Wednesday Walk in the museum courtyard

At the beginning of Liteyny Prospect there are several nice courtyards, quiet and peaceful. One such courtyard is the courtyard of the museum of Russian poet Anna Akhmatova. Anna Akhmatova lived in one of the wings of the Palace of Sheremetev in a very difficult period of Soviet history, from 1925 to 1952. The main building of the palace is turned towards the water, it faces the Fontanka River embankment. The opposite facade of the palace looks into the garden, which stretches up to Liteiny prospect. In this garden is located outbuilding, where the writer lived. The museum was opened in this outbuilding for the 100th anniversary of the poet's birth.

A long arch leads from Liteyny Prospect to the museum territory. The arch is slightly curved, and this curve cuts off the noise of Liteyny Prospect and the bustle of today. Museum entrance is located in the far corner of the garden, but you are immersed in a poetic atmosphere as soon as you turn into the arch. All the walls are painted with poems. Here you can read poems by Anna Akhmatova, other poets of the early 20th century, and next to them are autographs of modern poets.

The garden is used not only as a road to the museum, it also serves as a place for temporary exhibitions and concerts. Now in the garden there is an interesting photo exhibition of their archive of photographic documents. It tells about Nikolai Gumilyov's travels in Africa in 1913. Nikolai Gumilyov - Russian poet, husband of Anna Akhmatova, was shot in 1921 for his participation in the Kronstadt rebellion against the Soviets. Gumilyov's African poems are one of the gems of Russian poetry. Probably the most famous of these poems is the poem Giraffe:

Today you are gazing especially sadly, my love,
Your hands seem so slim when they weakly embrace your knees.
So, listen, far away, an exquisite giraffe
Is wandering near the lake Chad among other African beasts.

Such slenderness, sweet bliss are lavishly given to him.
His skin is adorned with some magic and graceful designs.
And only the moon dares to rival, to cleave and to swing
On the moisture of wide lakes, repeating those marvelous lines.

Translator: Alex Sitnitsky

Another interesting exhibition sits along the wall that separates the garden from the residential buildings. It's like an old, old apartment, you walk along the exhibition stands and seem to move from one room to the next, meeting then a kettle on the stove, then a table with an open notebook.

The weather was warm and sunny, and I had a lot of fun on this short walk. Autumn is almost over in our northern city, snow is supposed to fall one of these days, but I found some yellow autumn leaves on one of the chestnuts to take a picture of them against the blue sky.

This is my entry for the #WednesdayWalk challenge by @tattoodjay.