b'Travel(continued from page 69)Helsinkiislocatedinsouthern Finland,ontheshoreoftheGulfof Finland.It has a population of 1.3 million inhabitants, making it the most popu-lous municipality in the country. The city is situated some 80 km or 50 miles north of Estonia, and 300 km or 190 miles west of St Petersburg. Consequently, Helsinki hasclose,historicalconnectionswith Estonia, but not so much with Russia. Last week, Finland was granted admis-sion into NATO, strengthening the west-ernallianceagainstpotentialRussian threats.AnotherfantasticsiteisUspenskiHelsinkis Market.Cathedral,anEasternOrthodox Cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The cathedral is set upon a hillside on the Katajanokka peninsula, overlooking the city. Interestingly, on the back of the cathedral is a plaque, commemorating RussianEmperorAlexanderII,who was the sovereign of the grand duchy of Finland during the cathedrals con-struction in 1862. Uspenski Cathedral is claimedtobethelargestOrthodox ChurchinWesternEurope.About 500,000 tourists visit the church annually.Locatedalongtheharbouris Helsinkismarket,whichishometo dozensofvendorssellingvegetables, fruits and a variety of dry goods. BeingSome of the houses on one of the many islands inOne of the many cafes in Porvoo.a seaside port, fish and seafood productsthe harbour of Helsinki.are of course, a big commodity.The harbour in Helsinki is the larg-estinFinland,withover5million peoplepassingthrougheachyear mostly on their way to Stockholm and Estonia.Thereare330islandslocated throughouttheharbour,themostfa-mous being Suomenlinna, which houses a large fortress and maritime museum.Until 1918, this fortress, built on six islands,wasusedtoprotectthecity against potential invaders. Built in the mid-1700s to fend off Russian attacks, the fortress was eventually handed to the Russians in 1809, making way for the occupation, which lasted until Finland gainedindependencein1917.Today, mainlytouristsandlocals,whoenjoy picnics on warm summer days, use the fortress Manyprivatehomesandgovern-mentbuildingsarefoundthroughout the harbour, as are fisherman, cruise Please turn to page 72 Quaint cobblesone streets in Porvoo.FOCUS - MAY 202371'