Bakota: Beautiful Place with a Frightening History

Bakota: Beautiful Place with a Frightening History

Editor's note: This story is one of the winning entries from the "Teach Us about Ukraine" writing contest sponsored by VOA Learning English and GoGlobal.

Hi, my name is Kate, and I am from Odessa region.

Imagine you are standing¹ on the slope of the mountain, and a breathtaking view opens to you. The sun shines brightly and clear. The breeze is barely noticeable and warm. You see a large bay underneath². The water flows quietly and calmly. The leaves on the trees rustle³ gently. You feel peace. You feel happiness. No thoughts. No feelings. No worries. Only harmony of the inner and outer world. You are in Bakota, one of the most beautiful and amazing places in Ukraine.

Bakota was a village in the Khmelnytskyi region in the west of Ukraine. The name Bakota was first mentioned in writings in 1024. In the 12th century, it was a large trading port on the Dniester River with a population of about 2,500 people.

The region was ruled in succession by the Mongol-Tatars, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Poland. Despite pressure from the invaders⁴, Bakota managed to fight for freedom and preserve its cultural identity.

In 1972, the government started construction of the Dniester hydroelectric station in this region. And Soviet⁵ authorities decided⁶ to flood the settlement. All the buildings were to be destroyed. Trees were cut down and burned. And cemeteries⁷ were moved to new places.

The locals had to destroy their own houses - their history - and stop farming and gardening. The planned resettlement took eight years. In 1981, the village of Bakota ceased to exist. Officials spent the next six years to fill the area with water.

The only thing left of the old village is a cave monastery⁸.

The cave is located inside White Mountain, about 70 meters above the Dniester River. The oldest archaeological finds in the area date back to the second millennium⁹ BC.

The website Blog about tours to Ukraine says the monks¹⁰ first came to the cave in the 11th century. There were also reports that St. Anthony, the founder¹¹ of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra cave monastery, once visited the area. During the Mongol invasion in the middle of the 13th century, both monks and peasants from nearby villages used the cave as a hiding place. By the 15th century, the monks left the area as several landslides¹² destroyed many of the caves inside the soft sandstone of White Mountain.

There are several springs on the mountain, just below the cave. The cool spring water is tasty. Locals believe that the spring water can heal and treat different diseases.

Today, Bakota Bay, the cave and the springs often draw visitors to the area, about 300 kilometers from the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. And many leave behind ribbons and personal items along the path to the healing springs.

About the Writer

Kate has been teaching for almost five years in the Odessa region of Ukraine. She is passionate¹³ about working with children of different ages. She strives to implement¹⁴ all of her knowledge about the education process.

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

3 rustle   

v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声

参考例句：

• She heard a rustle in the bushes.她听到灌木丛中一阵沙沙声。
• He heard a rustle of leaves in the breeze.他听到树叶在微风中发出的沙沙声。

4 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 cemeteries   

n.（非教堂的）墓地，公墓( cemetery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like. 不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In other districts the proximity of cemeteries seemed to aggravate the disease. 在其它地区里，邻近墓地的地方，时疫大概都要严重些。 来自辞典例句

8 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

9 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

10 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

12 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

13 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

14 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。