This weekend, a friend from RTI took me around some of the major sights in Kyiv. Everything I saw was surprisingly beautiful and awe-inspiring.
The statue above is Rodina Mat (literally Nation's Mother, but formally called the Defense of the Motherland Monument). She's 62 m tall, bears a soviet seal on her shield, and is highly visible from many parts of the city.
Notice how her sword is blunt? According to my friend, the original builders were forced to cut off the tip because it had made Rodina Mat taller than the tallest of the nearby Orthodox churches, which was not allowed.
I told her that we have a similar rule at Duke: no building can be taller than the Duke Chapel. In fact, the only one that comes close to its height is the Schwartz-Butters Building, at the top of which is Coach K's office. (That tells you something about how Duke students view the relationship between basketball and God.)
The statue above is Rodina Mat (literally Nation's Mother, but formally called the Defense of the Motherland Monument). She's 62 m tall, bears a soviet seal on her shield, and is highly visible from many parts of the city.
Notice how her sword is blunt? According to my friend, the original builders were forced to cut off the tip because it had made Rodina Mat taller than the tallest of the nearby Orthodox churches, which was not allowed.
I told her that we have a similar rule at Duke: no building can be taller than the Duke Chapel. In fact, the only one that comes close to its height is the Schwartz-Butters Building, at the top of which is Coach K's office. (That tells you something about how Duke students view the relationship between basketball and God.)
This is a picture of me in the Kyiv-Pecherska Lavra, where tourists and Orthodox pilgrims alike flock. A lavra is a senior monastery, while pecherska means "of the caves." This is holy ground - the holiest in the country. My guidebook says that its the single most fascinating and extensive tourist sight in Kyiv, and I believe it. The Lavra's tight cluster of gold-domed churches was a absolute feast for my eyes:
Near the monk's living quarters.
At the entrance. Supposedly there are also underground labyrinths filled with mummified monks, but we were too late to enter. Since they are a must see, I will probably come back sometime and take the English-language tour of the lower Lavra.
Me, with Dnipro River. I am posting this picture primarily because of the woman in the background. Ukrainian women dress to kill, and nothing is off limits style wise here. See-through shirts, crop tops, and high heels (often 4 inches high or more!) are all common dress.
My friend, who is a girl about my age, explains the phenomenon this way: there are fewer men than women in Kyiv (and Ukraine in general), so the girls have to dress sexy for reproductive survival. Unless a girl wants to be alone for the rest of her life, she must concentrate all the time on attracting a mate. As a result of all of this, she says, many Ukrainian men have started to a little act cocky, because they know they are in such high demand. My friend considers this a real problem for girls like her herself, who are more traditional and expect boyfriends to be gentlemen. :)
My friend, who is a girl about my age, explains the phenomenon this way: there are fewer men than women in Kyiv (and Ukraine in general), so the girls have to dress sexy for reproductive survival. Unless a girl wants to be alone for the rest of her life, she must concentrate all the time on attracting a mate. As a result of all of this, she says, many Ukrainian men have started to a little act cocky, because they know they are in such high demand. My friend considers this a real problem for girls like her herself, who are more traditional and expect boyfriends to be gentlemen. :)
Near Slava (Glory) Park. It is traditional for newly-wed Ukrainian couples to have their picture taken near famous local monuments and sights. I must have seen at least 10 brides in this square alone.
At another WWII monument near Rodina Mat. It is located in a tunnel under an elevated walkway. There were many other incredible sculptural bas-reliefs like this, all in the Socialist Realist style.
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That's all for now. I'm off to the beach this afternoon. We'll see how the banks of the Dnipro compare to the Chesapeake Bay.
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That's all for now. I'm off to the beach this afternoon. We'll see how the banks of the Dnipro compare to the Chesapeake Bay.
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