Odessa

Odessa is the 5th largest city in Ukraine and the most important city of trade. Odessa is the largest city along the entire Black Sea. Many years ago, Odessa was once the 3rd leading city in old Russia, after Moscow and St. Petersburg. Odessa looks more like a city located on the Mediterranean, having been heavily influenced by French and Italian styles. Odessa has always had a spirit of freedom, probably endowed to her by her location and by her ability to accept many different peoples. The city is a diversity of Ukrainian, Russian, Moldavian, Greek, Romanian, Bulgarian, Caucasian, Jewish, Turkish, Vietnamese and so forth.

Modern Odessa is a city rebuilding herself, and her downtown is slowly being revitalized. Odessa is well-known as the capital of humor, probably due to the great variety of people and her southern location on the Black Sea. Today, Odessa is referred to as the "Pearl of the Black Sea", "Odessa Mama" and "Southern Palmira" by many.