Crimea started to be settled by humans following the flood and during the glaciation of Europe. In the grottos and caves of the hills, and on the banks of the rivers, the traces of life from many generations of settlers have been found, including work tools and cult drawings.

Traditions of wine making in Crimea were started by ancient Greeks. In the 6th century BC a large winery prospered in the vicinity of present day Sevastopol.

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea (from 1954 to 1991 it was the Crimean Region) is part of the Ukraine. The administrative border in the north stretches along the Perekop Swell and the Sivash, a shallow bay of the Sea of Azov. In the north east of the peninsula there is a long sand spit, called the Arabat Spit, whose northern half, the broader part, is within the Kherson Region of Ukraine. In the south west of Crimea is the city of Sevastopol, it has, along with Kiev, been self-administered and directly subordinate to the Government of Ukraine.

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea (part of the Ukraine) and the City of Sevastopol, subordinated to the Republic of Ukraine.

I was fortunate to be invited by Igor to come and visit Crimea, and together with a friend we arrived in July 2005. We stayed for 3 weeks and in this time we travelled to a fair number of destinations in the Crimean Peninsular.