Ancient Kiev

St Sophia's Cathedral is an amazing place, ancient and beautiful.

The spooky underground Caves Monastery is fantastic.

Quick Tips:

This isn't a safe place. Of all the places I've ever been to, I felt least safe in this city. Be very, very careful here. We didn't go out after 7pm once, as we just didn't feel safe enough here. You also have to be careful in your hotel.

Best Way To Get Around:

I wouldn't hire a car here, there's no real point and it makes you a target for criminals and police alike. Public transport is cheap, and frequent. Taxis are reasonably cheap, but as in the rest of the ex-USSR, keep your wits about you.

This palce is way overpriced. The visa system in operation in 1997 when we went meant that you had to book all your accommodation in the Ukraine before you could get a visa, and the only hotels you could book from outside were expensive, but not necessarily nice. This was the cheapest available, and cost more than 50 dollars for a double room, per night. It's on the eastern bank of the river, and isn't an architectural masterpiece. It's a huge, towering panalac, surrounded by similar 1050s concrete towers. All of them are falling apart, with crumbling steps and balconies, door off the hinges, lights that don't work, and a depressing air of dereliction. The hotel itself is a short walk from the tram stop, and that's what's good about it. The lobby is dimly lit, and smells of damp. The receptionists speak no English or German, a little French, and Russian, and all graduated from the KGB charm school. The room was badly furnished, had uncomfortable beds, and was also damp. It did have an attached bathroom, but the shower dripped constantly, and was rather irritating. This is the cheapest place you can book from outside the Ukraine, or was 3 years ago. There is nothing else good about it.

We ate here in the evening as we didn't feel safe venturing out into Kiev. The food was pretty bad, greasy burgers and fried chicken, boring sandwiches, and chips. Apart from the pickled vegetables, that was it on the menu. After one try at this place we bought bread, fruit and cheese and picnicked in our room.

The one time we did go to this place, two local men in their 50s sat down with us, uninvited, and got much too friendly. They suggested an exchange of our sexual favours for $40, which isn't what you want to hear over dinner. We told them to do something rude in Russian, or we would call the police - they got out their ID cards and said 'we are the police'. We beat a hasty retreat, and avoided the place after this! 'yob t'voya mat' is a useful Russian phrase for these circumstances, but it isn't exactly polite. On the other hand, we didn't feel polite under the circumstances!

(The phrase invites the person to whom it is addressed to become extremely friendly with his mother.)

The Caves There are two separate complexes of caves, and you can visit both. The Nearer Caves, the newer of the two, are the first you come to. Buy a candle from the seller on the way in, as it is very dark down there. The Further Caves are the older ones. You walk through about 220 yards of underground passages, and there are mummified monks lining the pathways. It was thought to be a spiritual experience, living underground, and it's a spooky, spiritual environment. The burials here span nearly a thousand years, and the bodies are labelled (in Cyrillic, so bone up on the alphabet!) Several orthodox saints are buried here, and it's not unusual to see people, often elderly, praying and worshipping at these bodies. Some bodies have hands or legs which aren't wrapped up, and they stick out. This can be a little unnerving. The caves are not large; the ceiling isn't high and they get fairly narrow. If you don't like enclosed spaces, or are very overweight, it isn't a good place to go to. Micro Museum. This is a great place, and less serious than the rest of the complex! The museum houses a number of tiny masterpieces, many of which need a magnifying glass even to be seen. There 's chess set on the head of a pin, and a verse of poetry carved on to a grain of rice. There is also according to the blurb, the world's smallest electric motor here. It costs extra to get into this museum.

Historical Treasures Museum - This is, perhaps, the best of the museums at the Caves Monastery, and the reason why I've put it in its own section. It contains precious objects from the whole country, including some invaluable pieces of astonishing antiquity. Some of the jewellery from burial sites in the Ukraine, from the 5th century BC, is amazingly beautiful and rare. There is also a big collection of religious precious things, such as gold-embroidered vestments, communion chalices and plates, and icons encrusted with precious stones.

There is bad news, however. You have to buy an additional ticket to get into this museum, and you have to go round in a tour group. As the options are Russian or Ukrainian language, this can be a little restricting!

It's gorgeous. One of the oldest buildings in the city, and the oldest church, it was built in the 11th centuiry. It;s named after the much older Hagia Sophia (now Aya Sophia) in Istanbul. It's been extensively rebuilt over the centuries, but many of the original frescos and paintings inside have been looked after and survive, still beautiful. You can climb the bell tower, and there is a good view of the city from the top (it's quite a long way up though!) There are two great models inside, showing what the cathedral looked like when it was built, compared with what it looks like now. The have been quite a lot of additions and changes, and the comparison is very interesting.

This site takes more than the maximum 500 words to describe, and so is divided into two sections. You can buy a ticket at the entrance that covers most of the complex, but a few places need extra tickets. It isn't expensive to get in, a ticket costs about £2. You need to spend at least one whole day here, it is fantastic. Together with the cathedral, this place makes the terrible food and hotels worth putting up with. This is an ancient site. Founded in 1050AD, this monastery flourished and put up bigger and beter buildings soon after this date. After being sacked and burnt, it was rebuilt in the 1720s. The buildings on the surface are fascinating. There are several gorgeous churches, many with stunning gold onion domes. Trinity Church - this is the first building on the way in to the complex. It's a gorgeous building from the 1170s, rebuilt in the 1750s. It was also part of the defences of the place, essential in this part of the world during the last 900 years! The decoration of the small church is stunning, with lots of animals and fish carved and painted. St Nicholas' Church, a 17th century effort, is beautiful. The dome is deep, bright blue, with little gold stars on it that catch the sun and sparkle. It's one of the buildings that hadn't yet been returned to the church 3 years ago, and was instead a Media Museum. The Ukrainian arts were always a focal point for the language revival and resistance movement, and the film, theatre, and poster arts displayed in this museum make it a fascinating display. In the upper part of the building is a changing exhibition. When we were there, they were showing photographs of Kiev over the last 100 years. I have to say, the city was a much nicer place 80 years ago than it is now - the concrete with which the city seems to have had a love affair doesn't add much to its aesthetic appeal! Refectory Church of St Anthony. This church has the biggest and goldest dome, built at the start of the 20th century. Unlike lots of the churches here, this one has been returned to the church, and is used for services. If you slide in quietly, you can see a service here in the early evening. There are no chairs (all the congregation stands in an orthodox service), and music is always voices only, with no musical accompaniment. The interior of the church is lovely. It is decorated in a mixture of what look like paintings and frescos, illustrating scenes from the Bible (with a heavy emphasis on the New Testament.)