The cave city of Chufut-Kale in Crimea is one of the most interesting places on its territory, overshadowing all the numerous ones that the peninsula is so famous for. Due to its good preservation and wide popularity, for many decades it has been the subject of close attention not only of tourists, but also of scientists who are discovering new details of its existence.

Most of the preserved monuments of ancient architecture located here are of great value and marks a whole era in the history of Crimea, making it an indispensable link in the development of local cultures and peoples. Now it is one of the most visited tourist sites in the Bakhchisarai region, except perhaps where it is never deserted and even more boring.

Where is the complex of caves in the Crimea?

The historical object is located in the southern part of the peninsula, on the southwestern tip of the Crimean Mountains. It is located 2.5 km from Bakhchisarai and 58 km from, near Staroselye. Spread out quite nearby.

Chufut-Kale on the map of Crimea

The emergence and significance of the cave city

History knows many transformations and unexpected turns. One of them is a recent discovery, when scientists managed to establish that the current tourist site is the ancient fortress of Fulla, for a long time thought to be the invention of ancient authors. In the photo, the cave city of Chufut-Kale is now calm and serene, but hundreds of years ago it was the scene of fierce battles and political events that played essential role in the history of the entire Crimea.

The exact time of the founding of the fortress city is not exactly clear, presumably it is the 5th century AD, but in reality it may be several centuries older. It is only known that in the V-VI centuries. inhabited mainly by the Alans, it became a stumbling block for the advance of the Byzantines to the north, preventing them from conquering the entire territory of the peninsula. During this period, under the name of Fulla, it was widely known from the written sources of Chersonesos, but with the decline of the latter, the legendary outpost of the sketes, Goths and Alans who lived in it also disappeared from the pages of history.

After more than half a millennium of oblivion and obscurity, Chufut-Kale resurfaced in the 12th century as Kyrk-Er, the capital of the Kypchak principality of the same name, who fought for independence against the khans of the Golden Horde. In 1299, it was captured and plundered by the Horde Emir Nogai, it was not destroyed, but after the conquest it began to rapidly decline, and its population began to decline rapidly. It is not entirely clear why the Kypchaks began to leave Kyrk-Er, but after 50 years, the majority of its inhabitants were already Karaites, who settled here with the permission of Khan Dzhanybek.

The cave city of Chufut-Kale in the Crimea reached its greatest significance and flourishing in the 15th century, when, under Hadji Giray I, it became the capital of the Crimean Yurt in 1421, and in 1428 of a khanate independent of the Horde. But at the same time, throughout the century, it remained the scene of a bloody struggle for power between different representatives of the Girey dynasty, until in 1502 Mengli Girey I transferred the residence to the one he founded. This is where the greatness of the cave settlement ended, but nevertheless, for several centuries it was considered the most important of the Khan's fortresses, although the Karaites remained the main population here. How locality it ceased to exist in the second half of the 19th century, when the last inhabitants finally left it.

Why is Chufut-Kale interesting to visit?

Now the cave fortress is a real treasury for archaeologists on the one hand and tourists on the other. Numerous, perfectly preserved internal and ground structures of Chufut-Kale are like a stone history book ancient city. According to the types of buildings and a clear layout, you can easily determine all periods of its development, rises, falls and the predominance of ethnic groups that lived here.

In the southern part of the city complex there are the oldest traces of human presence here, dating back to the first centuries of our era. Most of these are cave structures, where it is easy to distinguish the features of temples, residential and utility rooms. In total, these are more than 150 caves and grottoes of various sizes and shapes, also distinguished by the thoroughness of the processing of walls and openings.

All these rooms look like honeycombs, as they are carved into the rock one above the other in several levels, somewhat reminiscent of apartment buildings. Archaeologists talk about the presence of ground structures in this place, but they are all destroyed to the ground, the only intact building is the Nenekejan-Khanym Mausoleum, built a thousand years later than the cave ridge.

In the eastern part, there are later buildings dating back to the 14th-18th centuries, mostly above ground, mainly residential buildings and Karaite kenasses. New town separated from the old strong fortress wall,
reaching 10 m in height - with four massive, dilapidated towers and arched gates of Orta Kapu.

Among, relatively speaking, new ones there are also much more ancient structures, such as a mysterious burial, consisting of multi-ton stone slabs. But the most striking attraction of the cave city of Chufut-Kale is not unreasonably considered the Mausoleum of Dzhanyke-khanym, where the ashes of the daughter of Khan Tokhtamysh rest.

I told you about the palace of the Crimean khans in Bakhchisarai and about the love story that happened there and which shocked “our everything” Pushkin so much that he wrote his own poem about it - “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”.

But the glorious city of Bakhchisaray may surprise you with another interesting place. This is the cave city of Chufut-Kale. You can (and should) walk to it from the Khan's palace. Here's how we did it.

Cave city of Chufut-Kale.

Leaving the Khan's Palace, we go on foot to the following sights of Bakhchisaray. Also located near the city Holy Dormition monastery And medieval fortress Chufut-Kale .

On the way, I try to take photos in time to at least a little feel the atmosphere of the place. This is the minus of organized excursions - you cannot “hang out” in some place you like, consider everything more closely.

So, I literally run into a souvenir shop for a couple of minutes, but I don’t have time to see even half of the goods. Just take a couple of shots:


And still managed to lag behind the guide. My husband drags me out of the gift shop outside and we run after the group. In general, it was possible not to hurry too much. If you are already in the Khan's palace, then you are unlikely to get lost further. In that direction - to Chufut-Kala - there are a lot of people. The fact is that there is another important place on the way to Chufut-Kale, this Holy Dormition Cave Monastery b.


We leave the monastery on the way back. Because clouds are gathering in the sky, and a fine rain has begun to drizzle. Therefore, we strive to get to Chufut-Kale as soon as possible, before the weather deteriorates at all.

Having passed the monastic estates, we continue to walk uphill in the drizzling rain. The asphalt path ends, and then the road turns into a rocky path.


Therefore, my friendly advice to you, citizens and especially citizens - wear not just comfortable, but well-fitting shoes . No slates - beat your fingers on the rocks! No heels or platforms, otherwise you are guaranteed to sprain your ankles. Only sneakers and others like them.

On both sides of the trail, ubiquitous tents with souvenirs huddle. But it's better to look under your feet ... Walking along such a path, according to my feelings, is not more than a kilometer.

After that, we get to an open plateau:


And here the outlines of the cave city are already visible. Therefore, curiosity makes us walk more cheerfully. Meanwhile, the rain keeps getting worse. And some of the ladies from our group, unable to endure the hardships of the rocky path, turn back - their shoes are clearly not suitable for such a walk ...

And we are already approaching the South Gate, behind which lies a whole world of underground and ground structures... Once upon a time, enemy soldiers, falling on a narrow patch in front of the gate, found themselves at a glance for the defenders of the fortress and fell under their aimed fire... But that was once upon a time , and now there is a ticket office outside the gate and you can enter Chufut-Kale quite calmly by buying a ticket for 200 rubles.


City `s history.

I will not bore you with a detailed retelling of the centuries-old history of Chufut-Kale, friends. But still, a few words about how this city arose and what events took place in it, it’s worth saying. Because without this it will not be clear what kind of place and why many tourists strive to get into it.

Some believe that the city arose in the 5th-6th centuries as a fortified settlement on the border of Byzantine possessions. According to others, a fortified settlement arose here in the 10th-11th centuries. In any case, despite its ancient age, this cave city is the best preserved of all similar cities in the Crimea.

The earliest written sources that report it date only to the 13th-17th centuries. At this time, the fortification bears a Turkic name and is called Kyrk-Yer (“the land of the kyrk family”, Turk.), or Kyrk-Or ( "Forty Fortifications", Türk.), or, it is possible, Kyrk-Er ( "forty clefts", Turk.). The Karaites, who consider Chufut-Kale their family nest, find the most correct name Juft-Kale ("double fortress", Turk.; options: Chuft-Kale, Chift-Kale). However, on maps and in books, in most cases, a distorted in spelling and meaning, in fact, an erroneous version of the toponym is recorded - Chufut-Kale ("Jewish fortress", Turk.)

At an early stage of the existence of the city, its main population was the Alans - the most powerful of the late Sarmatian tribes of Iranian origin. They began to penetrate into the Crimea from the II century. n. e. Having settled in the mountainous Crimea, the Alans adopted Christianity. In 1299, the Tatar horde of Emir Nogai made another raid on Crimean peninsula. Among other plundered cities was Kyrk-Or. Having captured the city, the Tatars placed their garrison in it. At the turn of the XIV-XV centuries. In front of the eastern line of fortifications, the Tatars settled Karaites-artisans, who built a second defensive wall to protect their settlement. Thus a new part of the city was born.


The first Crimean Khan Hadji Giray , having appreciated the fortress, in the XV century. turned the old part of the city into his fortified residence. She later sheltered the khans during civil strife, was a safe haven during their struggle with the Golden Horde for independence. After the defeat of the Golden Horde, the Crimean Khanate became noticeably stronger, and the importance of Kyrk-Ora as a fortress fell, the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey moved to the new capital - Bakhchisarai. Old city remained a kind of citadel of Bakhchisarai and a place of imprisonment of noble captives.

After the departure of the Tatars, the Karaites lived here for more than 200 years. Having adopted the Jewish religion, the Karaites were followers of the Hebrew Old Testament Bible. Over time, the word "Karaim" became an ethnonym - the name of the nation.

After the conquest of the Crimea and its incorporation into Russia, the Karaites declared themselves to be its adherents. The tsarist government allowed the Karaites to live throughout the empire. Since that time, Chufut-Kale began to empty. The inhabitants left the plateau with its harsh living conditions and moved to Bakhchisaray, Evpatoria and other cities. So by the middle of the XIX century. the city was completely deserted.

However, architectural monuments reflecting various stages of the history of this city are still preserved on Chufut-Kale.

And under the intensifying rain, we went to inspect them. First of all, the caves were subjected to our inspection (after all, this is a cave city!). Feel yourself cavemen everyone wished. It looked something like this:



One-room cave - "small family", apparently:


It's fun to climb caves, I tell you. But as soon as you get out of the first caves and go further, up the cobbled street, there is something to see there too…

In fact, quite civilized buildings have been preserved here.

One of these buildings is kenasses. Kenassa is a Karaite prayer house, i.e. church for us. This is how she looks.


We go into the courtyard:


Further on our way we meet mosque ruins . During its history, Crimea many times left the influence of some peoples and fell under the influence of others. Therefore, on the same piece of land you can see traces of different civilizations and cultures. From the mosque there were pieces of walls and places where there were columns.


At this time, the rain poured like a bucket, and the best thing that the aunt-guide could come up with for our group was to hide under the arches of the mausoleum-tomb. To wait out the rain and find out the story of a great woman who was buried in this tomb.

The story of Dzhanyke-khanym, the Crimean Joan of Arc


Mausoleum Dzhanyke-khanym (and in the photo it is he) is a monumental octagonal structure with a high portal. In the depths of the mausoleum, on a stepped elevation, there is a tomb with Arabic script: “This is the tomb of the famous empress Nenekejan-khanym, daughter of Tokhtamysh-Khan, who died in the month of Ramadan 841 Khizra” (1437-38). According to the accepted legend Dzhanyke-khanym was the head of the thousandth garrison of the cave city and died defending the city during the siege. On the site of the death of his daughter, Tokhtamysh Khan erected a mausoleum.

There are also real story this woman. There is less pathos and lyrics in it, but it is more clear from it how this woman deserved respect for herself. And this is the story.

The owner of Kyrk-Ora, Khadzhibek Khan of Kirkelsky, being a vassal of the Golden Horde, married his daughter Togaybek to the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh. She became his third wife, and from this marriage was born Dzhanyke (Nanykejan). Around 1397, Tokhtamysh Khan gave his young daughter to the emir of the White Horde, the founder of the Nogai Horde, Edygeya . He was destined for a great future. But Edygei, the hope and support of Tokhtamysh, betrayed his loving father-in-law, going over to the side of the former patron of his father-in-law, Timur. In a fit of rage, Tokhtamysh killed his no less beloved Togaybek, Janyke's mother.

The grown-up Dzhanyke made a pilgrimage to Mecca with a magnificent retinue in 1416 and became a famous person in the Muslim world (yes, nothing changes, friends, under the Moon: “light up” in time in a cult place - and you are a star, as they say). In 1420, the son of Tokhtamysh and the beloved brother of Dzhanyke, Kady-Berdy-Khan led troops through Itil (Volga) to Edygeya. The battle took place on the river. Yaik. Both commanders did not return from the battlefield.

Dzhanyke-khanym remains the eldest in the Tokhtamysh family, thereby gaining independence and political weight, as they would say now. But she did not fight for power in the Horde, but, being the ruler of Kyrk-Ora, she used her political influence to ensure that the Crimean ulus of the Golden Horde became an independent state. Without claiming power, she far-sightedly supported Khadzhi-Girey, who became the founder of the Crimean Khanate, the ancestor of the Girey dynasty, who transferred his residence from Solkhat to Kyrk-Or. Here, in the capital of the newly created Crimean Khanate, Dzhanyke-Khanum died at the age of fifty. extra years in 1437. She was buried with the honors of the great empress.

This is the story we heard in the silence of the vaults of her mausoleum. But our tourist group did not disturb the peace of this lady in any way: by clearing and opening the crypt in 1940, it was established that the tomb had been devastated more than once, so no burial was found in it.

So much for the role of the individual in history. And the role of the Muslim wife in the history of the whole city. So, there are women in any villages ...

And meanwhile the rain subsided. And we went further to explore Chufut-Kale. Fortunately, the road that led further allowed this to be done - a normal sidewalk rose above the roadway, along which a muddy stream was rushing! Take an example, mayors of modern cities!


Soon an arch appeared before us. This arch is located in the middle defensive wall.


The wall divides the city into old and new. Well, okay. that this is all conditional.

On the right, you can again see some kind of well-preserved structure. This is the estate of Firkovich. Comrade Abraham Firkovich was a famous Karaite historian and archaeologist.


Firkovich lived here until the middle of the 19th century, but after him the caretaker of Chufut-Kale lived here.

You can look behind the wall and there is such a wonderful view.


Well, the real surprise of this day was for us a musical break in one of the stone dungeons:


We went down there with the whole group, drawn by the sounds of gentle music ... It seemed as if this cunning spirit of the dungeon was luring us into its possessions. But everything turned out to be much more interesting: in the underground room we were met by a nice guy with an unusual guitar, from which he extracted such melodic sounds...


The acoustics in the room are perfect, oddly enough. Because in fact it is the basement of one of the wealthy houses, albeit with three windows. We stand spellbound, listen to music, everyone thinks about his own. The energy of the place penetrates the thoughts. No fuss. Nothing extra in my head. Only thoughts of eternity...

Moreover, the view from the windows of this very basement is very impressive ... And the basement itself is rather big, two-tiered.


It seems to me that they didn’t store vegetables from the beds here ... Right now I see it clearly: vessels with Crimean wine are standing along the walls, and in the late afternoon, quietly slipping away from all household members, the owner of the house sits here with a couple of true friends and discusses the latest city news ...

After walking through the dungeons, we climbed up.


Another tourist group was walking towards the mausoleum (apparently, they were also waiting out the rain somewhere ...) Well, after drinking hot tea with Crimean herbs from a thermos, we move back to the South Gate.

And there we also came across such an unusual group of “tourists”:


But this couple lagged behind all:


Apparently they lingered, taking a “selfie” against the background of the caves)))

In general, Chufut-Kale impressed us. The place, of course, is very energetically charged. If it were not for the time of departure of the tour bus, we would have wandered here longer.

Now our path lay in the Holy Dormition Cave Monastery.

Holy Dormition Cave Monastery.

So, the Orthodox monastery. Again, there are several versions about the time of its foundation. According to one version, it was founded on the border of the 8th and 9th centuries and was practically the center of Christianity in the Crimea. At that time, the Crimea was under Tatar influence, the Christians had a very difficult time, they were oppressed in every possible way, they were subjected to huge unbearable taxes. And they took refuge from this oppression in mountain crevices. Then for some time the monastery stopped its activity, but in the 14th century it was revived. Having escaped destruction during the Turkish invasion, the Assumption Monastery became the residence of the Metropolitans of Goth. However, the financial situation of the monastery was disastrous, which forced him to seek help from the Moscow Grand Dukes and Tsars. And since the 15th century

Others believe that the hundred monastery appeared somewhere in the 15th century. But be that as it may, the Assumption Monastery was the main stronghold of the religious life of the Orthodox population of Crimea, from the 15th century until the 18th century. He successfully survived Russian-Turkish wars. In the Crimean War in 1854-1855, a hospital was located in the cells, the house of pilgrims and other buildings of the monastery. Those who died from wounds were buried in the monastery cemetery.

But he did not escape from Soviet power. As the primary sources say, "in 1921 the monastery was closed, the property was looted, the monks were shot." Who would doubt ... During Patriotic War a military hospital was placed on the territory of the Assumption Monastery, and after the war a real psychiatric hospital was opened. And only in 1993 the monastery was revived again.

In order to see the monastery itself, you will have to work a little - there is a steep staircase going up. But the view from there is quite worthy:


We did not take photos inside, it is forbidden there. But I will describe. Inside the temple is very small. There are a lot of people. One stream goes up, inside the temple, the other down - to the exit. The main building of the temple is small. I was struck by the ceiling of this small room: it is stone, and it is clear that it was zealously hewn, since it is all dotted with some kind of special chisel. Right in the center, of course, is the iconostasis, and behind it is the altar. And if you look to the right, there is a small room where the icon of the Mother of God of Bakhchisarai, called Panagia, is located.

People went there one by one, silently stood at the icon and left silently. And right here, at the exit from the room, a nimble granny was sitting and asking each (!) Person for a donation. Honestly, it freaked me out. She would sit silently, or somewhere already on the descent, and you look - it would not be so ... I can’t find the right word ... Deliberately, or something ... And so, a person comes out, immersed in his thoughts, and then he is across the road - Give it to the temple! Such straightforwardness somehow jarred me ... Or am I too sensitive?


In general, I was more impressed by the appearance of the monastery. Overhanging stone cornices, icons painted right on the rocks… This was the last shooting point. We take a couple of photos (and we don’t have time for more). And we go back to the parking lot of our bus.

There is also a parking lot for numerous cars, a cafe and even a hotel.


And we prudently ordered lunch in one of these cafes. Which is ready for our return. We wish ourselves a pleasant appetite (and we have no problems with this after a 3-hour walk in the rain!) And we start eating


We head back full and happy. The bus moves smoothly, the guide tells ... I fall into a dream.

In general, let's summarize this excursion. Chufut-Kale is definitely worth seeing. Climbing up the mountain is not so scary (after it seemed to me to be an easy walk), only with very young children, it’s probably not worth climbing up there. Even though kids are different...

The impression about the monastery was somehow formed according to the residual principle. Well, given that we also watched in the morning, this is understandable - there is an emotional overload.

But in general, the Crimea continued to surprise, conquer us with its beauties and ... Stop. More on that in the next posts. On this note, I will end my story.

See you on the blog!

(translated from the Crimean Tatar means "Jewish fortress") - one of several cave cities of Gorny, which is located east of Bakhchisaray on a rocky plateau directly above the Assumption Monastery. Chufut-Kale resembles a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by high cliffs (up to 30 m), and you can go there only from one side - along a forest road uphill past the Tatar cemetery (1.5 km).

Historians traditionally date the beginning of the settlement to the 6th century, when the Alans settled here - archaeologists unearthed their burial grounds with characteristic deformed skulls in 1946–1948. They, as it were, guarded the Byzantine cities on the coast from nomads. In the XIII century the city was taken by the Tatars after a long siege and named Kyrk-Or. In 1441-1501, it was Chufut-Kale that was the residence of the khan, then it was moved to Salachik, that is, down, and only in 1532 Bakhchisarai, located 3 km to the west, became the capital. The main history of Chufut-Kale, however, is associated with the exclusive Crimean ethnic group - the Karaites. It was they who gave the city the name Chufut-Kale and stayed here to live after the departure of the Tatars until the middle of the 19th century.

Tourists enter the "Jewish fortress" through the Small Gate ( early XVI century). They were also called "secret", since they are not visible until you come close to them. In addition, they were a trap for the enemy: from the outside, the approach to them was covered by a defensive wall, and after the gate, the enemies found themselves in a narrow corridor carved into the rock, over which the defenders of the fortress were located. Entering the city, you will see the caves arranged in three tiers. To the left of the gate is the unique Tik-Kuyu well, discovered in 2000. This underground hydraulic structure has no analogues in the world - a 120 m long limestone gallery leads to a depth of 25 m. There you can get acquainted with the exposition of archaeological finds.

The center of Chufut-Kale is an area where you can see the ruins of a mosque, a catchment well and a durbe Janyke-khanym. A catchment well is a reservoir carved into the rock where rain and melt water is collected. The mosque was built in 1346 during the reign of Janibek Khan, most likely on the foundation of an early Christian church. A little to the left is the mausoleum-durbe Dzhanyke-khanym (1437), the daughter of Khan Tokhtamysh and the wife of the Nogai Khan Edigei. Legends say that Dzhanyke died, bravely defending the fortress from enemies, and Tokhtamysh himself ordered the construction of a tomb, another - that she fell in love with a Genoese, was pursued by her father and threw herself into the abyss.

  • secret gate
  • Tik-Kuyu well
  • Mausoleum-durbe Janyke-khanym

Important

  • Climbing a mountain takes time and stamina, so it's best to stock up on enough water beforehand.
  • In front of the Assumption Cave Monastery, they sell original oat kvass.

Information

Address: Chufut-Kale, 2.5 km east of Bakhchisaray, 37 km from Simferopol

Working hours: Mon-Sun 09.00-17.00

Price: 190 rub. adult ticket, 95 rubles. children's

cafe "Chufut-Kale" at the final stop

How to get there: minibus before climbing to Chufut-Kale and the cave monastery by train or bus to Bakhchisarai (1.5 hours), then march. 2 from the railway station to the terminus, then walk up the road up through the Assumption Cave Monastery (3 km)

The cave city of Chufut-Kale is one of the oldest Crimean sights. This place is truly unique, because many caves here are created by nature. An excursion to Chufut-Kale is not an easy one, as the city is located on a mountain and is surrounded by cliffs on three sides. To get here, you will have to try, but the dug-out city in the Crimea is worth it.

Chufut-Kale - the most visited cave city of Crimea

Today, the name Chufut-Kale (translated from Tatar - Judaic fortress) is on everyone's lips. But not everyone knows that the fortress was not always called that way. It is not known for certain when Chufut-Kale was founded, some sources mention the 6th century, others - the 11th. Here's what historians have found out.

Times of the Crimean Khanate:

  • 11th century (second half) - the fortress was owned by the Kypchaks, who gave it the name Kyrk-Er.
  • 1299 - the Tatars conquered the city, renaming it Kyrk-Or.
  • XII-XIV centuries - housed the garrison of the Crimean ulus, once a member of the Golden Horde. At the beginning of the 14th century, a mosque was built from Prokonesse marble.
  • 15th century - the fortress received the status of the first capital of the Crimean Khanate. After that, a khan's palace, a madrasah and a mosque were built here. According to some sources, the mint appeared in this period, where coins were minted from silver.
  • Mid 17th century - the status of the capital was lost, the fortress passed to the Karaites and was named Kale, over time the name Chufut-Kale appeared, and after the construction of the defensive system - Juft-Kale.

Times of the Russian Empire

  • During the reign of Anna Ioannovna - Bakhchisaray was captured by the Russians and Chufut-Kale was destroyed.
  • The period of the reunification of the Crimea with Russian Empire- the ban on the residence of Karaites and Krymchaks was lifted, so people left the citadel en masse.
  • End of the 19th century - everyone left the fortress, except for the caretaker's family.
  • 1874 - from that time the fortress was completely empty.

Modernity:

Ruins - that's what it is today dead city Chufut-Kale, except for a few buildings that managed to "survive". But this does not in the least affect the demand for a place as a tourist site. Excursions to Chufut-Kale are popular because it is interesting to wander through its caves. In addition, a picturesque panorama of the surroundings opens from the mountain (height above sea level - 558 m), and nearby, 3 km away, is the Bakhchisaray Khan's Palace.

Is Chufut-Kale protected by UNESCO? So far, there is no official information regarding the inclusion of this cave city in the list of protected sites. But he is already on the list of candidates for entry. It is not known when the issue will be finally resolved, because it may take 15 years to approve the lists.

Cave city photo:

The ancient city of Chufut-Kale is located at an altitude of about 600 m above sea level.

Where is the cave city and how to get here by car

The location of the attraction is Bakhchisaray, which can be reached from any Crimean resort, the vicinity of the village of Starolesye.

Chufut-Kale on the map of Crimea:

Chufut-Kale is located at a distance of 2.5 km from Bakhchisarai

If getting to public transport from Bakhchisaray, then you need to go to the final stop "Starolesye", and then go on foot, using tourist signs.

If you go by car to Chufut-Kale, you still have to walk part of the way. First, the course should also be taken to the above stop. There is a car park where you can leave your car, as a 1.5-kilometer walking route begins further. First interesting place, which will meet along the way - the gorge Maryam-Dere. It stretched for about two kilometers in length and half a kilometer in width. The place is spacious, so quite a lot of buildings fit here: a madrasah, as well as a cemetery, a monastery for the Orthodox, a Muslim mausoleum and 2 necropolises. The next point of the excursion, which deserves attention, is the Assumption Monastery. On the left side of the road in the valley you can see the tomb of Hadji Giray, who founded the Crimean Khanate. Behind the monastery, the road leads to a walnut grove, and then it remains to overcome the Maryam-Dere beam and get ready to climb the mountain, where the entrance to the city is located.

Walk through the cave city

Tours start from the Small (South) gate with massive oak doors, to which a paved road leads, which is rather destroyed. Small gates are located in such a way that they are not visible from the road. You can only see them if you are right in front of them.

The second entrance is through the Upper Gate, where tourists are met by a guard. This path is suitable for those who do not want to overcome the pedestrian route and climb the rather steep slope to the South Gate. Tickets can be bought at the box office located at both gates.

How much does the entrance to Chufut-Kale cost? Ticket prices are shown in the table (prices are in rubles for the period from April 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017):

For adultsFor children aged 16-18 and studentsFor pensionersPrivate tour service
Entrance200 100 150 -
Excursion100 100 100 1500 (group up to 10 people)
Total:300 200 250 -

The object can be visited from 9 am to 4 pm. Excursion service is optional, except for children's organized groups under the age of 16.

You cannot enter the territory of the object without a hat and comfortable shoes. You also need to have drinking water at the rate of 1.5 liters per person.

The attraction is in the department of the Bakhchisaray Historical, Cultural and archaeological museum reserve (official site handvorec.ru). If a tourist travels as part of an organized group and on the basis of an agreement concluded with the reserve, then he pays only 200 rubles for the entrance and excursion accompanied by a guide.

What age children can go on an excursion to Chufut-Kale? Considering that the route is quite large (they usually go here for the whole day) and you have to walk a lot, then the age of the child should be appropriate. If a child of 6-7 years old is active and inquisitive, well developed physically, then why not take him to such an interesting place.

Map of the cave city of Chufut-Kale

What to see

caves

They were used as living quarters, cellars, stables, prisons. They housed observation rooms and crypts. At the time of its foundation, it was a fortress city, located in the rocks and safely hidden from prying eyes by natural relief. There are 170 caves in total. They differ from each other in quality, finish, purpose, architectural solutions. In many of them, fragments of stairs remained, which may have served to connect the cave rooms.

There are about 170 caves in Chufut-Kale, located at different heights. Many caves are interconnected by stone stairs.

Tik-Kuyu well

This is a siege well, intended to shelter residents during the siege of the fortress, and also served as a source of water. The name "Tik-Kuyu" means a vertical well. It has dungeons and mines that will be interesting to visit. The diameter of the structure is 2.2 m, the depth is 27 m. At a depth of approximately 25 m, a gallery adjoins it, from which a gentle ascent stretches to a height of 30 m. And that's not all! Below the gallery there is another well, perpendicular, with a diameter of 5 m.

To enter Tik-Kuyu, located on a mountain slope, you need to follow the pedestrian route that leads to the city's South Gate. A visit to the well is paid (300 rubles for a full ticket and 150 rubles for a discount) and is not included in the ticket price for visiting the city.

The siege well of Chufut_Kale goes deep into almost 30 meters

Karaite kenasses

Kenassa is a Karaite temple. During the tour, you can see two kenasses, which are located nearby and date back to the 14th century. (Big kenassa) and the 18th century. (Small kenassa). Despite their impressive age, they are well preserved. You won’t be able to see them from the inside, but from the outside you can look at bas-reliefs, ancient architecture, wall prints as much as you like.

Large and Small Karaite kenasses have been perfectly preserved to our time

Mausoleum of Janike Khanym

Dzhakine-khanym is the daughter of Tokhtamysh-khan, who ruled in the 15th century. The octagonal structure with a tiled roof and carved columns on the sides is made in the style typical of the Ottoman period and is perfectly preserved. You can’t go inside, but through the bars you can see the tombstone, to which steps lead. From the place where the mausoleum was built, a panorama of the mountains and the Ashlamadere valley opens.

The mausoleum of Janike Khanym, built in the 15th century, was practically not destroyed

Ground structures of the XVII-XVIII centuries

Many of the buildings are well preserved, among them:

  • protective walls;
  • residential buildings;
  • the main street, paved with stone, the tracks from the chariots are still visible on it;
  • house A.S. Firkovich (Karaite archaeologist and historian);
  • a dungeon in which voivode Sheremetyev was imprisoned for 21 years, awaiting a ransom.

Despite the dilapidated state, mosques, palaces, temples are of great interest.

All ground structures can only be viewed from the outside, inside entry is prohibited.

Ancient cemetery of Karaites

It is located in the forest, outside the city, on a plateau, 500 meters from the upper gate. The place is shrouded in a mysterious and gloomy atmosphere - black trees, tombstones of intricate shapes, overgrown with moss and keeping ancient inscriptions. But it's definitely worth a look here.

Chufut-Kale is an ancient city-fortress, also called a cave city (because in our time it is the caves that are best preserved), as well as the Jewish Fortress (as its name is translated into Russian). It is located in close proximity to Bakhchisaray, and is very popular with tourists. Chufut-Kale is perhaps the most popular cave city in all of Crimea, although not the largest. From its steep walls, wonderful views of the nearest mountains and settlements open up.

I bring to your attention a photo walk along Chufut Kale. I will also tell you how to get to it, and how to get out 🙂

How to get to Chufut-Kale? Very simple! In Bakhchisarai, every dog ​​knows the right way, so just ask ... (better, though, not with dogs).
Or you can follow the classic "brief tourist route". Follow the signs to walk / drive to the Khan's Palace of Bakhchisarai, then (further, forward) walk to the Assumption Cave Monastery, and then one road - to Chufut Kale (just look to the left and you will see the right turn, crowds of tourists will also not let you go astray) . It will be hard to go wrong. On the way you will also meet an ancient cemetery, you can visit it on the way back.

The history of the city can be viewed on Wikipedia, but I will limit myself to sharing photos with short comments that are unlikely to get bored.

Here is what part of the ascent to Chufut-Kale looks like:




So calculate your strength in advance. For some tourists, after the ascent, no caves were any longer a joy. But these are more exceptions than rules.

By the way, on the way, almost at the very entrance to the fortified city there is another mini-museum: the siege one. I recommend!

In the photo: caves at the entrance. Free 🙂

Hooray! They arrived and entered. We see the gate, called "small", "southern", or "secret" gate. Behind them is a ticket office, water for an astronomical price, a narrow stone corridor ... In the event of a breakthrough in the gate, the enemies stuck here would not be in trouble!


Our guide begins his duties. He caught us back in Bakhchisarai itself, services cost money. However, without him, the truth would not be so interesting. Taught, at least, to distinguish caves for animals from caves for people.

In one of the caves in the "for the poor" quarter.

I don’t remember what it was… either a water tank or something else…

We examine the ruins of a medieval mosque. Little is left of her...



The mausoleum of Janike-Khanym of 1437 is old, beautiful, overgrown with legends, which the guide told us about.

For the legend, you can look here.

Further, in the cultural program, we had admiring the panoramas of neighboring mountains and relaxing on a cliff.



And here is the wall covering the "bottleneck" of the fortress, which, due to its location, did not need any artificially erected walls ... except in a couple of places. This, as I recall, is the "eastern" wall.

They say that several films about Afghanistan were filmed in Chufut-Kale. It seems…


manor A. Firkovich manor 18th century Consists of a complex of buildings placed around the perimeter of a small courtyard. It also opens from there good view towards Bakhchisarai.


The tiles are colorful.

And here is the “medium defensive wall”. Not younger than the 15th century.

Here is a well filled with rainwater. Since the water here was worth its weight in gold, such a well was in the subject! Water flowed there from the pavements, so it was impossible to drink it, but it will do on the farm!

Then there were not Karaite kenasses and a lot of caves, the way home ... Yes, one more “by the way”, you can get cool water in the Assumption Monastery for free, so empty bottles don't throw away)



Benefits (click to enlarge):

Copyright for this scheme: Alexey Gomankov, Wikipedia.

On the way from Chufut-Kale you can get to the dervish cemetery. It was considered a holy place by the Tatars.
This is what the input looks like:

And further:



I hope you enjoyed this photo walk 🙂