Yalta is a town on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It came to worldwide attention in 1945 when the Yalta Conference between the “Big Three” powers – the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom – was held at the “Livadia Palace”, but long time before and after that historical meeting, Yalta was a resort city. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. It has a warm humid subtropical climate and is surrounded by numerous vineyards and orchards. #yalta #crimea #black #sea #conference

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There is a theory saying that the town is actually located on the site of the ancient Greek colony. It is situated in a deep bay that faces south towards the Black Sea and surrounded by the mountain range Ai-Petri, which is, conveniently, a Greek originated name meaning Saint Peter. It is even easier to imagine Greek settlers founding a colony there when you know that Greek word for a safe shore on which to land is “yalos”. #yalta #greek #ai-petri #saint #peter

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Yalta was first recorded and described in the 12th century by an Arab geographer, as a Byzantine port and fishing settlement. The city became part of a network of Genoese trading colonies on the Crimean coast in the 14th century. In those times it was known as Etalita or Galita. Crimea was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1475, which made it a semi-independent subject territory under the rule of the Crimean Khanate but the southern coast with Yalta was under direct Ottoman rule forming the Eyalet of Kefe (Feodosiya). #yalta #feodosiya #kefe #byzantine #city #crimean #coast #empire

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Following the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji that ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–74 and marked a defeat of the Ottomans in their struggle against Russia. Yalta was formally annexed by the Russian Empire in 1783, ruled by Catherine the Great, along with the rest of Crimea, sparking the Russo-Turkish War, 1787-1792. Prior to the annexation of the Crimea, the Crimean Greeks were moved to Mariupol in 1778; one of the villages they established nearby is also called Yalta. #kuchuk-kainarji #ottomans #russia #yalta #empire #catherine #thegreat #crimea #mariupol

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At the second half of the 19th century, the town became a fashionable resort for the Russian aristocracy and gentry. Probably the most famous people of that time seeking relaxation, or just a warmer climate, waere Leo Tolstoy who spent summers there #tolstoy #yalta #russia #climate

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Anton Chekhov who in 1898 bought a house (the White Dacha) here, where he lived till 1902. Yalta is the setting for Chekhov’s short story, “The Lady with the Dog”. His “Three sisters” were, also, written in Yalta . #yalta #crimea #chekhov #dacha #writter

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At the turn of the century, the town was closely associated with royalty. In 1889 Tsar Alexander III finished the construction of “Massandra Palace” in just a short distance to the north of Yalta and Nicholas II built the “Livadia Palace” south-west of the town. #massandra #palace #yalta #nicholas #livadia #palace

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