Hi!
The other day, I mentioned on X/Twitter that I had started writing a book about my travels across relatively safe parts of Ukraine.
I want to show you the places which are still beautiful. The ones you can visit after our victory. So, this is my goal number one. If we cannot keep them safe, I want these places to live on the book's pages. It is my goal number two. My son told me that he didn't like this one. Me too. But we are in a war, so everything terrible is possible. And there is a goal number three: to show Ukraine to the people who cannot travel for some reason.
I write it in English. If this book is considered for publishing one day, it will definitely need some good editing.
Today, I will share the first part of my Saturday travel. I need your honest feedback and support as well. I won't publish the book's first page where I explain why I do this as I have already done it here.
TRAVEL ONE. NOT FAR FROM KYIV. Part I
Last Saturday, I was on a tour. My eyes begged me for beauty. Perhaps you know this feeling after a long winter when you desperately await the first green leaves, flowers, and sun rays.
It was almost, but not totally warm. April can be a tricky month in Ukraine. I imagine winter and spring play chess every day, and the winner rules the weather for the next 24 hours.
That Friday, spring won. Lucky me.
We started our not-very-long journey from a tiny village, Trypillia, located 55 km from Kyiv. I found the information that approximately 3,000 people live there.
The village lies on the banks of the Kaniv Reservoir at the mouth of three rivers. The origin of the village's name is connected with these rivers. The point is that the rivers separated three fertile fields, so the settlement was called Trepol (tre - for three and pol - for field). This name is found under 1093 in official documents, but the settlement was probably founded earlier. Scholars consider that it was built by Yaroslav the Wise in 1032 (Grand Prince of Kyiv from 1019 until 1054).
But Trypillia is known for something else. It became famous for the findings of the archaeologist Vikentii Khvoyka, who, in the year 1897, excavated a settlement of a culture unknown at the time near the village. Khvoyka's discovery became a real sensation in the scientific world.
I will try to describe this culture briefly, but I want to give you some facts. It is also known as the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, as remnants were also found in the Romanian village of Cucuteni during that period.
This culture reached its peak between 5500 and 2750 BC. It was located between the Carpathians and the Dnipro River in the territories of modern Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine, with a total area of over 350,000 km². Trypillia culture is one of the main ancient agricultural cultures of the Copper Age.
Clay products of various shapes, purposes and ornaments are the main trademark of Trypillia culture, often called the culture of painted ceramics.
This culture had no written language, so it didn't become a civilisation.
What can you do in the village of Trypilia?
Okay, I can tell you what I did there. I definitely enjoyed the views of the Dnipro River.
I saw this monument in the town of Rzhyshchiv (approximately 65 km from Kyiv, not far from Trypillia). It is the Trypillia binoculars. Vikentii Khvoyka coined this name for the unusual vessels over a hundred years ago, and no one has come up with a better option since then. Most of these binocular-shaped vessels have no bottom, so you won't be able to pour or put anything in them.
There are few explanations of what Trypillia binoculars could mean and what their purpose was. Here are the most popular assumptions:
Binoculars were used for the ritual of watering the earth.
They were a ritual drum - people just needed to pull a skin over it.
These vessels could be used to observe the moon.
Why is this monument in Rzhyshchiv? It is known as the unofficial capital of the Trypilia culture. People could (and perhaps still can) find shards of various utensils from this period right in their own gardens.
It is a sculpture of a Trypillia woman. You can also find this monument in Rzhyshchiv.
One more popular symbol of Trypillia culture is the ceramic statues of women. They are called Trypillia madonnas, and they are usually small female ceramic figures with voluminous bellies, hips, and small breasts.
Where are these two monuments located in Rzhyshchiv? You can find them in a central square or ask locals where Trypillia binoculars are.
While writing this part about Trypillia culture, I realised that all I can do here is raise your interest in learning more about it. I am not a scholar or professor, so I kindly ask you to forgive me if you find some inaccuracies in my writing.
So, it was a small beginning of the new book. I still have to finish the travel with one more place I visited that Saturday. The place has magnificent views, a small church where wishes might come true and delicious bread baked in the oven according to the old recipes.
Please let me know what you think about this tiny part and whether you would be interested in further reading.
Sincerely,
Yaroslava