CRIMEA JOURNAL - 1997 2 July The Lufthansa flight to Odessa from Frankfurt was quite comfortable. The attendants were quite solicitous and efficient. As you will read later, there is ample reason to praise Lufthansa as an outstanding airline carrier. The quiltwork patterns of the Ukrainian cropland and their vastness conjured up images of collective farms. Ukraine - the breadbasket of of the old Soviet Union. No more is there a Soviet Union. How much of a breadbasket remains I don't know. But from the air it looked to be thriving. However, appearances from afar can be deceiving in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. And, indeed, even up close the reality can be misinterpreted. There was psychological charge among us when the Black Sea and the city of Odessa were first seen - maybe similar to those ancient navigators when they cried out that they had seen land. Odessa's setting is very attractive and impressive - situated on the Ukrainian flatland above the shores of the Black Sea, surrounding a deep-sea harbor, populated with a number of vessels. The city has many trees to shade the boulevards and the pedestrians and the lower-lying apartment blocks. Of course, the higher-rising concrete and drab apartment blocks look like they are baking in the sun. Indeed, it is very hot today and the foresight of the city planners to plant those trees is very welcome. The Odessa airport is very small, shabby and rundown, reflecting the fact that the government does not have much money to maintain it in a manner befitting a major Black Sea port city. We had to wait to pass through the passport control and then finally we were able to go to the baggage claim - one carousel! Several of us did not have our baggage! Marilyn and I did not get any of the four bags we had checked - the backpack with my clothes and some of the "medical" supplies, her pack containing her clothing, the wheeled case that contained all of our educational supplies (copies of lessons, marking pens, paper), the duffel bag with all of our activities supplies (yarn, friendship bracelet makings, frisbees). All we have is what we carried on the airplane - the most valuable (in terms of monetary value) items of computer, cameras and film, our toiletries, and changes of clothing, jacket, bottled water. So we had to report the loss to the Lufthansa agent who recorded our claim numbers and the descriptions and contents of each missing bag. She had a printout of the baggage, which verified our claim. She said that the bags would be delivered the next day (the 3rd of July) at 4:30 pm on a Frankfurt-Odessa flight and then delivered to us by way of the hosts' office at Bakhchisaray. That means that if all goes well, the baggage could be delivered to us on the 4th of July. We will see. Then we had to go to the Lufthansa office in the airport to give them a form that permits them to retrieve the baggage and deliver it to us. We were not the only ones to have missing baggage, but most of our group did receive everything. The main foyer of the airport is quite unremarkable, several people waiting about. There are some vendors selling soft drinks, newspapers, ice cream, and gifts. So we bought some water and Coca Cola. Our group was met by representatives of our hosts, Renart Saranayev and Dinara Osmanova. Renart is a very personable young man, a Crimean Tatar and an architecture student. He is interested in making contact with an American architecture professor. Dinara is a very attractive young woman, studying in the university in Simferopol. She is the sister of Lutfi Osmanov of the Rebirth of Crimea Foundation, a Tatar organization. She speaks German and a little bit of English. With them were two bus drivers who would share the driving and help with the navigating. We boarded our coach and were taken to our accommodations in Odessa. The place was a "Rehabilitation and Health Complex", which I gather was used by vacationers for rest and relaxation near the coast of the Black Sea. From our room the sea could be seen. It was a spacious room with reasonably comfortable beds. And there was hot water! The city is laid out in a grid pattern and lined with cookie-cutter apartment blocks whose unremitting drabness was fortunately hidden by the rows of shade trees and vines that shaded the balconies and windows of the blocks. There were many parks, well shaded, but with the grass not cut. There were also some flower gardens. In the center of the city many of the buildings are beautiful 19th century, restored from the devastation of WW-II. After we had a chance to clean up and shower at the "hotel" we had dinner consisting of beef stroganoff, fresh tomatos and cucumbers. It was very good. Little did we know that noodles, tomatoes and cucumbers are a staple in the diet. And little did we know that this meal would be the best that we would have in the next 3 weeks. Then we were taken into the city to see the famous "Potemkin" steps. Hundreds of people were promenading about with friends and lovers and having ice cream. The fame of these steps comes from the motion picture "Potemkin" of the 1920's in which there is a memorable scene of a baby carriage rolling down the steps unattended with a baby inside. The steps start out narrow and then gradually widen as they descend to the street below at the harbor. From the top all one can see are the flat landing terraces, but from the foot of the steps the view is of an unbroken sequence of the risers of the steps. Overlooking the steps is a statue of Richelieu in the role of Odessos ( "Odessa"). Richelieu is the founder of Odessa. The view of the harbor area is beautiful, but is marred by the unfortunate placing of a huge ferry dock shopping mall-like structure at the street at the foot of the steps. In the "old days" the steps went to the bottom of the cliff and one would have a clear walk to the seashore. From the ferry dock one can book the ferries to other ports on the Black Sea. At the top of the steps a young man with a brush cut and hard muscles approached us and asked if we were American. He told us that he is a member of the US Marine Corps stationed in Odessa as part of a joint military exercise with the Ukrainian Navy. He also told some of us how he had been in Bosnia as part of the American force sent there last year. Several of us had ice cream at an outdoor cafe' just to the right of the top of the steps. After finishing our treat we headed for the bus and then to the "hotel" for a good night's rest. Thursday, 3 July In the morning we arose and went to breakfast and then boarded the bus for an early departure for our 13-hour journey to the south coast of Crimea. The day was sunny and warm. It is a remarkable thing to see the extensive flatness of the Ukrainian terrain - the fields of wheat and corn and other crops. The sight gives meaning to the opinion that Ukraine is the "breadbasket" of eastern Europe. We saw some irrigation equipment, more so in Crimea. The northern half of the Crimean peninsula is flat and fertile. There were numerous instances of the irrigation booms, some of which were pouring forth their water. As we arrived at the foothills of the Crimean mountains, we entered the city of Simferopol (population over 400000), the capital of Crimea. Vehicles must stop and some people are asked to show identity papers before being allowed to pass on. I had recorded the entry station on the video camera and later I found out that a guard had asked Renart what the reason was that I had a camera. After an explanation there was no problem. This is an example that shows that some of the old attitudes of the recent Communist history have not died yet. The city is hilly and picturesque - but again there are the many apartment blocks which look so ugly and which spoil any view. Then we passed onto the winding mountain road that transported us over the mountains and to the coastal road at Alushta. The view of the Black Sea from the heights of the road is spectacular. Among the towns we passed were Guruf, Yalta, Simeiz. From the coastal road we took a right turn and went up the slope towards our camp, situated about 500 meters from the village of Opolznevoye. The camp is a former Young Builders' camp and is in poor condition, although the dormitories are habitatable and the dining room and kitchen are quite adequate and well maintained. The toilets didn't all have seats; the men's two toilets had one seat. Also there is one shower for the five men and one shower for the ten women. But it looks as though the resourcefulness of our group will make the living accommodations satisfactory. Classrooms are in poor shape - most have no window panes, but the grounds crew is getting things ready by sweeping up the dirt and broken glass from the floors in the few classrooms and placing chairs inside. Some of the teaching venues will be in the outdoors in shaded seating areas or pavilions. There was much grumbling about the condition of the facilties, but the Camp Director Refat (called by some of our group "Arafat") Memetov (one of the prominent Tatar leaders, a man of few smiles, but has the memories of the expulsion of the Tatars from Crimea in 1944) and Alim Memetov (no relation to Refat, and who speaks excellent English, holds a university degree in mathematics and is the computer man) assured us that this is the best they can do in the one week they had to find this place after having booked a former TB sanitorium earlier. The fear of diseases forced a change in the plans. It is difficult for the Tatars to do this because of the difficulty in securing the cooperation of the local authorities and people since they are looked upon with considerable suspicion by the Russians and Ukrainians who dominate the scene in Crimea. As Alim said, "Many people here can't understand why Tatars would set this camp up for everyone - Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars." But a week before the camp was to begin, they found this camp and it looks like it will go OK. Saturday, 5 July There was work done by me and Elly and Marilyn and Matt to set up the schedule for the afternoon activities program. Also there was a hope that we'd be taking a hike up into the hills and mountains behind the camp to go to a couple of lakes. (This didn't happen, but a week or so later I hiked up there and found these "lakes", which really are no more than man-made ponds with scum on them and hardly a healthy venue for swimming) Plans about going to a Black Sea beach had to be changed since the Sea is cold but these lakes are warmer and may be acceptable for swimming. Just before we would have started out in the early afternoon, it began to rain and the fear of slipperiness and wetness caused a change in plans. Instead, some of us gathered the kids and their teachers together and had a sing-along in a pavilion outside of our dormitory. We led them in songs such as "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean", "You are My Sunshine", "B-I-N-G-O", "You put your Right Foot In and Your Right Foot Out...(Hokey- Pokey)", and other delights. The kids had a good time doing that. Also we taught them "The Wave", like they do in football stadiums. In the middle of all this activity, I noticed a station wagon pulling up to the dorm door - Lufthansa had delivered our missing bags. Everything was intact! What was amazing was that the driver drove the bags all the way from Odessa and then when he was trying to find our camp, He couldn't, but eventually he saw three of our staff who noticed bags in the back and waved him down and directed him to the camp. As soon as he received our pink Lufthansa slips, he left - no doubt relieved that his long journey was over. We didn't have a chance to give him a tip! But we have the telephone numbers of Lufthansa in Odessa and I'll be calling to find the name of the driver - and perhaps an address so we can send him a gift of gratitude. Four weeks later, on our return trip to Odessa, I asked the woman in the Lufthansa office (whose German was better than her English) to find out the name of the man who delivered our luggage. She gave me the name and the address, and shortly after we arrived back home, I sent him my extra Ukrainian money in gratitude. The head of the Rebirth of Crimea Foundation (RCF), Lutfi Osmanov, arrived today from Bakhchisaray. One of the highlights was the late afternoon arrival of eight students and their teacher, Fatima Yandiyeva, from Chechnya. The teacher is a very impressive woman whose English is superb. She learned it from a teacher at the University of Grozny and from reading many books. She has a mastery of vocabulary. Fatima actually has a job with the UN Office of Migration. We had an extensive conversation about Chechnya and the war there and the subsequent end of the war. She told me stories about the way the Russians treated the Chechens and other minority nationalities. She told of going to Moscow for the annual shopping trip and in some instances not being served or hearing insulting comments about about her appearance as a non-Russian. Russians felt that this "foreigner" from one of their republics was buying scarce goods that should go to Russians. In another story, she told of a Chechen girl in Grozny University who was the best in the class in French. There was a "contest" to award a place in Algeria to learn and study and speak more French. A Russian person of lesser ability was chosen instead of this Chechen girl. She noted that Grozny University was the university for the Chechens, yet 90% of the students were Russian! So, there was an extensive protest that eventually led to this girl being allowed to go to Algeria. Of course, the vicious prosecution of the war has not endeared the Russians to the Chechens, and even the Russians in Chechnya are disgusted with the Russian government. The horrible destruction and killing has angered many of the Russian inhabitants of Chechnya A poignant moment for the Chechen group, she said, was that when the children saw the Black Sea, one girl said that this was wonderful and caused her to forget about all the difficulties and misery back home. Sunday, 6 July No church today - church is either too far or nonexistent in this area. The Opening Ceremony was in "Times Square", a large open and level paved area. Marilyn and I, with the help of a student, Alex, placed red, white, and blue balloons around the perimeter. Also I helped to display the flags of the USA, Tatar Nation, Poland, and European Union (Ukrainian flag should have been there but none of that national group obtained one). The Chechens were unable to provide one, but they did make one during the ceremony. The speakers were Refat Memetov (the Camp Director, with interpretation by Fatima , the Chechen teacher), Greg Byrne (our leader of the American teaching team), Beth Ciesielski (founder and President of Bridges for Education), and three students made a statement on behalf of their national group (Polish, Crimean Tatar, Ukrainian- no statement from Chechnya). The weather was very warm and it was sunny. To see the grey rocky mountains as a backdrop behind the flags was quite inspiring. After lunch, we all went on an excursion to the Black Sea Coast. First we went to Alupka to the Alupka Palace and Park. The park is very beautiful, tightly packed with trees shading the walkways, which was very welcome and apreciated on a very warm and sunny day. The Vorontsov Palace is one of the finest palaces in Crimea. It was built in the late English Gothic style with Moorish "gloss". Rooms were uniquely decorated in exquisite wood or in elaborate fabric wallpaper. The walls were decorated with the oil portraits of Count Vorontsov and his wife, his parents and the works of many landscape artists. One beautiful room is known as the Winter Garden with its wall of windows to illuminate and warm the room full` of green trees and plants. A spectacularly beautiful view of the sea can be seen from those windows. Then we traveled along further on the coastal road to see a bust of Amet Sultanov a famous World War II (Great Patriotic War) fighter pilot with over 39 kills. Sultanov is the most famous Tatar fighter and was a Hero of the Soviet Union and a holder of the Order of Lenin. Further down we went to a park and beach and had ice cream and Coca-Cola and viewed the sunbathers. The drive along the coastal road is spectacularly beautiful, a rival of any coastal road in the world. The deep blue sea, the headlands dropping into the sea, the background of the grey-rocked Crimean mountains make the coastal road one of the world's more spectacularly beautiful ways to see the scenery. Tuesday, 8 July 1997 Molly Prescott, Mark Doser, Dorothea Heberle and I took a walk this afternoon into the nearby village of Opolznevoye to visit the "Produkti", the small grocery store, and also the "Poshta", the Post Office, to get a Coke or Sprite or Fanta and to get stamps for airmail to the USA. Dorothea knows some Russian, but isn't able to do all the negotiating, but does quite well for most things. We were trying to let the woman at the P.O. know we wanted stamps for mailing to the US and we were trying to ascertain the price per stamp. The woman was short of coinage and so was unable to sell us stamps until we had some exact amounts. It happens that the price is 93 kopecki (100 kopecki = 1 hryvna, the Ukrainian money). Dorothea got her 10 stamps and I got my 5, although I wanted 10. The reason I got 5 is that I had just bought the last 5 they had. The clerk said there would be more stamps tomorrow. An interesting encounter that took place underscores the very serious problem of alcoholism and hopelessness that afflict these people. As we entered the village, we gave a greeting to a very old man and hs equally elderly wife, which was overheard by a woman in the house across the street from the P.O. She came out and explained that she had a relative in the U.S. and while talking to her, another "blond" woman appeared and started blabbing about "massash" and when we indicated that we didn't quite know what she was talking about, proceeded to massage my arm and then my back, and then we heard the word "massage" (the same word is in Russian, too). We politely declined! Both women seemed to have had some alcohol on their breath. Then, at the Produkti we observed a few men standing about who looked as though they were drunk. This is a sad situation that these people believe their lives are so hopeless and meaningless and have no idea about what can possibly happen to them to make their lives better. Later we came to have a better opinion about "our" village. 11 July 1997 The weather here seems not much unlike at home. By that I mean that there are hot days and cool days, rain and sun, wind and calm. Over the past three days we have seen the clouds come over the mountains from the north side, draping over the edges of the rocky cliffs and sometimes descending below even as far as the trees at the base. The wind moves those wisps along the base and through the trees. It is beautiful to see. This morning we have this phenomenon, but it could happen that as it warms up today, maybe the clouds will dissipate and the view will be clear. There are clouds also out in the Black Sea and we have seen them come in from the west. Yesterday morning it was very rainy, with some good solid downpours until about 10:00 a.m. I had to change my classroom from the outdoor gazebo to one of the buildings in what we call the "X" area. I think that today, since the air is cool and windy, I'll meet the class in that same room. The students were tested upon their arrival and then divided into groups, A, B, and C. The A's are the best, then the B's, and the bottom of the heap are the C's. My team (Marilyn, Elly, Becky and I) are teaching the C's this week. And indeed, we have had to scrap any lesson plans we had developed before our arrival. Many of the students are are ill-prepared to reap the best from this camp. Apparently many of them have had only one year of English. Consequently, they are ill equipped to carry on a conversation and can say only the most rudimentary things. Their vocabularies are limited. But almost all are eager to learn new words. Simple dialogues such as giving directions ("go down the street, take a left and go through two intersections, and turn right at the traffic light...") are easy enough for some and difficult for others. But, next week I think we rotate to the A's, which will be a bit of a culture shock for us! We will be able to use our lessons that had been prepared, so that we can talk about more "mature" topics. Around 2:30 in the afternoon Marilyn and I went to the village to mail some postcards and to buy a liter of Coca-Cola. So, we wrote three postcards while sitting on the wall outside the "Pochta" ("Poshta" in Ukrainian). The day became brightly clear and sunny and windy - very pleasant. As we were sitting on the wall an elderly peasant gentleman walked by, unshaven, wearing a cap and rather sloppy clothes. He greeted us (somewhat rare, since we usually are the ones to say "Dobroe utra" or "dobrii den"), so we returned the greetin. He came over to us and was speaking Russian to me. So I said, "Ya ne ponomayu po-russki." (I don't understand Russian). But that didn't stop him as he continued to talk. The conversation continued as I tried to explain that I speak only a few words in Russian. I explained that we were American teachers and we teach English. He wanted to know if "angliskii" and "amerikanskii" were the same and I said "yes". After a time he said, "amerikanskii i russki - druzhba" - "Americans and Russians - friendship". So I called him "Moi drukh" ("my friend") and he put his arm around me and I around him and Marilyn took our picture - twice. Then we mailed the postcards and looked at the postcards which they sell for only 10 kopecki (about 6 cents)! In very limited Russian we made our need known. She asked if we wanted "markii" (stamps) and I replied, "Nyet, suvyenir" (No, souvenir). After that we went to the produkti and got a cold liter of Coca-Cola for 2 hryvni (about $1.10). Then we walked back to the camp, admiring the wonderful view of the sea and the rocky mountain cliffs above us. One thing that is interesting is that this place, for all its rundown appearance, has beautiful rose gardens planted all over, and great abundance of beautiful trees and ample shade. The school building which I believe was intended for camp use had had a fire a few days before our arrival and so we had to use our ingenuity to make use of two or three outdoor pavilions and a few patios, as well as classrooms in some other area of the camp. These places had not been used in a very long time and were for all practical purposes quite derelict. They had to be thoroughly cleaned out and benches brought in for the students. The wallpaper in all instances was peeling, but we had our own large laminates which we could write on with our "magic markers". These came to be indispensable for us. So, many thanks to daughter Anne for the suggestion that we bring these with us to Crimea. Another thing that we have had to do is design and execute the afternoon and evening activities. That means we have to bring with us all the necessary things to make it possible. Students seem to like afternoon activities, lasting about an hour and 15 minutes, such as making dream catchers, god's eyes, friendship bracelets, various board games or card games, basketball, ultimate frisbee, paper plate animal crafts, face painting. Basketball is very popular and they like to play often. One of the girls is about 6 feet tall and is an excellent basketball player. I have heard it said that she does better than most of the boys, has all the moves and is an excellent shooter. Among the evening activities that are popular are bingo (twice a week), sing-along, and games of various kinds. Each faculty team member must prepare a list of things to bring for these activities. These are discussed and decided in several meetings before departure date. The evening activity tonight was a disco, done by Matt LaHaye and Mark Doser. Songs by Elvis and songs such as "YMCA" and "Shout" and other dance tunes were played. Some were Ukrainian, some had an oriental sound, perhaps Tatar. The kids loved it. Almost every kid was there, and almost all the American faculty as well as the Ukrainian and Tatar faculty. It was announced at our pre-dinner meeting that we would be going to Yalta on Saturday from 9 until 9. It will cost each of us $27. We hope to see Livadia Palace, where the Yalta treaty was signed in 1945, Chekhov's home, some shops, the beach, crafts and have a nice lunch in a cafe and a good dinner at a nice restaurant. Some of our faculty are going stir crazy because our location does not allow a short walk to a vilage that has some useful and entertaining amenities. Our village of Opolzyenovye, a few hundred meters away, has nothing but houses, a Post office, and a very small grocery. My own feeling about it is that you make of it what you can - the event today of a friendly exchange with an elderly Russian man who proclaimed Russian-American friendship is a case in point. It is truly possible to break open any sense of isolation. However, I will admit that having opportunities to shop and see some sights on the weekends would be a relaxing and learning experience. However, one must say that there are other lessons being learned in this place. Sunday, 13 July 1997 This was a remarkable day. Marilyn, Molly and Steve Prescott, Elly Rotheim and I went to Opolznevoye to walk down one of the side streets of the village. It begins past the Post Office and down to the left. So, down we went. One one house was the name of the street, Ulitsa Druzhbi (Friendship Street). It is a picturesque vilage street, descending further and further down the mountain. A woman whom some of had met a few days earlier and who spoke with us (Dorothea Heberle was with us at that time) must have heard our voices, so she came out through her garden gate and greeted us, gesturing for us to enter. We did and communicated a little through gestures and occasional familiar words. As we entered we immediately were under a grape arbor loaded with grapes. There was a table and water supply there. We could see a little bit into their house and saw it was immaculate. She and her husband showed us their garden, which is many terraces of peach and pear trees, roses, onions, and cabbages, beets, tomatoes! It was a veritable Eden! Right here in Opolzyenvoye. The Garden of Eden in the midst of apparent poverty - and here were an elderly couple in their 70's who were quite content and happy in their productive lives, managing a beautifully kept house and maintaining a lush and very fertile orchard and vegetables. The terraces were neat and orderly. No weeds here! The view over the Black Sea was spectacular. These people wake up every morning in this corner of Crimean Paradise, something we would never have guessed existed. Hospitality and generosity are in the reputation of country folk and this was no exception. They picked peaches for us and had us taste them there. They were delicious, a nectar for the divinities in this humble place. She gave us many more to take with us to our other teachers. Also she cut a rose bouquet for us. Needless to say there was a profusion of "Spasiba" (Thank you) from us as we parted. It is so easy to think the village is a bunch of unkempt poor peasants - but in the past few days we have met a number of plain and genuinely nice people. These people are interested in knowing more about this "foreign invasion" into their quiet lives. We have added slightly to the income at the store and to the Post Office! We will be returning to our gracious hosts in the next few days in order to give a gift to them so they will continue to remember us. Thursday, 17 July 1997 Last night the students had a "Miss BFE Camp" and "Mr. BFE Camp" contest in "Times Square", the large open space here in the camp. There was much cheering for various favorites. The candidates had to dance, recite poetry, and a number of things like that. However, I did not see any of it until the last 20 minutes as the judges were deciding the winners. Greg Byrne was one of the judges. I spent most of the time talking to Alim about various matters. Alim was born and raised in Uzbekhistan. His parents and grandparents were among the deportees from Crimea to Central Asia at the end of WW II. He attended university there and studied mathematics there. As he told me, he has now forgotten almost all of it because for the past few years he has been doing nothing but work with computers. He works on databases at the present time. His longterm project is to establish a database for the items which they hope to have in the Crimean Tatar Museum in Bakhchisaray. He said there are libraries, such as in Kiev, that have manuscripts and books that belonged at one time to the Tatars and he wishes to have some of these scanned by computer and placed on a Web page so that people around the world can learn about and appreciate the culture of the Crimean Tatars. Almost all of the books and manuscripts of the Tatars were destroyed at the time of the deportation, the final culmination of the suppression of these people that began in Czarist times. Much of his time right now is spent using Word to prepare English language letters and communications for his boss, Lutfi Osmanov, who is the head of the Rebirth of Crimea Foundation. The Tatars want to play an important role in the affairs of Crimea, but they meet determined resistance from the majority Russians and Ukrainians. There is a Crimean Parliament that manages Crimean affairs and there are Tatar representatives, elected by the Tatars (men and women) and one of those representatives is a woman. One thing the Tatar representatives want to do is re-name the Tatar majority towns and villages to the original Tatar names before the deportation. The Russian majority says that there is no money to pay for new signs and to make changes in maps and has said they would agree to a timetable of change over the next 20 years. But the Tatars see this as a delaying tactic and are insisting on a 5-year timetable. After Stalin removed the Tatars he sent Russians into Crimea to settle in the former Tatar houses and villages. All these places were given names by the Russians that have no resemblance to the Tatar names in either meaning or form. Thus Stalin was insistent on obliterating any trace of a Tatar presence. The deportation was done in one 24-hour period in 1944 when people were ordered out and given only 15 minutes to gather any clothing or possessions they could take with them. They left behind their houses and furnishings. These were appropriated by the later Russian migrants to the area. Alim says that the project of this language camp is to show that the Tatars are interested in peaceful cooperation with every nationality in Crimea and other nationalities elsewhere and that is why there was the insistence that Russians, Ukrainians, Poles, Chechens, and Tatars had to be invited and included. Also, the Tatars want the others to know that they have a good education, and we know that many of the Tatar kids' parents are professionals such as doctors and teachers. They are determined to obtain a good education and value learning. When you look at the Tatars here there is no one racial appearance to characterize them. I suppose that the swarthy appearance might have been the "original" look, but nowadays many are blond and fair. So there is a real mix among the Tatars.