Crimea

The tourism sector is considered the cornerstone of the economy and is an excellent source of jobs, hard currency and economic growth. During 2010, Jordan has been visited more than 8 million tourists. The outcome was revenues from tourism of $3.4 billion, out of which $4.4 billion comprised medical tourists. Most of the tourists who come to Jordan come from European and Arab countries. The tourism sector in Jordan is severely affected by the regional turbulence. The recent impact on the tourism sector was caused by the Arab Spring, which deterred tourists from all over the region. Jordan recorded a 70% decline in the number of tourists between 2010 and 2015.

Jordan is home to approximately 100,000 archaeological and tourist attractions, figures provided by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Among the well-preserved historic landmarks are Petra and Jerash, which is Jordan’s most popular tourist attraction and an icon of the kingdom. Jordan is part of the Holy Land and has several biblical attractions that attract the activities of pilgrims. These include biblical sites: Al-Maghtas, in which Jesus has been baptized by John the Baptist, Mount Nebo, Umm ar-Rasas, Madaba and Machaerus. The Islamic heritage sites include the shrines of the Prophet Muhammad’s companions including Abd Allah ibn Rawahah, Zayd ibn Harithah and Muadh ibn Jabal. Ajlun Chateau, which was built by the Ayyubid Islamic king Saladin in the 12th century A.D. during his war with the Crusaders, is also a popular tourist attraction.

Modern entertainment and recreation in urban areas, mainly in Amman, also attracts tourists. In recent years, the nightlife in Amman, Aqaba and Irbid has developed with an increasing number of bars, discos and nightclubs. However, most nightclubs have a limit of unaccompanied men. Alcohol is common in tourist restaurants, liquor stores, and even some supermarkets. Valleys such as Wadi Mujib and hiking trails in different parts of the country attract adventurers. In addition, seaside recreation is available at several international resorts on the shores of Aqaba and the Dead Sea.

Since the 1970s, Jordan became a leading medical tourist destination in the Middle East. A study conducted by the Jordanian Association of Private Hospitals revealed that 250,000 patients from 102 countries were treated in Jordan in 2010, compared to 190,000 in 2007, representing a turnover of more than one billion dollars. According to the World Bank, Jordan is the leading medical tourism destination in the region and the fifth largest in the world. The majority of patients come from Yemen, Libya and Syria due to the ongoing civil war in these countries. Jordanian doctors and medical staff have gained experience in treating war patients after years of receiving such cases from various conflict zones in the region. Jordan is also a hub for natural treatments in the Ma’in Hot Springs and the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is often referred to as a “natural spa”. It contains 10 times more salt than the average ocean, making it impossible to submerge. The high concentration of salt in the Dead Sea has proven to be therapeutic for many skin diseases. The uniqueness of this lake attracts many Jordanian and foreign vacationers, which has stimulated investment in the region’s hotel sector.

The overall population of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol was estimated to be 2.352 million in 2007, significantly lower than the 2.413 million counted in the 2001 Ukrainian Census.

According to the 2014 Russian census, 84 percent of Crimean residents identified Russian as their native tongue; 7.9 percent identified Crimean Tatar; 3.7 percent identified Tatar; and 3.3 percent identified Ukrainian. It was the first official Russian census in Crimea since the 2001 Ukrainian census.

According to the 2001 census, 77 percent of Crimean residents identified Russian as their native tongue, while 11.4 percent identified Crimean Tatar and 10.1 percent identified Ukrainian. However, the Crimean Tatar language was considered to be on the verge of extinction in 2013, with just around 15 schools teaching it at the time. Turkey gave the most assistance to Tatars in Ukraine, who had been unable to handle the issue of education in their home language in Crimea by modernizing the schools.

Since the early twentieth century, the ethnic makeup of Crimea’s population has shifted considerably. According to the 1897 Russian Empire Census for the Taurida Governorate, there were 196,854 Crimean Tatars (13.06 percent), 404,463 Russians (27.94 percent), and 611,121 Ukrainians (42.21 percent). However, these figures included Berdyansky, Dneprovsky, and Melitopolsky uyezds, which were located on the mainland rather than in Crimea. The population figure omitting these uyezds is shown in the table below.

Crimean Tatars, a primarily Muslim ethnic minority that made up 12.1 percent of the population in 2001, first appeared in Crimea in the late Middle Ages, after the establishment of the Crimean Khanate. As a measure of collective punishment, Joseph Stalin’s administration forcefully exiled Crimean Tatars to Central Asia on the pretext that they had established pro-German Tatar Legions. Crimean Tatars started to return to the area after the demise of the Soviet Union. According to the 2001 Ukrainian population census, ethnic Russians make up 58% of the Crimean population, while ethnic Ukrainians make up 24%.

Historically, Jews in Crimea were known as Krymchaks and Karaites (the latter a small group centered at Yevpatoria). The Taurida Governorate had a Jewish population of 4.20 percent in 1879, not counting a Karaite population of 0.43 percent. During the Nazi occupation, the Krymchaks (but not the Karaites) were targeted for destruction.

In 1939, there were 60,000 Germans in Crimea. During WWII, they were forcefully deported on Stalin’s orders because they were considered a possible “fifth column.” This was one of the 800,000 Germans who were transferred inside the Soviet Union during the Stalinist era. According to the 2001 Ukrainian census, there are just 2,500 ethnic Germans (0.1 percent of the population) in Crimea.

Aside from the Crimean Germans, Stalin deported 70,000 Greeks, 14,000 Bulgarians, and 3,000 Italians in 1944.

During the summer, the weather in Crimea is fairly Mediterranean. Expect hot weather with frequent thunderstorms that come and go. At night, it’s hot and humid. In the winter, snow may blanket the mountains, making routes almost inaccessible.

The water is warm, although not as warm as the Adriatic. The water is beautiful and transparent, although not as deep as the Adriatic.

Crimea, with a land area of 27,000 km2 (10,425 sq mi), is situated on the northern shore of the Black Sea and the western coast of the Sea of Azov, with the single land boundary shared with Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast to the north.

The Sivash, or “Rotten Sea,” a wide series of shallow lagoons, is the natural boundary between the Crimean Peninsula and the Ukrainian mainland. The peninsula is linked to the Kherson Oblast’s Henichesk Raion, and thus to the European mainland, via the Isthmus of Perekop, a 5–7 kilometer (3.1–4.3 mi) broad stretch of land, as well as bridges across the small Chongar and Henichesk straits. The northern section of Arabat Spit, comprising the two rural settlements of Shchaslyvtseve and Strilkove, is officially part of Henichesk Raion in Kherson Oblast. The Kerch Peninsula is located on the peninsula’s eastern extremity, separated from the Taman Peninsula on the Russian mainland by the Kerch Strait, which links the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov and has a width of 3–13 kilometers (1.9–8.1 mi).

The peninsula is separated into three geographical zones: steppe, mountains, and southern shore.

Coastline

The Crimean peninsula is made up of several smaller peninsulas, including the previously mentioned Kerch peninsula, Heracles Peninsula, Tarkhankut Peninsula, and many more. Crimea also has several headlands, including Cape Priboiny, Cape Tarkhankut, Sarych, Cape Fonar, Kazantyp, and Cape Akburun, among many more.

Several bays and harbors dot the Crimean coastline. These ports are located west of the Perekop Isthmus by the Bay of Karkinit and southwest by the open Bay of Kalamita, which connects the port towns of Eupatoria and Sevastopol.

The Kerch Peninsula is connected to the Crimean peninsula by the Isthmus of Yenikale and is bounded to the north by the Bay of Arabat (interrupted by the approaching Arabat Spit) and to the south by the Bay of Caffa (arching eastward from the port of Feodosiya).

Crimean Mountains

A comparable series of mountains, the Crimean Mountains, flanks the southeast coast at a distance of 8–12 kilometers (5.0–7.5 mi) from the sea. Secondary parallel ranges flank these mountains.

The main range of these mountains rises abruptly from the Black Sea’s deep base to a height of 600–1,545 metres (1,969–5,069 ft), commencing at the peninsula’s southwest tip, known as Cape Fiolente. This cape was reported to be adorned with the temple of Artemis, where Iphigeneia is fabled to have served as priestess. The tallest waterfall in Crimea is Uchan-su, which is located on the south slope of the highlands.

Tourism and agriculture are the two most important sectors of the contemporary Crimean economy. The majority of industrial plants are located in the republic’s northern regions. Among the important industrial cities are Dzhankoy, which has a substantial railway link, Krasnoperekopsk, and Armyansk. The tourism business has experienced significant losses since Russia’s invasion of Crimea in early 2014, as well as the accompanying sanctions targeting Crimea. The number of tourists declined by 35% in the first half of 2015 compared to the same time in 2014.

Food production, chemical areas, mechanical engineering and metal works, and fuel generation businesses are among the most prominent in Crimea. Food production accounts for 60% of the industrial market. There are 291 big industrial firms and 1002 small commercial enterprises in total.

Cereals, vegetable cultivation, gardening, and wine production are all common in the area, notably in the Yalta and Massandra districts. Cattle breeding, poultry keeping, and sheep breeding are all examples of livestock production. Since ancient times, the Crimean Peninsula has also produced salt, porphyry, limestone, and ironstone (found near Kerch).

The republic’s annual GDP was $4.3 billion in 2014 (500 times lower than Russia’s economy). The average monthly pay was $290. The budget deficit was one billion dollars.