Attractions of Hurzuf

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.

The ancient watchtower is located in the upper part of Cape Suuk-Su on the territory of the international children's center "Artek".

It existed already in the 6th century, when the legionaries of the Byzantine emperor Justinian came here.

Sometimes it is called "Girey's Tower" (one of the owners of these lands) or "Eagle's Nest" (a round tower hangs on the edge of a cliff, which really resembles a nest).

There is an observation deck on top, which offers a picturesque view of Ayu-Dag, Adalara and Shalyapin rock (according to legend, the singer bought it for a symbolic price - one ruble, and all the surrounding fishermen gathered to listen to his singing from this rock).