The beautiful festival city, Vitebsk, Belarus

Vitebsk is one of the oldest cities in the Slavic world, the fourth largest in Belarus, located northeast of the capital Minsk (a 3-4 hour drive) and serves as the administrative center of the Vitebsk region, which has about 400,000 residents. It is a beautiful city, surrounded by forests and abundant in parks, with two rivers flowing through it that are fun to cruise on. The highlight of its annual activity is the "Slavianski Bazaar" festival - an international festival of culture and arts, which has gained recognition and is considered one of the leading in its field in the world, attracting tourists from around the globe.

The city is known as the city of Marc Chagall, the famous Jewish painter, born Moshe "Moisha" Segal. His paintings were influenced by the sights of the town, and today there is a museum named after him located in the house where he lived with his parents. The city's residents are very proud of this and even celebrate an annual festival in his honor. So, it's clear that one of the first things I did when I arrived in the city was to visit the museum. I admit - I was very moved. And then I also learned that many famous Jews were born in Vitebsk, such as: S. Ansky - author of "The Dybbuk," Isser Harel - head of the Mossad in the 1950s, Miriam Ben-Porat - Supreme Court Justice and State Comptroller in the 1990s, and others. So, visiting their city and following in their footsteps definitely gave me pleasure.

The ancient capital of the region is modern: The official founding year of Vitebsk is 974, according to the order of Olga, Princess of Kiev. It developed from a port on the banks of the Vitba River (from which its name is derived), which flows into the larger Dvina River, into a large and vibrant city. The river crosses the city between green banks, colorful tourist ships sail on it, and towering bridges rise above it. Vitebsk is a beautiful and clean city, with many blooming squares, avenues of trees, impressive sculptures, and cute water fountains. There are plenty of churches and cathedrals whose golden spires shine from afar. The city has many cultural buildings: theaters, museums and galleries, music halls, and a beautiful amphitheater.

The roads are wide and have traffic lights, and traffic police are strict about order, and tourists feel a sense of personal security. You will find plenty of green parks and forests for hiking and recreation. The winding alleys in the festival center area are romantic and full of souvenir stalls and ethnic exhibits. During the festival, the entire city center is teeming with street performances by local and guest bands, and the activity continues deep into the night. But even on regular days you will find an active puppet theater, exhibitions suitable for children in museums, and in the parks there are playgrounds for children, such as slides, swings, etc.

"Slavianski Bazaar" The International Festival: Connect the Eurovision Song Contest, combined with the Karmiel Dance Festival, mixed with the Israel Festival, and finished with the Bat Yam Street Theater Festival - and you get the international festival, Slavianski Bazaar. In its 28th year, the festival is at its peak, diverse, spectacular, sparkling, and successful. It is an arts and music festival, held in Vitebsk since 1992 and considered a leader in the fields of music, theater, dance, art exhibitions, and diverse interdisciplinary performances, including street performances, which lasts for about a week during the month of July. Although I don't speak Russian, which is the dominant language at the festival, I got along well, because even if it sounds like a cliché - art and culture are really an international language.

This year, about 500 people participated in the festival itself: singers and musicians, actors and dancers, delegation members and media people, representing about 40 countries from around the world, including, in addition to the Slavic countries, also from South America, England, and France, and of course from Israel, in addition to tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world who came to the festival. The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, honors the opening show of the festival every year and makes sure to mention that he sees it as "a bridge to peace, cooperation and connection, between people and countries."

The Jewish and Israeli connection and "Festival Without Borders": Before World War II, about half of Vitebsk's population was Jewish, and during the Nazi occupation, the city was mostly destroyed, and most of its Jews perished. Since then, the Jewish community has not recovered, although quite a few of our people live there today, including Leonid Bugorad - the festival's CEO and its program director, Arkady Shulman - director of the festival's media center, Maestro Mikhail Feinberg - conductor of the Presidential Philharmonic Orchestra. In October 2017, the new synagogue in Vitebsk was inaugurated, built with donations from the Vitebsk Jewish community in the diaspora, and next to it is a small hotel and a kosher restaurant.

As every year, a distinguished delegation of artists from Israel arrived at the festival this time as well. The delegation is headed by the writer and creator - Arkady Krummer, who sees it as a mission to bring to the festival year after year, a delegation of artists from Israel who perform in a concert called “Festival Without Borders,” which was hosted by Israeli journalist Ina Sheikhatovitz. Alon Shoham - the Israeli ambassador to Belarus, makes sure to come from Minsk to Vitebsk every year and participate in the Israeli concert as part of the festival, greets, hugs, and stirs excitement among the Jews and Israelis in the audience.

Tips:

How to get to Vitebsk: The Belarusian airline Belavia offers direct flights to Minsk during the week, both in the morning and at night.

From Minsk to Vitebsk by private car is about 3-4 hours (through green forest landscapes). You can also travel by train or even by domestic flight.

Restaurant, hotel and shopping prices in the city are reasonable to cheap. Payments only in Belarusian rubles (even in the duty-free shop at the airport).

* The writer was a guest of the festival in Vitebsk, courtesy of the Belarusian Embassy in Israel.