Temryuk Travel Guide

With explicit explanation about how a real home-shasliek-barbecue worked we were chatting inthe darkness and roasting the meat. A whole bottle of excellent local red wine was used to marinade the porcmeat and to spray continuously over the fire. With an deliscious fresh sald and many other extra garnitures this home-shasliek was the best that we had. I definately will try to introduce it in Arnhem next summer.

Favorite Dish: Temryuk, positioned in the North-Eastern triangle of the Russian winedistrict and surrounded by lemans (lagune-lakes), swamparea and the Azov Sea has a very specific juicy grape (what do you want with all this water). With many hours of sun the fruity taste is making the wine from this region sweet. Especially the local Cabernet is recommended.

Though this area is more or less enclosed by (irregular) busslines, best way to see it is to rent a chauffeur and car. Most of them will also have inside information about touristic points and tell you about it when you get there. These cars can variate from small busses to economy cars, but are well maintained and mostly modern. That is something that you cannot say about the public busses. (-:
A, don't get fooled by the picture as there are not many trainconnections to Temryuk (it is an old red-army train from the second worldwar at a large blue-line-memorial - on the background is a MIG, though somewhat strange as they didn't excist in 1945).

Well, though it is a Russian thing, in the countryside it appears to be even worse then in the town (but this might also have to do because of my work in agricultural sector in the Netherlands). Temryuk is a rural society on the countryside. With it's harbour one would suggest that distribution of the enormous potential in agrar-production, Temryuk would prosper and grow. But no, the absolute ineffective way of thinking takes care of a sole use of soil and surroundings in a selfcontaining way. Only wine is produced in a somewhat larger scale, but this too ... could be a product that has the potential to be export-valued. Especially for me with family living here and with the wish to see Russia grow into an important economic power, quite painful. For people and visitors like me, try to overcome the sadness and enjoy the things that are charging you positively.

Besides the fact that for foreigners a visit to this part of Russia is already totally "off the beaten track", there is also a little secret here that is only recently exploited as touristic attraction, namely: Mud Volcanoes.
Underneath the Kuban region is the largest subterranean sweetwater deposit of Europe. It runs down from the Caucasus mountainrange to the coasts of Black Sea and Sea of Azov. In the lowest plains the upwards pressure is increased by the salty seawater and a upward push is realised. In some places the water pushes through soft sandy and clay layers and here form mud- volcanoes. Some are realy big hills, others more form higher area's with some little volcanoes on top of the new plain (picture). The mud is faintly smelling oily and is cold (there is nothing thermic creating this phenomena). A very peculiar natural wonder, which changes the landscape here slowly.

Favorite thing: First reason to go to Temryuk was of course our family. Here it is Irina's grandmother lives, in a house next to her uncle and aunt. For her and Ilja it was a very special meeting, as where do you still find great-grandmothers (in Western Europe this is getting very seldom). We were welcomed very warmheartedly and they showed us Temryuk and wide surroundings. Uncle Alexander Sergjevitsj had many great stories about his hunting-adventures and presented us a speciality of him: ducksoup and roasted duck (with a lot of garlic).

Fondest memory: Another night we had a deliscious "shasliek" (bbq) in which the already juicy porcmeat was drenched in local red wine. When I think back to it ... water again runs in my mouth.