Gateway to the Caucasus: Don Cossack Capital, Peter the Great's Fortress & Don River Fish
📍 Rostov-on-Don, Russia📅 3-day itinerary
Russia's southern gateway where the Don River has been the Cossack heartland since the 16th century — with a Baroque cathedral built from Ottoman war spoils in the ancient Cossack capital, a fortress Peter the Great captured in 1696 for Russia's first sea access, and a river that produces the finest zander in Europe eaten as clear ukha soup on the summer embankment.
A Soviet Theatre Shaped Like a Tractor Seen from Above, the Russian Art Museum Holding the Suppressed Religious Painter of the Soviet Era & Don Zander Fish Pan-Fried with Black Pepper
The Cossack Baroque Cathedral Built with Ottoman War Gold & The Ottoman Fortress Peter the Great Captured in 1696 to Give Russia Its First Sea Access
The Armenian Quarter Founded by Catherine the Great for Crimean Refugees in 1779 & Ukha Fish Soup Cooked in a Cast-Iron Pot Over a Wood Fire on the Don Riverbank