In 2006 new exposition "Chekhov and Ukraine" started its work in dacha Omjur.
Traditionally the old mansions keep the specific spirit of the history. The beautiful 2-stored house in pseudo gothic style is well-known among Yalta-dwellers. This dacha was built in 1888 by architect K.Ovsjany for Capitolina Ilovayskaya. According to those years' fashion the mansion got orient name - " Omjur". It means "life" from Turkish. Big plot, garden and pool belonged to the mansion.
The rooms of the ground floor Ilovayskaya let her friends and acquaintances. From October, 23 till April, 10 dacha "Omjur" becomes a home and work-place of Anton Chekhov. The writer got acquaintance with Ilovayskys in 1892 when Ilovayskaja's husband - Stephan Pavlovich - ran the gratest stud-farm in Russia. It was the real "native land of Russian trotter". In his letters Chekhov named Ilovaysky "great Horace-expert".
When Chekhov came to Yalta he stayed in "Omjur". The writer occupied two corner-rooms on the ground floor "with flower-beds at the windows faced on the quite yard".
In Yalta Chekhov doesn't leave public activity. He helps to gather money for starving children of the Land along the Volga, proposes to built the sanatorium for poor tuberculosis patients, takes part in the preparation and holding of anniversary celebrations devoted to Pushkin's 100th birthday. The writer visited sittings of town Council and the board of guardians of girl-high school. In some days after coming to "Omjur" Chekhov buys the plot in Autka (the superb of Yalta) where he starts the building of his own mansion Belaya [White] dacha and garden.
But, no adopt, the literature stays the main pursuit of Chekhov. On dacha "Omjur" the author corrects such his works as "The lodger", "On Official Business", "The Case of practice", "Darling", "New dacha"; by the way, the last one gives us rather exact description of Ilovayskaja's mansion. Just here Chekhov prepares collected works to Marx's publication in Saint-Petersburg. On the 17 of December the writer gets the rapturous telegram from Moscow - the artists played "The Sea-gull" expresses in it : "All of us are mad because of happiness".
In "Omjur" Chekhov receives a lot of guests and visitors - scientists, artists, publishers, students, among the last ones - yang Max Voloshin. Here Anton Pavlovich gets acquaintance with Maxim Gorky, factually their friendship begins in the walls of "Omjur".
In the end of 1901 Leo Tolstoy lived in "Omjur". In December 1901 Tolstoy guested to his daughter Tat'yana (she rented rooms on the second floor). From the mansion Tolstoy rang up Chekhov into Belaya dacha.
After nationalization by Bolsheviks dacha "Omjur" becomes a dweller house. In 1954 to the 50th anniversary from the day of Chekhov's death memorial board is set on the wall of the mansion this board established the status of the building as historic-cultural monument. In 1980th here temporal exhibition "Crimean meetings of A.P.Chekhov" is situated, it occupies some some rooms of the ground floor. Only in 2006 with support of patrons the idea of new Chekhov's museum realized, and exposition "Chekhov and Ukraine" was organized.
There are four Chekhov's museums in Ukraine, and the three ones - in Yalta, Crimea.
