I. A bit of historyThe mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient

times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak. (See the article on Azov for detailed information on those settlements.)

Rostov-on-Don was in essence established in 1749, as a customs house was built on the Temernik (a tributary of the Don), and soon a large fortress followed. It was named after Saint Dimitry of Rostov, a newly-glorified bishop from the old Northern town Rostov the Great. As Azov gradually declined, a

settlement near the new fortress superseded it in importance as a chief commercial centre of the region. In 1756 the "Russian commercial and trading company of Constantinople" set up there,

establishing a settlement on the high bank of the Don known as the "Kupecheskaya Sloboda" (the merchant's fortress). In 1796 this settlement received town rights and was renamed Rostov-on-Don, in

order to distinguish it from its ancient namesake.

II. Sights• 1. The embankment of the river Don

2. The Theatre Square

3. Cathedrals.

4. Monuments

5. Beautiful buildings.• the building of railway station

City Administration’s building

6. Streets

III. Entertainment • Drama Theatre after Maksim Gorky.

A play “Woe from Wit” by A. S. Griboyedov:

The Rostov State Musical Theatre

The ballet “Nutcracker” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

The ballet “ Nutcracker” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

The opera “La Traviata” byGiuseppe Verdi

IV. Pieces of my childhood• 1. My block of flats.

2. The Church where I was Christened

3. My kindergarten

My school