Ukraine’s flag is often said to represent a wheat field under a blue sky. Yet the flag’s yellow field is also reminiscent of another important crop: the sunflower. Sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine, a symbol of culture and identity, and Ukraine is the world’s biggest exporter of sunflower oil. This oil, used in cooking and for skincare, is often stored in massive tanks along the Black Sea coast and then shipped across the sea, destined for the world’s cabinets.
Deep in the Eurasian continent, the Sea of Azov is a stepping stone between freshwater and saltwater. Like no other sea in the world, it sits at the far end of a chain of water bodies: the Black, Marmara, Aegean, and Mediterranean Seas, and all the straits that connect them.
