One of Russia's Finest Cities, Sochi

Sochi, the gem of the Black Sea eastern coast with the unique sub-tropical climate, fine spas, mineral baths and sanatoriums - an extremely popular holiday resort.

It grew up as a health centre in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, on the site of an old fort. Nowadays Greater Sochi extends along 97 miles of the coast, from Lazarevsky in the north to Adler in the south, with several smaller towns, along with Dagomir, customary for its tea plantations, which now commonly hosts international conferences.

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The long-destroyed Navaginsky fort, from which Sochi developed, was built in the late 1820s as one of 17 forts along the north-eastern Black Sea coast, from Azov in the west to Batumi at the south-eastern end of the Caucasian peninsula. The Caucasus is the great mountain ranges running from the Black Sea through to the Caspian Sea, the south of which borders is Iran. This region was brought within the operate of the Russian Empire in the first half of the nineteenth century. In the late eighteenth century, Georgea had voluntarily joined with Russia and in 1827, the Georgian nobility were granted the same rights as their Russian counterparts. At the same time, the small khanates along the Caspian coast of the Caucasus (now Azerbaijan) were incorporated into the Russian Empire, followed by eastern Armenia in 1828, under the Turkmanchai Treaty that ended the 1826-1828 war with Persia. Only the tribesmen of the North Caucasus and Black Sea coast colse to present-day Sochi refused to agree to Russian control.

General Paskevich was sent in 1827 to command the Russian army in the Caucasus. He ordered to built a chain of forts along this part of the coast. The coastal forts were intended to prevent ammunition from the Turks and the British - both implicated of Russia's proximity in Transcaucasia - reaching the hillsmen. An record in the London Morning describe of 1837 described a meeting in the middle of the reporter, a British arms-supplier named Bell, and a large crowd of the hill clans during which the clans were promised supplementary British aid. In 1839 Bell returned to provoke the hillsmen to assault the Navaginsky fort.

Fighting, however, was not the main question faced by the soldiers in the forts, for whom life was often a real hell. Many of them died from fevers and intestinal disorders, which took a far more lives than enemy bullets. In 1845 alone, 2427 population died from varied illnesses and only 18 from fighting.

Finally, in 1854, it was decided to destroy the line of fortification and the forts were blown up. From 1866 settlers from Russia, and even from as far away as Poland and Estonia, began to gather to the new region, attracted by land. The Dakhovsky customs post took the place of the Navaginsky fort and the new community of Sochi - a name received from the colse to river - grew up colse to it. By 1900 in Sochi lived 1309 population with own church, a hospital with eight beds and no less than 55 small and stores.

The fame of Sochi began to spread in the early 1900s because of the warm sulphurous springs in the Matsesta valley. The curative effects of the springs had been recognized by the local people, who bathed there to help cure skin diseases and treat heart conditions. In 1902 an enterprising man installed two wooden baths and spread the news of the local water. Sick population began to come to Sochi and in 1909 a much needed hotel was built, followed by a bath-house the next year. Slowly Sochi was transformed into a flourishing spa town.

The railway line ultimately reached Sochi in 1925, after which the town rapidly became a health resort. Sanatoria sprang up along the main road and Sochi became a showcase of Soviet architecture, with buildings by all the major architects of the time: Vesnin brothers, Zholtovsky, Shchusev (built Lenin's Mausoleum), Kolli and others.

A stray down Sochi's main street, Kurortny Prospect, shows the successive styles in soviet architecture. Sochi railway hub (1951) and sanatorium "Metallurg" (1956) are only two examples of the subsequent pseudo-Empire style, a natural response to victory in the World War Ii.

Today, the resort area of Sochi is filled with hundreds of sanatoria and hotels, with each year advent of up to two million people. They are attracted by the sun and curative waters, the gorgeous sea scenery and fresh mountain breeze. From the top of Bytkha mountain, the town can be seen stretched out along coast far below, while colse to a winding road leads up the Agura valley, where the sulphur springs bubble up in the grottoes and caves. Past the impressive Eagle Cliffs is the Agura waterfall, a drop of 89 feet. From there the road climbs to the Bolshoi Akhum summit, topped by a pseudo-Romanesque folly, a 100 feet tower built in 1936. Its top-floor restaurant, 2175 above sea level, gives a panoramic view of the coast, the great Caucasian mountain range, dark-green forests and alpine meadows.

Sochi is the place for every man to take benefit of luxury which mum Nature can provide, one of Russia's finest and grandest cities, most popular trip destinations.

One of Russia's Finest Cities, Sochi

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