plateau Olympic Village,where the athletes will stay, there are five other parts of Krasnaya Polyana: the Laura Biathlon and Ski Complex; the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park; the Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort; the Sliding Center Sanki; and the RusSki Gorki Jumping Center.
   There are three mascots for the Sochi Olympics - the Amur Leopard; Zaya, the European Hare; and the Polar Bear.  Russia has already issued stamps with the three mascots' imprints; and they have also released a commemorative 100 ruble note, depicting snowboarding.
   After the Winter Olympics and the Paralympics, these venues will be used by the citizens of Russia.  Plans have been made for Formula One racing through Sochi from 2014 through 2020; and the Fisht Olympic Stadium will be used to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup....
  Here's wishing all athletes good luck in Sochi!

Sochi Winter Olympics 2014

The 22nd Winter Olympics are scheduled to run in Sochi, Russia from 6 February through 23 February this year.  There are 98 events scheduled in 15 types of athletic competitions.  There are two Olympic venue sites - one in the "coastal cluster" on the outskirts of Sochi, where all indoor sporting events will take place, and the other is the outdoor venues on Rosa Khutor at Kraznaya Polyana.  The "coastal cluster"  - or Sochi Olympic Park - has been built on the shore of the Black Sea and all venues are within easy walking distance of each other, and will be the area where medals are presented.  There will be competitions in: alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, free style skiing, ice hockey, luge, Nordic combination, short track speed skating, skeleton, ski jumping, snowboarding, and speed skating.  The original plans for the Olympics had a projected cost of $12 billion (US); but the cost has mushroomed to over $51 billion (US).
   Between the cost over runs, and the fact that the Sochi Olympic Park is only four kilometers from the border with Georgia, along with recent bombings and killings in Russia, a lot of people are on their guard about traveling to Sochi.  When President Putin signed into law anti-homosexual acts, he stuck a big thorn into the lesbian and gay communities.  It seems that President Obama is thumbing his nose right back at Putin, by appointing openly homosexual representatives for the United States.  (Personally, I don't care if anyone or someone is attracted to the same sex.  I figure it's none of my business.)  But here the countries go, jostling with each other.  Is everything in this world based on one-upmanship?
  Sochi is the warmest spot so far to host the Winter Olympics.  Located on the Black Sea, with an almost sub-tropical climate, the average February temperature is 42.8 degrees F.  But don't worry about snow - the Russians have saved tons of it, in case of a warm spell, and have plans set in readiness to transport and spread the snow as is needed.
  The town of Sochi, itself, claims to be the longest city in Europe, stretching for 145 kilometers along the Black Sea; it is divided into four city districts: Tsentralny City, Lazarevsky City, Khostinsky City, and Adlersky City. Before the whole area was conquered by Cimmerian, Scythian and Sarmatian invaders, the Zygii people lived in Smaller Abkhazia under the Kingdom of Pontus', then in the Roman Empire's influence in antiquity.  From the 6th to the 11th centuries, the area successively belonged to the kingdom of Lazica and the kingdom of Abkhaziz, who built a dozen churches within the city boundaries.   From the 11th to the middle of the 19th century it was a part of the Georgian Kingdom.  The Christian settlements along the coast were destroyed by the invading Gokturks, Khazars, the Mongol empire, and other nomadic empires whose control of the region was slight. The Loo district contains the ruins of an 8th century church which was rebuilt in the 11th century, and which was converted into a fortress in the Late Middle Ages.  Currently, Sochi is a predominantly Christian city, but was Sunni Muslim until 1864.
  More about Sochi tomorrow...