Attractions of Krym AR region

Eski-Kermen is a cave town on a mountain near the village of Krasnyi Mak.

It was built during the early Middle Ages (V-VI centuries) by Scythians or Goths to protect Chersonesus from the Khazars. The original name is unknown, the current one is translated from Tatar as "old fortress".

Many rooms carved out of the rock massif have been preserved: the courthouse, the sentry complex, the siege well, and others. Of particular interest is the cave temple of the three horsemen with the remains of ancient frescoes.

On the nearby plateau is the Kyz-Kuli tower (X-XI centuries).

At the foot of Eski-Kermen there is a barbecue cafe, travelers are offered overnight accommodation.

The medieval fortress of Funa is located on a rocky hill at the foot of Mount Demerdzhi in Crimea.

The name Funa means "smoky" in Greek. Previously, Mount Demerdzhi, which is often shrouded in fog, was also called Funa.

The fortress has been known since 1384 as the eastern outpost of the Mangup Principality of Feodoro. She controlled the trade route that led from Horzuvit (Hurzuf) and Aluston (Alushta) to the steppe Crimea.

During the reconstruction carried out in 1459, a 15-meter rectangular donjon tower was built. An important place in the architectural ensemble was occupied by the church of Saint Theodore Stratilatus, the ruins of which were best preserved after the destruction of the fortress by the Turks in 1475.

In the low season, access to the object is free, in the high season a small entrance fee is introduced.

Regional landscape park "General's Beaches" to the east of Kazantyp is also called "Coast of 1000 Bays".

Along the coast of the Azov Sea, along the northern edge of the Karalar steppe, a wild and little-visited recreation area stretched for almost 30 kilometers from the village of Zolote to the village of Kurortne. The coastline is cut by steep escarpments, rock formations and open bays with beaches where the water warms up well in the summer. Here you can see shallow grottoes, arched vaults created over the centuries by the sun, wind and water.

Between Zoloty and Kurortny, along the coastal cliffs, there is a winding path that allows you to reach all the General beaches.

From 1947 to 1972, the Karalar Steppe was home to a military training ground for aerial support of tests of nuclear and hydrogen weapons of the USSR Air Force, where radioactive materials were buried. The territory was closed to visitors, but the highest military ranks often rested in the picturesque bays, hence the name "General's Beaches".

Even in the high season, there are not many vacationers here, and nature has remained practically untouched. Some bays have fresh water springs.

The Genoese fortress in Sudak is one of the best-preserved medieval fortresses in Crimea, a branch of the "Sofiya Kyivska" nature reserve in Kyiv.

The official date of the start of construction is 1371, but the Genoese began to build their fortress on the basis of an older fortification, which was laid by the Byzantines in the VI-X centuries (the oldest remains were found on the southern slope).

The Genoese fortress complex includes 20 towers, a barbican, a gate, a Christian temple, a mosque, barracks and other premises. In the complex of the second tier stands out the Consular tower-donjon, where the ruler of the city lived.

The legend of the daughter of the ruler of Suhdeya, who committed suicide by refusing to become the wife of a Pontic commander, is associated with the highest Watchtower (Divocha) tower. The round tower probably survived from Byzantine times. An exposition on the history of the Sudak Fortress has been opened in the premises of the mosque.

The Great Canyon of the Crimea is a natural monument located on the Yalta-Simferopol highway, behind the Ai-Petri pass (the northern slope of the Yayla).

It is a deep, forest-covered mountain gorge (3 kilometers long), which arose 1.5-2 million years ago as a result of tectonic ruptures and the washing of rocks by the waters of the Auzun-Uzen River.

Picturesque rapids, many waterfalls, rapids and "cauldrons". The most famous is the "Bath of Youth" (depth up to 4 meters, water temperature 11 degrees).

The ruins of the medieval seaside Byzantine and Genoese fortress Horzuvity on the rock of Genevez Kaya dominate the small bay in Hurzuf.

The first Byzantine fortification was built in the VI-VIII centuries by Emperor Justinian. The fortress consisted of a small citadel and an outer defensive belt that protected the part of the settlement adjacent to the cliff. It controlled the Hurzuf Bay, where ships could moor, as well as the important pass of the Hurzuf Saddle.

After the Khazar invasion of the 8th-10th centuries, the Horzuvity fortress was restored as the residence of local feudal lords, and in the 14th century it passed into the hands of the Genoese.

In 1475, when the Crimea was captured by the Ottoman Turks, the fortress was completely destroyed and was never rebuilt. In the 18th century, academician Peter-Simon Pallas studied and described the ruins. Until the middle of the 20th century, only the remains of a defensive wall with a gate, the foundations of a Byzantine basilica, a rectangular tower and residential buildings of the 14th-15th centuries, as well as an impressive tunnel cut into the rock for observing the sea, were preserved.

Now the ruins are located on the territory of Artek, next to which is located the "Skelny" hotel.

Mount Ilyas-Kaya is the highest massif of Baidarska Yayla (682 meters). It closes the Laspin basin from the east. Translated from Crimean Tatar - Ilya's rock.

A fortified monastery was located almost at the very top of the Ilyas-Kaya mountain in the 10th-13th centuries. The rock on which the fortification is located is impregnable from the north, south and west. You can climb to its top only by a steep eastern slope. From this side, the access to the top was blocked by a line of fortress wall, made of logs on a lime solution, more than 50 meters long. Currently, it is almost completely destroyed and can be traced on the slope in the form of collapsed stones. The largest parameters of the fortress site are 300 by 100 meters.

In 1966, the church of Saint Ilya of the 9th-10th centuries was excavated on Ilyas-Kaya. It is distinguished by the original stepped composition of the internal space: the vestibule, the middle nave, and the altar are elevated one above the other, forming three levels.

The volcanic rock above the sea (120 meters), bearing the ancient name Iphigenia, is a symbol of the village of Berehove (Kastropol).

The myth about Iphigenia, the daughter of the Hellenic king Agamemnon, a participant in the Trojan War, is connected with her. Iphigenia was a priestess of the goddess Artemis in Tauris, and, according to legend, sacrificed sailors who happened to be here, throwing them into the sea from a cliff (this plot is used in the classic tragedy of Euripides "Iphigenia in Tauris").

Due to its ancient age and picturesque appearance, the rock has been declared a natural monument and is under state protection.

The Genoese fortress Kafa is located in the northern part of Feodosiia, on the shore of the bay.

Since the 1340s, it has been the citadel of the city fortifications of medieval Kafa - the center of the Genoese colonies of the Northern Black Sea. The eleven-meter-high walls were fortified with 14 towers, and 6 gates led inside.

Two towers have been preserved - Crisco (Christ) and Clement VI with adjacent walls, as well as pylons of the great gate. The fortress is in poor condition, access is free.

At the foot of Castle Mountain is the Temple Valley, where several ancient basilicas have been preserved: the Church of Saint George, the Church of John the Baptist (now the Iver Icon of the Mother of God), the Church of Staint Stephen and others.

The Byzantine fortress of Kalamita appeared on the Monastery Rock in the 6th century, in 1427 it was rebuilt and became an outpost of the principality of Feodoro, which fought against the influence of the Genoese who settled in nearby Chembalo (Balaklava).

In 1475, it was captured by the Turks and renamed Inkerman (from Turkic - "cave fortress"). It consisted of a defensive wall (height 8 meters, thickness 2 meters) and five towers, which are partially preserved.

Behind the wall are the ruins of city quarters, as well as cave premises (barracks, casemates, utility rooms).

The ruins of the fortified ancient city of Kalos-Limen are located on the shore of the present-day Narrow Bay in the Chornomorske.

The settlement of Kalos Limen (in Greek - "Beautiful Harbor") was founded during the period of Greek colonization of the Black Sea region around the 4th century BC. As a result of the constant military threat from the Scythians and Sarmatians, the city was significantly fortified. It was surrounded by a fortress wall with quadrangular towers, and near the bay itself was a 16-meter multi-towered citadel, resembling a pyramid in shape. In the basements, food supplies were stored in case of a siege, and on the upper floors there was a command post and throwing cannons were installed. The building also served as a lighthouse.

Having passed several times from the hands of the Greeks, Scythians and Romans, in the 1st century AD the city fell under the blows of the Sarmatians.

Now this is the territory of the national historical and archaeological reserve "Kalos-Limen". Archaeologists discovered the foundation of the citadel (a modern lighthouse is installed on it) and many other buildings. Access to the territory is free.

Karadag (Kara-Dag, Black Mountain) is the oldest volcano in Ukraine (150-170 million years).

It is unique with rare specimens of flora and fauna (10,000 species of plants, 1,632 species of butterflies, 199 species of birds), as well as fantastic relief (rocks Devil's Finger, Gingerbread Horse, Falcon, Pyramid, King, World and others).

The Karadaz nature reserve is one of the cleanest and most inaccessible reserves in Crimea (guarded by the military, entrance only with a tour from the Biostation in the village of Kurortne).

During a sea excursion, you can visit numerous bays, grottoes and the basalt rock "Golden Gate" - one of the symbols of Crimea. There is a legend about the "Karadag monster" that lives in the sea at the foot of the massif.

The picturesque Mount Karaul-Oba protects the bays and juniper groves of the Novyi Svit from the west.

The name is translated from Crimean Tatar as "watchman's mountain" - from here you can see the entire coast from Cape Meganom to Mount Ayu-Dag. At the top, the famous "Holitsyn's chair" is cut out of stone, sitting in it you can admire the views of the Novyi Svit amphitheater and three colorful bays: Rozbiynytska, Blue and Green.

The ancient Tavr sanctuary can be reached by spiral stairs cut in the stone through the "Adam's bed" gorge. At the western end are the remains of the walls and the houses of the ancient fortress built by the Bosporan king Asander.

At the foot of Mount Karaul-Oba is the "Royal Beach" with crystal-clear transparent blue water.

The ruins of the ancient Roman fortress Kharaks on Cape Ai-Todor are located on the territory of the "Dnipro" sanatorium in Haspra.

It was one of the fortified points of the Roman troops that appeared in Tavria in 63-66. The fortress controlled navigation near the coast of Crimea, where the sea route from Bosporus and Chersonesus to Sinope and Trebizond passed.

In 244, after the attack of the Goths, the Roman troops were evacuated from Kharaks, and the fortress was destroyed. Archaeological research began in the 19th century at the initiative of Grand Duke Heorhiy Mykhaylovych Romanov, who owned the Ai-Todor estate.

Currently, the object is open for visits by organized groups of tourists.

Kizil-Koba Cave in Crimea (from Crimean Tatar - Red Cave) is one of the largest limestone cave complexes in Europe (17.6 kilometers, 6 levels of labyrinths).

The research was started in 1914. Traces of primitive people were found, an ancient sanctuary. In the 3rd-4th centuries, wine was stored in the cave, and there was a Scythian manor house on the lawn near the entrance.

The underground river Su-Ukhan flows through the bottom of the Kizil-Koba cave, divided by six karst siphons. The vault of the Red Cave is decorated with carbonate drips, stalactites, stalagmites, columns, draperies, and carlites.

Improvement works of the Kizil-Koba cave have been carried out since 1990. Excursion time 1 hour, route length 500 meters. Extreme tours of the underground river are available by prior arrangement.