Attractions of Yevpatoriia

A monument to Ashyk Omer was erected in 2004 in his homeland in Yevpatoriia(former Hezlov).

Ashyk Omer (Umer) is an outstanding Crimean-Tatar poet of the Middle Ages. Traveling through the Ottoman Empire, he created works that entered the treasury of Crimean Tatar and world literature. During his life, he visited the territories of present-day Ukraine, Poland, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia, and Greece. The poet died in 1707 in Hezlov, where he was buried.

A monument to the work of the sculptor Oleksiy Shmakov was installed near the Dzhuma-Dzhami (Khan-Dzhami). Ashyk is depicted playing the saz, a folk Tatar instrument.

The largest and only preserved (reconstructed) city gate of the five that existed in medieval Gezlev (Kezlev).

Odun-bazar-kapusu (Gate of the Wood Bazaar) is located on the eastern side of the old city. Immediately behind them was the Wood Bazaar, hence the name.

The width of the gate is more than 12 meters, the length of the passage is 13.5 meters, and the height together with the gate tower is about 20 meters.

In 1959, the gate was demolished under the pretext that it obstructed traffic. The city gate was restored in 2003 based on the remains of the foundation, ancient images and descriptions. On the first floor you can see the preserved original masonry, on the second floor there is a Crimean Tatar cafe-museum "Kezlev Kavesi", on the third - the museum "Kezlev Gate" with a model of the medieval city. It is convenient to start a tour of the old town from here.

The monastery of wandering dervish monks (from the Turkic - "beggar") of the Sufi order "Mevlevi" (whirling dervishes) is the only monument in Crimea that represents the Sufi movement in Islam.

Sufism (from the Arabic "suf" - coarse woolen fabric, a sign of an ascetic) is a religious and philosophical doctrine about merging with the Almighty in ecstatic enlightenments. Dervishes hold their meetings with chants and dances, during which they fall into mystical ecstasy.

The Monastery is a domed hall with tiny cells located around it. Nearby is the Shukulay-Efendi mosque with a minaret (17th-19th centuries), as well as the former building of a madrasah (theological seminary), which now houses a cultural and ethnographic center and a museum of Crimean Tatar culture.

Khan's Mosque Dzhuma-Dzhami (Khan-Dzhami, Kezlev Mosque) - the largest and most magnificent Muslim temple in Crimea.

Founded in 1552 under Khan Devlet I Geray. The project of the mosque was commissioned by the khan in Istanbul to the outstanding Greek architect Khodzha Sinan, who built the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and many other magnificent temples.

Dzhuma-Dzhami (Friday Mosque) was named in honor of Good Friday as a cathedral temple in which all Crimean khans announced a firman - obtaining the right to the Crimean Khanate from the Turkish Sultan.

Over the years, the mosque has undergone repeated alterations, but still resembles the silhouette of Istanbul's Hagia Sophia. In 1962-1985, restoration was carried out and two minarets were restored, which collapsed at the beginning of the 19th century as a result of an earthquake.

During the Soviet era, the Dzhuma-Dzhami Mosque housed a museum of atheism. After Ukraine gained independence in 1990, the temple was returned to believers.

A complex of surprisingly beautiful prayer houses - kenases, the main spiritual center of the Crimean Karaites in Yevpatoriia.

Built in the early 19th century after a large community of Karaites moved to Yevpatoria from the cave city of Chufut-Kale.

The complex was designed by the Babovych brothers and consists of the buildings of the Great (Cathedral) Kenas and Small Kenas, a religious school (midrash), a charitable dining room, a farmyard and several elegant courtyards.

In Soviet times, various institutions were located here: a museum of atheism, sports clubs, a local history museum and others.

After Ukraine gained independence, the kenas were returned to believers and opened for tourists to explore - a museum of Karaite culture and a cafe of Karaite cuisine are located here.

The Yevpatoriian pyramid is a small glass structure that has become a modern business card of the city.

The archeological complex "Northwestern Suburb of the Ancient City of Kerkinitida of the 5th - 2nd centuries BC" is covered with a transparent dome. Most of ancient Kerkinitida was located on the current territory of the sanatorium of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, so only a small fragment of the ruins has survived. The excavation is the remains of the western defensive wall of Kerkinitida, residential premises, a round tower with a slab battlement and an altar, which were located outside the city.

Every year, in the summer, various exhibitions of archeology items from the museum's collections are arranged inside the pyramid, which complement the archaeological complex.

The Turkish bath complex in Yevpatoriia was built in the 16th century. It is one of the five baths (hamams) of medieval Hezlev, which at that time were a kind of clubs where people went to socialize.

The baths consist of parallel male and female sections, to which are adjacent rooms for water supply and heating. Water was supplied using underground galleries (kyariz).

Until 1987, the bath remained functional, and only in recent years the premises have been destroyed, the unique marble has been removed from the walls and floor, and the copper taps have disappeared.

The Yehiya-Kapay Crafts Synagogue was founded in Yevpatoriia in 1912.

The building was built according to the project of the architect Adam Henrikh in the form of a basilica. The facade of the synagogue depicts biblical symbols: the ark with the tablets on which the Ten Commandments are carved, and the sacrificial tripod that Moses placed in the sanctuary near Mount Sinai.

The construction of the synagogue was carried out with funds allocated by the Yevpatoriia City Duma for the needs of the Jewish community of craftsmen, who also participated in the financing.

Currently, the Yehiya-Kapay synagogue has been restored, and a Jewish cultural and ethnographic center with a craft production has been opened on its territory, which includes a kosher cafe-museum, and master classes for potters, coiners, soapmakers, and others are held.