Monday, Oct 04, 1999
Moscow Magic
Ruchi Chopra
Ruchi Chopra is a class XI student at Kendriya Vidyala, Moscow. In addition to creative writing she is also interested in traveling and Music. This is the first of a two part series on Moscow as a possible travel destination. |
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Moscow is a city whose every stone exudes history, a city in which it is impossible to separate space from time, a personality from an event, or a split second from eternity. It is a city woven from that harsh thread of history, whose intersections connect the fate of Russia with the history of this city, its layout, its architecture, its monuments, and its cultural and social structures and venues. Every building not only looks historic but also has history and as someone said, the whole city is like a great outdoor museum.
Grand Kremlin Palace
The River Moskova flows past the gilded domes of the 15th century Upensky Cathedral and the imposing Grand Kremlin Palace. Originally constructed in 1156, it has been fortified many a times.
Essential Sights
The 'Red Square', the famous historical center of Moscow, next to the Kremlin walls. Feast your eyes to the onion domed Saint Basil's Cathedral and line up in the cue for the visit to Lenin Mausoleum. The 'Old Arbat' is a unique pedestrian street, which is lined by houses from the 19th century and early 20th century, covering the Empire and the Modern styles. Many antique, jewelry and souvenir shops and art galleries, folk artists and craftsmen, can be seen here. Café and restaurants line the street
St Basil's Cathedral on Red Square.
Moscow's most colourful landmark
Signposts of Time.
History comes alive in museums spread all over the town. In fact there is hardly any Ulitsa(street) which does not boast of an important Museum. The Victory monument and the military museum undoubtedly are the most important landmarks of modern Moscow. The Moscow city historical museum owns a unique collection of artifacts that show the history of Moscow from the earliest to the present times. The museum is at three locations, the main two being the Old English Court and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The Armory, a diamond fund exhibition at the Kremlin, is the richest collection of decorative and applied art. It houses the early weaponry, fabrics, cookware, furniture, jewelry, carriages, gold and precious stones, including one of the largest diamonds of the world. The cathedrals inside the Kremlin also house large collections of rare icons. The Pushkin museum of Fine Arts displays objects from various ancient civilizations and western European art from 13th century to mid 20th century. Tretyakov Gallery, famous as the repository of treasures of Russian art, has one of the largest collections of masterpieces, icons from 11th to 18th century and canvases by the famous names of 18th century.
Great Moscow Circus
For the Russians, the circus has been a part of their blood as have been most other indoor activities because they are buried in snow for the better part of the year. The programs at the Great Moscow circus are not just randomly chosen numbers, but carefully composed theme shows. The circus is unique in the technical equipment it possesses, with three rings, regular, water and ice.
Next week, besides showing you additional glimpses of Moscow, I will dwell on theatre, night life, shopping and culinary delights of Moscow
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