Odessa 

• It is located in the southern part of Ukraine on the Black sea north-western seashore
• Its population consists of over 1.13 million inhabitants
• It occupies the territory more than 163 sq km
• It is the fourth largest city in Ukraine with developed infrastructure
• The largest seaport of Ukraine and the "Southern Gateway" of the country.
• 20 museums
• 7 theatres
• More than 25 Art Galleries
• Opera house, the State Philarmony, the Circus, the Dolphinarium, the Oceanarium, the Zoo 
• 7 public beeches and few private ones and numerous resorts
• A lot of luxirious restaurants, fashionable night-clubs and afordable cafes improoved status of Odessa as so-called "Ukrainian Ibiza"

Some facts from the history

From the ancient times the area was inhabited by Scythians, Sarmats, Greeks, Slavs. In the times of Kyiv Rus it was a part of this huge Slavic state. In the 13th century it was annexed to the Tartar-Mongol Empire "The Golden Horde". At the beginning of the 15th century it was annexed to Lithuania, and in some 50 years - to Turkey. In 1791 the territory became a part of the Russian Empire.

In 1794 the construction of Russian naval base started and in 1795 the Tartar settlement of Khadzhi-Bey (15th century) was renamed Odesa.

The city is situated on the trading routes from the Central and Northern Europe to the Close East and Asia crossing.