Kiev is one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe and has preserved its charm over the centuries. During the life of Jaroslav the Wise (978-1054), magnificent palaces, churches and monasteries were situated in stark contrast to small timber houses. Nowadays, there are wide, traffic-congested roads and huge new housing estates adjacent to historically significant ruins. The city may have changed, but there are still numerous impressive buildings, and, of course, the mighty Dnieper River which remain familiar. The old town is on the right bank of the river. It was first mentioned in written works dating back to 559 and the region was densely populated as early as 9th century. The first major expansion of the city was in the reign of Vladimir I (980-1015) who introduced Christianity as the state religion in 988. The Mongols destroyed the town in 1240 and during the course of its history, is has also belonged to Lithuania and Poland, until being finally united with Russia in 1654.

The Cave Monastery was founded at the beginning of the 11th century. Building above-ground began under the monastery's abbot, Fedossi. The caves then served as subterranean tombs for the monks. The monastery has been divided into two parts since that time. The Upper Lavra on the mountain and the Lower Lavra comprising the "Near" and "Far" caves. The Mongolian-Tartar attack did a lot to damage the monastery and a first attempt to rebuild it took place in the second half of the 15th century. The subterranean labyrinth of the Near Caves is more than 500m long and the single caves are connected through narrow passageways. The mummies of the monks are laid out in the passages.

It should come as no surprise to anybody that neither of us went into the caves, but many of our group did!