The city of palaces, St. Petersburg is a masterpiece of natural beauty..Travel Russia 13

Sajjad Abbasi

We arrived at St. Petersburg at around 6:00 p.m. There were many trains at the station at the same time. Someone was boarding passengers and someone was disembarking passengers. Apart from us Pakistanis, many Asians and Europeans were also included in them and Russians themselves. But among all of them, we found the most prominent creatures in terms of numbers to be the Chinese. Who were marching in groups in an orderly manner with their national flags. Later we researched it and found that most of the foreign tourists traveling to Russia are from China. Among those coming to Russia, Germans are on the second place and Americans are on the third place. While a large number of tourists come to Russia from Britain, France, Spain, Finland, India and Iran. The other side of this issue is very interesting. According to data from the Russian Ministry of Culture, the number of Russian citizens traveling abroad has decreased by 20 percent in recent years. A big and important reason for this seems to be that there are so many recreational and healthy places within Russia itself that Russians do not feel the need to go out. Take St. Petersburg. On one hand, it is rich in natural beauty, on the other hand, the perfection of architecture has given the beauty of this city four moons and its beauty amazes the viewer.

Saint Petersburg is one of the most beautiful coastal cities in the world. While it is the most modern city of Russia, it is also its cultural capital. There are historical buildings here step by step, whose doors and walls are the guardians of countless told and untold stories of centuries.
are United Nations organization UNESCO has declared these buildings and palaces as world cultural heritage. Tourists come here from all corners of the world to see. One of the great museums of the world, the Hermitage Museum (Hermitage Museum) is also part of St. Petersburg. While the winter and summer palaces of Tsar Peter the Great and Queen Catherine are also present here, which are crowded with tourists. It is the second largest city in Russia after Moscow, with an estimated population of over 7 million. Saint Petersburg has been the capital of the Russian Empire for more than two hundred years and the home of many kings. From 1723 to 1728 and again from 1732 to 1918, it had the status of capital. After which Lenin moved the capital to Moscow. Due to its historical importance, it has the status of Federal Subject or Federal City.

It is located on the banks of the Neva River (NEVA) and at the headwaters of the Gulf and Finland. In 1703, Tsar Peter the Great founded the city and renamed it Petrograd. That is, he attributed this beautiful city to himself. The reason for this was that the Russians thought that although his name was in English, it sounded like “German German”. And obviously, how could they even accept the shadow of the worst enemy’s language on their city. Then it happened that when the government of Lenin, the founder of communism, came in 1924, its name was changed to Leningrad. This name persisted for several decades until in 1991 the city regained its identity as Saint Petersburg. By the time we reached St. Petersburg, the shadows of the evening had deepened and the beautiful and stately buildings everywhere in this commercial area of ​​the city were bathed in light. This light combined with the rays of the setting sun was creating a wonderful sky. In fact, the buildings bathed in color and light are characteristic of Russia, which create the sky of day at night. We were told that the lighting of all government and non-government buildings is at the government expense and does not cost a penny to any common citizen or businessman. This is done on a daily basis only to enhance the beauty of the cities and increase its attractiveness for tourists.

On both sides of the Movaska River in Moscow, the bright buildings that line the streets make the viewer gasp when the reflection of the river falls on the water. This is the case of St. Petersburg, which is the epitome of beauty. Magnificent buildings stand along wide roads surrounded by greenery. The verdant gardens and countless palaces captivate you in their magical beauty. Why is St. Petersburg called the city of palaces? There are two reasons for this. One is that it has been the abode of kings, whose palaces are worth seeing. Other common buildings here, whether commercial or residential, are built in the style of palaces and their beauty reflects the architectural taste of the residents. Coming out of the station, we reached the intersection and saw the beautiful electric buses of the new model, which were moving gracefully under the high tension wires. These buses are environment friendly. Which neither emit smoke nor cause any kind of noise pollution. In Russia in general and in Moscow and St. Petersburg in particular, special care is taken at every level to keep the environment transparent and pollution free. However, in the midst of this environmental friendliness, a habit of environmental hostility of the Russians surprised and worried us. There, the smoking epidemic has spread to such an extent that age and gender distinctions are being erased. You will see men and women of all ages and teenage boys and girls smoking freely and brazenly in public places and throwing their butts on the streets and no one gives a damn. On the other hand, as we said, there is not even a single straw visible on the roads and streets of any kind of garbage. This habit of Russians was liked by some of our Pakistani smoker brothers that they can smoke a cigarette anywhere and throw it in the broken air. In Diyar Geri, the “closeness” of the dear country breaks down the wall of alienation. The seriousness of this habit. On the other hand, some people we talked to said that drinking alcohol is common there, but smoking is almost at the same level, and this is probably why the average age in Russia is rapidly increasing. It’s getting low. A modern-style coaster was waiting for the delegation at the commercial square. The temperature had dropped to 15 degrees Celsius in the evening. It was obviously too cold for us. So we got into the car and took it easy. And after about half an hour’s journey we reached the Marriott Hotel at Courtyard. Here too we got an hour and a half to freshen up and come back to the lobby. After that, Honorary Consul General of Pakistan in St. Petersburg Abdul Rauf Rand. was to leave to attend a dinner given in honor of the delegation by (Continued)