The correspondent of informator.lg.ua was in Transcarpathia and shares his impressions about this picturesque side and way of life of locals with readers of our site.
Not a big old town Rakhiv «squeezed» in lowlands formed by the slopes of the surrounding mountains. I was first time in Transcarpathia, where touristic potential only begins to gather momentum. Seen around closed me to understanding that your country must be a permanent discovery, where you searching versatility of native culture and life.
It’s very simple to get to Rakhiv on the only one automobile road or rails of one rut. Everyday locomotive pulls for scheduled passenger and commuter trains. Steep cliffs areas allegedly laughing under creatures, flashing on narrow asphalt roads on some sites of a driving. Here is also roads which absolutely repeat the directions of bed of river Tisa, which is saturated with cold water by numerous streams. I had to get used to such a beautiful and clean nature as a man who has been living among Donbass landscapes.
Walking on the streets with houses, tightly pressed to each other, you think that background with dark mountains simply was drawn behind the cozy cottages. But mountains are very closer. The valley in the centre of Rakhiv is more wide, but there it is also not more than kilometer. In other places: the road the river bank, then a couple of streets and that’s all, next one is hanging mountain, or rocky, or sloping, growing with high firs (smereka — Ukrainian) or with deciduous trees. Lodge and then another one grow on a steep slope. And there is a places where is very hard to climb, but there also you can find a little house with two floors and bright walls.
“How do they get there?” — this question appears i a moment. But Guzuls (this part of Carpathians is the part of glorious Guzul side) are not scared about this fact. Those who live high or remotely are called upper. This people are accustomed to harsh living conditions from early ages. It’s habitually for them to descend on a dozen of kilometers to a closest school and then to go up back home, eating a few apples during a road. There is a lot of apples, a big harvest was gathered this year.
“Almost everyone on the tops has the electricity — old woman says, pulling out of the ground ripe stalks of beans. By the way, beans in Rakhiv district are like potato in all Ukraine. Every inhabitant is committed to grow on own site a few bushes. — Such situation wasn’t in my years, I remember how we made our home-works with candles, when we were children” — woman finishes, while she’s working. Undertaking to settle on a slope of a mountain brings a lot of difficulties. It’s not so simple to carry home furniture or building materials on winding steep paths.
But, the impression is that the main thing for local is to build nicy fine attractive house with two or more floors. Really, it is unusual to see result of the ongoing work on cramped backyards. There is all in the process of building. Finishing, alteration, completion of additional housing are like mania for dwellers of Transcarpathia. Everyone must demonstrate that he is not a lazybones and is able to supply family with the best conditions of life. Thanking to that we have an opportunity to admire the colourful bright houses in a several floors with different architecture and decorations of fasade. You won’t find two identical houses even if authentic project of them was the same. Such variety is impossible to find in other regions of Ukraine. And they are still building…
Going down from one of surrounding town mountains, we’re meeting old peppy Guzul and asking him about the difficulties of life here in the public plan.
“There is not enough work in the town — he marks out the main problem for locals — We had a lot enterprises earlier: cardboard, condenser, lumber mills, wood processing factory and they even worked in three shifts. And now everything is closed, the volumes of preparing of wood decreased for the work of brigade of four me, if I’m not mistaking. However, forests are hacked mercilessly and officials don’t have a deal to new plantings, they only feather their nests.
Our interlocutor considers that such situation is the reason for people to wander looking for earnings in Ukraine, Kyiv, Moscow or closest European countries. The rhetoric of some Donbas politicians about job of “banderamen” (ephemeral supporters of nonexistent Ukrainian fascism from Western Ukraine — ed.) only in Poland or Czech Republic has certain grounds. But, communicating a little bit with Transcarpathian people I saw that they are ready to work hard, but unemployment has the high level in our country and people are going abroad, because it’s easiest variant. It’s a disgrace not to be able to feed a family in Guzul society, that’s why drunkenness and lazybones wouldn’t be the priorities for anybody who live there. Such understanding of life played a serious role to go volunteers on front for this people, it seemed to me. It’s because people are used to work hard, staying free in a choice of their activities and to invest a lot in their estates or houses even if they are small.
“But all of this are honestly earned” — you can read in the eyes of locals. It’s impossible for them to pay at the mercy of war their family and their house. Transcarpathian people, clearly understand the circumstances, are afraid of war and regard it as great folly of mankind, preferring it the peaceful labor.
Unfortunately, a lot of traditional traditional delights of Guzul side, as everywhere, are going in the past step by step. The sheep cheese, which is famous everywhere from this side and even festival holds here in honour of it, is very hard to find. We have found female the owner of flock of 250 sheeps, to taste the traditional domestic cheese. The manufacture of it is troublesome and not cheap.
“It is very hard with livestock. You need to take of them, to hire honest shepherds to graze. It became very hard to trade off the production. The producing of sheep cheese turns very expensive and increasingly difficult to sell it” — Tatiana, knowing the secrets of tasty milk product, tells about specific of not easy making of product.
So, the traditions of Guzul side are changing on modern way of life step by step. But mountains. Their beauty and difficult temperament don’t give an opportunity to forget the skills, experience and activities of ancestors of people, living on these vertices. Calm but cold spirit of mountains beckons and sobers at the same time, filling a human with simplicity and naturalness. It comes by default. I think Carpathians are always glad to peaceful and curious guests. And you can open the beauty of blue tops of ridges, covered with fogs in Ukraine. Hurry up!
Milan Zaitsev for Informator.lg.ua