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    Awaiting Your Return From Shore | 
      
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     Protected on three sides 
    by mountains, the region around Yalta enjoys an exceptionally mild climate 
    accounting for its position as a favored vacation spot and spa center. The 
    area’s largest and most important resort is Yalta. Here at the Golden 
    Riviera, Russian aristocrats built their elegant summer palaces and palatial 
    villas, which rivaled those of Nice and Cannes. Livadia became the summer 
    residence of the tsars and earned fame as the site of the Yalta Conference 
    in 1945. Noted literary greats made Yalta their home, among them Tolstoy, 
    Chekhov and Gorky. Following the 1917 
    Revolution, most of the opulent mansions were converted to sanitariums, 
    where Soviet citizens came to recuperate. Today, many of the palaces have 
    been reinstated to their former glory.
 
 Shopping
 The principal shopping area is spread all along the Roosevelt and Lenin 
        Embankments. Painted wooden Matryoshka dolls, lacquer boxes, traditional 
        embroidery and amber jewelry are popular buys. Other interesting items 
        may include caps, caviar, vodka, hand-painted wooden articles, 
        balalaikas, and pins.
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        | CuisineAlmost any restaurant downtown serves "Crimean" dishes, a combination of 
        Turkish, Tartar, Georgian, Armenian, Russian and Ukrainian cuisine. It 
        usually is hearty.
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        Other SightsChekhov House-Museum.  Famous Russian writer Anton Chekhov 
        spent the last years of his life here in this small cottage in the 
        center of Yalta.
 Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. The largest Orthodox church in the 
        Yalta region houses beautiful icons and prides itself in the fine 
        woodwork of its altar.
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    Awaiting Your Return 
    From Shore | 
  
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    Complimentary 
    Spirits Await | 
    
    Return to Your 
    Suite and Sail Away to The Next Adventure | 
    
    Entertainment 
    and Dancing Await You |