Traveling around the Crimea led me to one very interesting place. This place is called Chufut-Kale.
This is the rock on which was once a city-state. Near this city were ancient cave settlements. Primitive people lived in them. And later the nationalities inhabiting the Crimean peninsula lived.
This place is located in the district of Bakhchisaray. In these places, its own specific culture is still preserved. These are Tatar traditions, faith, lifestyle.
I have already been to the city of Bakhchisarai, however, for some reason I did not reach the famous place of Chufut-Kale.
This time Chufut-Kale was my goal.
In the first photo in the article, you can see something like a cave. This is one of the niches in the rock, which at one time was a residential building. Along the entire huge rock made of soft stone, you can see small caves that resemble rooms in a skyscraper. Now everything is in poor condition, as dampness and time do their job and destroy the stone. Tourists are not recommended to climb into these rooms, as there can be collapses and tragedy can happen.
But the point is that people once lived in these rocks, many, many hundreds of years ago, and it is surprising that today you can see and imagine the life of cavemen.
The beginning of the road to the old town of Chufut-Kale begins from the moment I left the car in the free parking lot. Since the route promised to be long, we decided to have a snack in front of the road.
We sat in the shade of trees in a local pleasant restaurant, decorated in the Tatar style. Around the valley, in which there was a restaurant and parking, there were old mountains. These are not high cliffs that look very impressive.
From the restaurant table, I took some photos. Facility wall, mountains, blue sky. Everything is very bright and beautiful.
And then there was a rather long route through a cave Orthodox monastery, through an old cemetery and a long stone road to the ancient city of Chufut-Kale.
It is interesting that the Orthodox cave monastery in these places is famous for being as close to the Muslim shrine as possible.
Despite the confrontation of the churches, this monastery is respected by Muslims. As I understand it, there is an old legend that tells how exactly this monastery gained such a reaction from Muslims.
I did not hear the legend itself, as I accidentally overheard part of the priest’s conversation in the monastery, but I will try to find out the details and tell you.
And then there was an ascent to the walls of Chufut-Kale.
This ancient city was located on a large rock and the entrance to it was only on one side, through a large gate. Only residents of the city could enter this gate. Even merchants were not allowed into the city, as residents were afraid of thieves and diseases.
From the cliff of the city offers a beautiful view. One can see how high and impregnable the city is.
The inhabitants of this city were called Karaites. This nationality is mostly lost, then there are still places in the world where Karaites live. Such places are in the Crimea in the region of Evpatoria, in western Ukraine and in some places.
When I walked along the ancient streets of Chufut-kale, I had the feeling that I was somewhere in Italy and wandering along the streets of Pompeii. Pavements with traces of wheels that remained in the stone forever, old houses, stone buildings.
Many have already been lost forever, but still there is a feeling of touching history and eternity.
