Attractions of Alushta

Defense structures of the Aluston fortress, built on the shore of a convenient bay by the Byzantines in the 6th century by order of the Byzantine emperor Yustynian I.

The Goth garrison controlled the sea trade route from here and monitored order in the surroundings.

In the 10th century, the fortress was destroyed, but in 1382 it was restored by the Genoese, who bought these lands from the Crimean Khan. The fortification in the shape of an irregular quadrangle consisted of a citadel and three towers that protected the city from the most accessible eastern side. Most of the structures were destroyed by the attack of the Turkish fleet in 1475, but some fragments can still be seen.

A round (Genoese) tower with a height of 16 meters closed the defensive line from the south (it is located on the 15th Kvitnya Street). In the center of the north-eastern defensive line was the Square Tower (3 Volodarskoho Street). The third hexagonal tower has not survived.

Parts of the defensive walls are now used as a basis for nondescript modern buildings. Yuhar Dzhami mosque (XIX century) has been restored on the territory of the fortress.

Mount Kastel, 439 meters high, is located on the southern outskirts of Alushta, behind Professor's Corner.

The dome is covered with a forest canopy, but chaos has formed on the eastern slope of the mountain - stone blocks, sometimes reaching 3-5 meters in diameter.

The name is related to the fact that in ancient times there was a fortress (Greek - "kastel") on the top of the mountain, the remains of which have been preserved on the slopes.

According to legend, this fortress served as the last refuge of Queen Feodora, the ruler of ancient Sugdaya. After the capture of the capital of the principality by the Genoese, Feodora hid in Castel, where she, devoted to her brother, died in a battle with enemies.

The valley of the Sotera River is a protected tract on the eastern South Bank.

Here, in the process of weathering and water erosion, amazing stone mushrooms up to 7 meters high were formed. The caps of the "mushrooms" are formed by dense slabs of conglomerate, and the "legs" are looser sediments, which were destroyed faster than the "caps", mainly by water flowing from the slopes. There are large mushrooms with a diameter of "caps" up to 2 meters, and smaller mushrooms - about 1 meter high. Over time, mushrooms are destroyed under the influence of erosion, but new ones appear.

At the end of 1893, Professor Mykola Holovkinsky found a complete skeleton of a mammoth here.

Not far from the pond, the remains of the "Shostak" estate of the Borozdiny noble family have been preserved.