Looking back at Koktebel' from the end of the pier

Tourist knick-knacks on sale in Koktebel' market

Koktebel' is a delightful, brightly coloured little resort on the southeast coast of Crimea. There's a pier, a tourist market, a sprinkling of fish restaurants, and sparkling views over the bay where the Karadag mountains hold the eye. The scene of fierce fighting during the early 1940s, with the usual heroic war memorial, the town is better and more happily known as the long-term favoured resort of poets and artists who appreciate the quality of the light here, and for production of rather good brandy. The town was associated with the development of flight, nearby hills having excellent updraughts of wind for gliding, and for some time it was renamed Planerskoye, from the Russian word for "glider" to celebrate that association. The town gave its name to an award-winning film produced in 2003 which follows a father and son journeying from Moscow to the town, seeking escape from marital problems and alcoholism. Whether he could realistically expect to escape the alcoholism in a place so famous for its brandy is a moot point...

Koktebel' beach, looking towards Karadag

Detail of heroic war memorial in Koktebel'