Sightseeing

“The Cave Cities”

In the mountainous part of the Crimea , near Sevastopol one can find a lot of interesting relics of the Middle Ages - “the cave cities”. It is the ruins of cities, fortresses, cloisters. Besides the natural caves there are many man-made caves, carved in the rocks.

Each city has its own history and destiny.

Mangup-Kale

It is one of the most famous “cave cities” of the Crimea , the former capital of the powerful Christian principality Feodoro. The first fortress structures were erected in the VI-VII centuries. But the destiny of this principality is rather tragic. In the July of the 1475 the Turkish forces attacked the city and within half a year they captured it.

Eski-Kermen (the old Fortress)

Appeared at the end of the VI century. It was a dig trade center and had a lot of defensives. However, at the end of the XIII century Eski-Kermen was destroyed by the Horde.

While visiting “the cave cities” you will have a unique opportunity to see the tower, defensive wall, the fortress at Mangup-Kale, the cave temple “3 riders”, the siege well and a lot more.

Fortress Kalamita

It is situated in Inkerman, high above the road. You can see the ruins of the ancient fortress structures very clearly, and in the lower part of the rock you can see the ruins of the Christian cave cloister. It is a part of Khersoness historical-archeological national park.

Kalamita – is one of the most interesting relics of the medieval Crimea . The total area is 1500 square meters. Kalamita appeared in the VI century. This fortress is likely to have been built to protect their trade tracks.

In 1475 Feodoro was destroyed by the Turks. In order to strengthen their positions at the seashore of Black Sea , Sea of Azov , the Turkish conquerors erected here new fortresses and rebuilt the old ones. They also rebuilt Kalamita, adapting it for using fire-arms. They had been controlling the fortress for quite a long time. The Turks changed its name into Inkerman, which means “the cave fortress”. It can be easily explained: the rock, on which the fortification is situated, is carved with numerous caves. Some of them had a military meaning, the other were used as economical, religious and living quarters.

The Genoese fortress Chembalo :

In the middle of the XIV century the Genoese settled down in The Symbols Harbor (Buchta Simvolov). Their fortress is rising above the fortress wall that dominates the entrance of the Balaklavskaya Harbor . In 1475 Chembalo was captured by the Turks. They gave a new name – Balak-Yuve ( Balaklava ). This means “the fish nest”. This fortress is also used to be a place, where the deposed Tatar khans were exiled to.

The Khersonesskiy Bell:

The Bell is situated in the Khersonesskiy national Park. It is famous both for its majesty and for its history.

After the First Sevastopol Defense everything that could be regarded as a trophy was removed, taken out. Unfortunately, 13 bells of the Sevastopol ’s churches didn’t have a chance to escape from it. In 1913 of these bells was found out in the famous Cathedral – Notre Dame de Paris.

The French consul in Sevastopol suggested returning it back. On the 23 rd of November The Bell arrived at Sevastopol .

Malakhov Kurgan (Barrow):

There are more than 20 monuments in the barrow. The defense tower of Malakhov Kurgan is one of the few fortification structures of the middle of the XIX century that came off unhurt in Sevastopol .

In 1963 an exposition opened, telling about the events that took place during The Crimean and the Great Patriotic War.

There is a communal grave in the barrow. Russian and French soldiers are buried there. You can also see The Defense Tower, which is the fortification structure of the first half of the XIX century. Above the barrow there is a monument to the admiral Kornilov. In the memory of the events of 1941-42 there is a monument to the flyers of the 8 th Air Force, killed during the release of Sevastopol .

The museum in the Defense Tower is open from 9am to 4pm .

Address: Malakhov Kurgan

Tel: (0692) 36-67-51, 54-29-26

Khersoness:

Khersones is the historical and archeological national park. It is well known all over the world. In 1996 according to the resolution of UNESCO Khersones was put in the list of the most outstanding relics of the world culture.

Archeological dig discovered a city that was a great political, economic and cultural center of the North Black Sea coast.

Khersones used to be a Greek colony, founded in 422-421 B.C. It is situated in the south-western part of the Crimea . Khersones is very popular; it is visited by tens of thousands each year. There is a great number of masterpieces, handicrafts, implements that draw the tourists’ attention.

Tourists can get acquainted with the city area, walk down the main street, to stroll about the streets, to see the ruins of the ancient city and the great defensives.

Khersones will certainly produce a great impression on you.

Address: Drevnyaya Street , 1.

Tel: (0692) 24-14-15, 24-13-01.