A popular tourist destination thanks to its beautiful beaches and its location near the world-famous Black Lake.
After evacuating from the Crimean capital of poppy-pod compote and low living standards — Eupatoria — we arrived at the health resort town of Saki.
There were two reasons for choosing this particular place: its proximity to Eupatoria, since there was no chance of reaching Yalta or Foros at the time of day when it’s easiest to find lodging, and the fact that our younger son had caught a cold.
Saki itself is a town built around Kurortny Park, a complex of sanatoria but also cafés and restaurants, where in the evenings elderly people dance after a hard day spent wallowing in salty mud. In other words, something like Ciechocinek in Poland — only with more mud.
We were lucky with a doctor for our son. As soon as the porter handed us the keys, he told us: “Nad toboj żywiet Tataryn i on wracz” (“Above you lives a Tatar, and he is a doctor”). There was some concern he might be a kind of Tatar shaman, but fortunately, he turned out to be a young doctor on vacation with his wife, who nevertheless had no problem prescribing us a local generic version of acetaminophen.
But why did the porter call this blue-eyed blond man a Tatar? Simply because he came from the Republic of Tatarstan…
Saki turned out to be a real one-day salvation for us after the disappointment of Eupatoria, and although it is more of a paradise for the elderly, I still remember it fondly. To sum up: if you are a retiree, enjoy salty mud, dancing evenings, and social life, visit Saki.
Of course — if the political situation allows it.
The town is best known for its health resort, established in the 19th century on the site of the former Turkish town of Selimye. The resort is popular for its mineral springs, which are said to have healing properties for respiratory, nervous, and skin diseases.
Chersonesos
An ancient city located on the southern coast of Crimea, near today’s city of Sevastopol.