Cave city Chufut-Kale in Crimea: history, features and location

The cave city ... Mysticism, phantasmagoria, close interweaving of fiction and reality, immersion into the atmosphere of time frozen in stone. These are just a few of the associations this word causes. But the cave city is not a fantasy notion, but a reality that has come down to us in a form that dismisses doubts. There is such a city in the Crimea, and it is called Chufut-Kale.

If you talk dry and monosyllabic, Chufut-Kale is a medieval fortress town located on a mountain plateau. It is a cultural heritage monument. The highest point above sea level is 581 m. The ancient city is at a height that has left more questions than answers, hundreds of tourists annually visit.

Chufut-Kale translated from Tatar means “Jewish fortress”. This name is used in the Soviet historical literature, and in the Russian-language works of the Karaite authors for more than a century and a half. But they called the ancient city in a different way, namely:

• Kyrk-Yer or Kyrk-Or, Chifut-Kalesi - these are the Crimean Tatar names of the cave city that existed during the time of the Crimean Khanate;
• Kale or Kalé - this is an authentic name referring to the Karaim-Crimean dialect used by the Karaites themselves;
• Sela Yuhudim - translated from Hebrew as "the rock of the Jews", this phrase could be found in Karaite literature until the middle of the XIX century, and in the second half of the next century it changed to Sela ha-Karaim;
• Chuft-Kale and Juft-Kale - These are later names, which from Turkic can be interpreted as a steam room or a double fortress.

For the habitat and village of people, this area fit perfectly: in itself a picturesque valley, a good supply of fresh water, a rock from a plateau. The city became a reliable shelter from enemies and invaders. And yet there is no exact, convincing information about when the city was formed. The excavations slightly clarified the situation: people lived here in the Neolithic era, later a tribe of Tauris settled here. But with urban planning there is no accuracy.

One of the historical theories suggests that around the 6th century, the Byzantines built a fortress on the mountain peak for the Alans, their allies. The settlement was named Fulla. And in the X century, there was a goto-Alanian principality, a partner of the Byzantine Empire. Qualitative information about this state has not been preserved, but there are references to the Tatars' raid in the third century and the plundering of the city by the Nagaya Horde in 1299.

After some time, the city briefly became the capital of the Crimean Khanate - and such a milestone was in its history. Here was the residence of Khan Naji Geraya. After some time, the capital was moved to Bakhchisarai, the Tatars began to leave the city. When the Tatars dominated here, prisoners were held in the city fortress by high-status prisoners. There was a mint here.

The loss of the Moscow power and the outflow of the local population led to the fact that only Karaites remained in the city. Their movement was regulated by Tatar laws. And from this very time the city became Chufut-Kale.This is not just "Jewish rock", it is "Jewish rock", to be precise - such an offensive tone is not accidental.

In 1774, Russians came here, and this was marked by another outflow of local residents. Krymchaks and Karaites began to leave the settlement, in the XIX century only the caretaker's family remained here. The city’s fame brought the bitter glory of a place for the detention of special prisoners of war.

Historians suggest that the prison was located in a cave complex in the quarter of the New City, which is located almost next to the Middle Fortress Line, near the abyss. So, the oprichnik Vasily Gryaznoy was taken on the Crimean border. While in custody, he corresponded with the ruler - with Ivan the Terrible. The Tatars talked about the exchange of Gryaznogo for Diveya Murza, the Crimean commander. And though Gryaznoy tearfully prayed for his release, the king saved him only in 1577.

Nikolai Pototsky was also in captivity, his prison life ended with the release after the battle of Korsun. Boyar Vasily Sheremetev also visited the fortress in Chufut-Kale. In conclusion, the prisoner spent 21 years, during his imprisonment four rulers were replaced. In 1681 the Bakhchisaray peace treaty was signed between the Crimean Khanate and Russia, the prisoners, including Sheremetev, were bought out. But the boyar lived in the wild for only a year - the health eaten by the prison made itself felt.

One of the historical mysteries is whether Catherine the Great was still in Chufut-Kale. Many experts are inclined to believe that the information about her arrival is erroneous, this is nothing more than a legend. But it is known for certain that these places were visited by prominent writers - Mitskevich, Griboedov, Zhukovsky, Lesia Ukrainka, Gorky, Tolstoy. James Aldridge and Andrey Bitov visited here.

We saw with my own eyes the cave city and artists Repin, Serov, Kramskoy. Today, most of the territory is in ruins. But many of the most interesting, extremely valuable objects were preserved not bad - the skeleton of a mosque, the mausoleum of Dzhanyke-Khanym, Karaite temples, a residential manor, some of them economic. If you are coming here as a tourist, you can be sure that the tour will not be a speculation on the scorched ashes of the once legendary place. There is something to see and what to impress.

The first destination is Bakhchisarai. By car or shuttle bus from here you can get to the station Starosel'e. There is a parking lot. From here begins the walking route, which is 1.5 km long. Just 10–15 minutes of march and you will approach the Holy Dormition Monastery, one of the famous shrines of the Crimea. Later, through Maryam-Dere, you will come to the notorious cave city.

The coordinates of the city on the map are 44 ° 44 ′ 25.44 ′ ′ N 33 ° 55 ′ 19.85 ′ ′ E. If you are worried about whether to go this far just for the sake of a cave city, mark them. Bakhchisaray district is interesting in itself.

The trail leading to Chufut-Kale is winding, naughty, steep. Travelers who decide to visit an amazing city in the shales or, even worse, in heels, risk not getting to their destination. Only sneakers or sneakers will not make the tour an execution. The trail will lead to the South entrance to the mound - this is a real oak gate, double-winged, covered with iron bands. The gate is called Kuchuk-Kapu, they are equipped in the southern wall of the fortress.

The very sight of this wall says: a real fortress, not subject to the invader, ready to defend possession with all the bitterness.

Outside the gate is waiting for a narrow and long corridor, resembling a bag (only stone). The enemy who got here was shelled by defenders. For lovers of ancient history, such a device of the fortress is familiar - this is the classical defensive system of ancient cities (and the medieval ones too).The road that starts outside the gate is paved with stone. She goes up from the gloomy tunnel. There in the bright light rises the primitive rock with potholes of caves.

And here, the tourist who has left on a platform, appears in the present cave world. 28 premises today is called the definition of "Christian monastery." But the fact that this was exactly there, is unknown. Even assuming that there was no church, no religious place here, Each of the 28 caves is interesting in itself. But the courtyard with the Karaite temples you will see further, and these are definitely temples - kenasy. Karaites honor the Torah, but their temples are different from synagogues.

This place definitely deserves a detailed description. The valley that heads south-east of Chufut-Kale is called Iosafatova (the analogy with Jerusalem is not accidental). In its upper reaches there is a large Karaite cemetery. Not a small graveyard, but hundreds of ancient tombstones. They are different in size and shape, they are shifted and even turned over, they were shackled with the roots of trees in their tight arms. And all this - randomly, but powerfully, occupies a huge territory.

Historians believe that the funeral rites for different segments of the population did not have significant differences, but the shape and size of the gravestones differed. On many monuments you can even disassemble epitaphs. Is it scary that some tourists come here as a place of power? Could there be a place for the last shelter? But if you do not cling to the words, then the Karaite cemetery is really energetically strong.

It was not leveled to the ground, it did not disappear into the whirlwind of history, but stands here and in our high-tech time as a living reminder that we are not the first on this earth, and that not the last. And there is in it some kind of simple, barely perceptible wisdom.

There are many mysteries that tourists have often described. And about the evil fate against those who tried to desecrate the cemetery, and about the amazing sites on its territory, which remained inexplicably clean when everything outside was covered with foliage. But the cases that someone came here with peace and respect, and the cemetery had a negative impact on him, did not occur anywhere else.

This is another interesting place. At the edge of the eastern cliff is this artifact, created in parallel with the city and related to its defensive structure. In the pithos and the cisterns, the water supplies were very modest, for a long time they, of course, did not know how to give the city water. In times of peace, the townspeople took water suitable for a ceramic plumbing system to the foot of the plateau.

In the rocky array craftsmen made a hole with four corners. Down the stairs of six marches, on each - the playground. And so they successfully diverged waterpots. And in the middle of the first march a rather big cave was cut down with, so to speak, a door. It is assumed that this was the place of the guards guarding the strategic object. And one more window was cut in the middle part of the descent to the precipice.

A thoughtful tourist is tormented by the question of how water was delivered here. And this is almost the greatest mystery of the Foothills. Although many researchers believe that in the 30s of the past century, the scientist Repnikov was able to explain the phenomenon. A specialist suggested that there could only be atmospheric moisture, which on the rock was represented by the usual night dew. As the sea is near, the daytime temperature is high, the air remained damp at night.

When the well ceased to function, it is precisely unknown. But, most likely, it happened during the period when the invaders managed to break through the outer wall of the fortress. She has ceased to be impregnable.A separate water source is lost. Although water still comes here, but in much more modest quantities. Experts do not advise to try it - the siege well is very dirty.

An Orthodox monastery in this area will also cause considerable interest. The accuracy of information about the history of its occurrence is not guaranteed, but it is believed that the temple was founded on the border of the 8th and 9th centuries, and that it was actually the center of Christian culture on the peninsula.

The Crimea, as we know, was then Protatar, Christians, to say the least, were oppressed. The taxes that they had to pay were virtually unaffordable. There was nothing for them to do but to hide in the mountain crevices from this injustice. Then for some time the monastery ceased to exist. But in the XIV century, a new stage of its existence began.

In the years of the Turkish invasion Assumption Monastery was listed as the residence of the Metropolitan Goths. There is an opinion that only in the 15th century a monastery was born. He survived not Russian-Turkish wars. In some years of wartime the hospital was located here, the dead were buried in the monastery cemetery.

But what ruined the life of the monastery, it was the arrival of Soviet power. And the bitter fate that befell many temples throughout Soviet territory could have been even more sad for the monastery. During the Great Patriotic War, a military hospital functioned here, and after the war a real psychiatric hospital opened here.

Inside the temple is very small, a lot of tourists. One group goes up, the other down. The temple has a very interesting ceiling - stone, it is obvious that it was diligently hewn, that it is covered with a special chisel. There is also a small room, an icon of the Mother of God of Bakhchisarai (Panagia) is kept there. The exterior of the monastery is no less impressive. Stone eaves hang majestically, icons - right on the rocks.

The so-called mausoleum of the XV century, which is actually completely preserved. It is considered a monument of architecture, located in the southeast of the city. This is the historical legacy of the Golden Horde. The territory that is adjacent to it, today is empty, but once there was a cemetery at this place. In 1437, Khan Tokhtamysh ordered the construction of a mausoleum in memory of his daughter Janik-Khanym.

Someone compares the fate of this girl with the Maid of Orleans, but no one specialist can tell you exactly the story of her life.

True, one interesting line is known and passed from word of mouth, although this is nothing more than a legend. During the siege of the city, Janik saved people: she, being thin as a reed, was the only one who could get to the well.

It is impossible to say that some object of the cave city may overshadow the others. No, a single, holistic impression is the city as a whole. The tourist gets to the square, which left traces of old, very old events - a mosque, a stone well, a Christian church. You will learn about the Karaites, who lived in isolation, in their neighborhood, engaged in crafts and farming. The large stone house of one of them, the chronicler and scientist Firkovich, still stands in the cave city.

Mint, artisan shops, printing houses - everything was here, and judging by the integrity of the buildings, it seems that it was yesterday. But centuries passed, and this is the most tremendous, bright, hardly realized impression of the ancient city: how is it possible that through the layers of centuries we have a house, the walls of which will not scatter from the touch of our palms.

It will be interesting to wander through the streets of the ancient city, trying to unravel its secrets, to decipher the messages of people who once lived here, to understand what kind of power that person had, that his trace was so obvious today. The streets of Chufut-Kale are perfectly preserved: but the way the sidewalks were done in ancient times is worth showing to many of today's builders. In a heavy downpour the water flows down the road but the traveler quietly walks along the stone sidewalk. That's for sure, done for ages.

The official site of the cultural-historical object informs that it is possible to organize a tour from 9 to 18 o'clock in the afternoon, the mode of operation of cash desks - until 17.00. There is also an announcement that every visitor should have a hat and a supply of drinking water with him: without this, an excursion is impossible. This is not a quay, but a rocky terrain, even if you did not come in the winter, but during the hot season, the shoes should be strong and closed - sneakers. Wear comfortable clothes.

You should not go here with small children: Rocks, mountains, pits and cliffs are dangerous for hindsight kids. The ticket price is around 200 rubles (full) and 100 (discount). You can drink and eat in the cave city, but only if you carry food and drink with you, and in any case do not litter.

Chufut-Kale is a stone relic of Crimea. For many tourists, an excursion here makes you think about important things, review your life, mission, life trail. Therefore, even from the point of view of energy recharging, a trip here will be useful. Finally, immersion in history is fascinating and, fortunately, accessible.

See how the cave city Chufut-Kale in Crimea looks like in the next video.