How to get to Eski Kermen from Bakhchisarai. Cave city Eski Kermen

Cave City Eski-Kermen (Russia) - description, history, location. Exact address, phone number, website. Tourist reviews, photos and videos.

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Cave cities make up a huge layer in the history and culture of the Crimean region. Each of them is shrouded in many secrets and legends, each of them emanates mysticism and centuries of life of ancient people. Among dozens of such settlements, one of the most outstanding can be called Eski-Kermen - a huge city where many traces of the past have been preserved. Its distinctive features are not only its size, but also its purpose and degree of study.

A little history

According to scientists, the first settlement in the area of ​​the cave city was built in the 6th century by the Byzantines and served as a fortress. The reason for this was the ideal location, because the city stands on a cliff and is surrounded by steep walls up to 70 m high. Researchers believe that initially the fortress was small, but by the 12th century it acquired truly impressive dimensions.

At the peak of its development, the city of Eski-Kermen was inhabited by 2,000 people, but already in the 12th century it was practically destroyed by the invaders of Khan Nogai from the Golden Horde.

After the first attacks, they tried to restore the city and revive its former life, but a new attack - this time by Khan Edigei - did not allow these plans to come true. Since then, the settlement remained abandoned for a long time, and has now become a popular tourist attraction.

What's interestnig

The main interest in the ancient city is the caves: firstly, there are a lot of them here like nowhere else, and secondly, they were used as defensive structures, barns, living quarters and cattle pens (in other cave cities of Crimea, caves had sacred significance ).

Another interesting object is a 30-meter siege well. Using the stairs inside you can go down to the very bottom, where even today water collects. Archaeologists also found a Byzantine basilica with ancient frescoes, but, unfortunately, they are rapidly being destroyed.

If you walk along the old city streets, you can see that life was once in full swing here: traces of carts carved into stone by wheels, the remains of a gate that closed the entrance to the settlement, a loophole from which archers attacked the advancing enemy, and grain pits for storing provisions.

From one of the cliffs of the city there is a panorama of the Chatyr-Dag plateau.

Note that the cave city of Eski-Kermen is part of the Bakhchisarai Historical, Cultural and Archaeological Museum-Reserve. If you wish, you can book a tour of the local expanses on a donkey.

Practical information

The city is located in the southwest of Crimea, in the Bakhchisarai region, near the village of Kholmovka. You can get to it by bus from Kholmovka, as well as by bus or minibus from Yalta, Sevastopol and Bakhchisarai. Web site

It is also possible to get there by car through the village of Krasny Mak. GPS coordinates: 44°36’40"N; 33°44'22"E.

Ticket price: 100 RUB - for adults, 50 RUB - for children, the excursion must be paid additionally - 100 RUB. Prices on the page are as of October 2018.

Photo: Cave city Eski-Kermen

Substantial part Crimean mountains composed of soft rocks. This contributed to the formation of a large number karst caves. People who built artificial grottoes also contributed. This is how several cave cities appeared on the Crimean peninsula. One of the most interesting is called Eski-Kermen.

Old fortress

In the Crimean Tatar language, the word “eski” literally means “old”, and “kermen” means “fortress”. The cave metropolis is located in the southwest of Crimea, two dozen kilometers from Bakhchisarai. By the standards of antiquity, it really was a metropolis, since the urban area reached about eight hectares. With a width of 170 meters, the settlement was just over a kilometer long. The city was built on a plateau 30 meters high.

Photo: The ancient city is located on an impregnable rock

Currently Eski-Kermen is protected area. It is part of the exhibition of the Bakhchisarai Museum. The villages of Ternovka, Kholmovka, Zalesnoye and Krasny Mak are located nearby. From them begin walking routes to the protected plateau. Just five kilometers from Eski-Kermen there is another ancient cave city called Mangup-Kale.

From time immemorial

In the 6th century AD, the Byzantines firmly settled in these places. They built a fortification on the mountain. For almost three hundred years the settlement played a secondary role. Its population actually consisted only of garrison soldiers. And only in the 10th century there was a tendency towards growth. Over the next two hundred years, the number of inhabitants grew to 2 thousand people. The development of the vast plateau was carried out systematically. A regular network of streets and neighborhoods appeared on the mountain.

Photo: mountain range riddled with caves and passages

The heyday of the city was caused by a change in its status. The fact is that in Eski-Kermen they opened Cathedral, where the ruling bishop served. Proof of this is the pulpit that archaeologists discovered in the temple near the central gate. During this period, the ancient basilica was significantly expanded and rebuilt. It was rare for a medieval city to have relatively wide streets. They even drove carts along them. This is evidenced by wheel ruts and hoof marks carved into the stone over hundreds of years.

The Golden Horde ruler Nogai dealt a crushing blow to the well-being of Eski-Kermen. In 1299, his army captured the city, plundered and destroyed it. The former greatness could not be restored even many years after the departure of the invaders. In 1399, the defeat was completed by the Mongol army under the leadership of Temnik Edigei. Temnik in the Golden Horde commanded a detachment of 10 thousand soldiers. It turns out that the number of enemies was many times greater than the number of inhabitants.

Photo: Traces from carts

This was the last battle cave citadel, after which they never tried to restore it. Only the satellite city of Cherkes-Kermen remained, located on the northern outskirts of Eski-Kermen, at the foot of the mountain. Small ancient settlement existed almost until the end of the 20th century. In the USSR it was known as the village of Krepkoe. This locality having ancient history, abolished in 1977.

Thriller scenery

Even today, Eski-Kermen makes a spectacular impression. Sometimes it seems that this is not an archaeological site, but a giant set for a science fiction film. Some cave complexes resemble huge skulls with black empty eye sockets, others look like medieval knight's helmets. Stairs leading to nowhere; roads with ruts, as if carved out of stone; mysterious tunnels leading to the dungeons are Eski-Kermen. No less impressive are the alien panoramas that open from the plateau.

Photo: Sometimes it seems that this is not a city, but the scenery for a science fiction film

In total, there are about 350 natural and artificial caves in the city. There are about fifty more in the surrounding area. This is truly a real cave metropolis. Some grottoes are located on several floors. Some of the caves were used as fortifications, others as temples, others for residential and economic purposes, food was stored in them, and livestock were kept. All of them appeared between the 12th and 13th centuries.

The length of the plateau is more than a kilometer. The buildings occupy only part of the territory. A typical city dweller's house had two floors and was surrounded by a stone fence. The first floor was used for household needs, while the second floor was used for living. Crafts were developed in the city - they had their own blacksmiths, potters, jewelers, stonemasons, tanners. Winemaking flourished - niches with drains called tarpans were preserved. Wine fermented in them.

Man-made miracle

Acquaintance with Eski-Kermen begins with the Temple of the Three Horsemen. It is located on the road leading to the plateau. It's hard to imagine a more strange church. At first you might think that this is just a huge gray boulder with a diameter of about four meters. And it really is a piece of rock, but it’s hollow inside!

A small wooden door with a golden cross leads into the temple. Behind it is an oval room with a window covered with shutters. The wall is decorated with a long fresco depicting three horsemen - hence the name of the temple. One of them is easily identified by the spear with which he strikes the snake. There is no doubt that this is St. George the Victorious. Under the painting there is an inscription that says that the holy martyrs were depicted for the salvation of the soul and the remission of sins.

In the Middle Ages, life was full of dangers, so anyone ancient city It is impossible to imagine without fortress walls. Eski-Kermen is no exception. The main gate leading inside is cut right into the rock mass. Behind them was the first defensive wall. The sheer ledges of the plateau themselves served as an ideal defense, so walls were built only where there were loopholes for enemies. The defensive line included caves with loopholes. The fortifications, built more than a thousand years ago, have been preserved very well.

Photo: Great Cave Temple

In Eski-Kermen it is amazing a large number of religious buildings. On the main street, in the eastern wall, there is a spacious cave temple. Inside you can see benches, a font and tombs. Because of its size, it is called the “Big Cave Temple”. On the territory of the city you can see the ruins of a 6th-century basilica and a number of religious cave structures - the Temple at the City Gate, the Judgment Complex and the Assumption Church, decorated with frescoes.

The fortress has a siege well, which is a complex engineering structure. In fact, this is an inclined mine working with a stone staircase of 89 steps. It leads to a twenty-meter horizontal tunnel, through which you can get into a cave where there was drinking water. The well was in working order until the end of the 7th century. Walking around Eski-Kermen, you can’t help but realize how much time and work it took to turn the mountain into a thriving city.

How to get there

There are several options to get to Eski-Kermen. If you go by car, on the 37th km of the Simferopol – Sevastopol road, behind the village of Siren, you need to turn left. On the outskirts of the village of Tankovoe you need to turn right and go to the village of Krasny Poppy. The monument to the Sorrowful Mother will serve as a landmark here. Near it you need to turn right and drive another 5 kilometers along the dirt road.

There are places in Crimea that captivate the soul. One of these places is the medieval cave city of Eski-Kermen, located in the southwest Crimean peninsula, 14 km south of the city Bakhchisaray. Today quiet and lifeless, in the Middle Ages it was major center trade and crafts, occupied a leading position among nearby settlements.

Photo review of the cave city:

History of Eski-Kerman

The cave city was built in the 6th century by the Byzantines to protect against raids on the city of Chersonesos. The settlement is protected on all sides by 30-meter rocky slopes. All its caves are carved into the firmament of the mountains.

In the Middle Ages, Eski-Kermen was an important cultural, administrative and political center of the southwest of Taurica. In the center of the city there were two-story stone houses with tiled roofs and high stone fences. Unfortunately, these houses have not survived to this day. Therefore, many tourists mistakenly believe that the Eski-Kermen people lived in caves.

During its history, Eski-Kermen survived two devastating invasions of the Khazars and the Golden Horde. The second invasion under the leadership of the Golden Horde temnik Emir Nogai became disastrous for the fortress. Soon after the invasion the city was deserted. Piles of destroyed stones were covered with moss and grass, and overgrown with forest. In the 16th century the name of the settlement was forgotten, so local residents they began to call it Eski-Kermen, which translated from the Crimean Tatar language means “old fortress”.

ATTENTION:
Colorful episodes for the feature films “Finist the Clear Falcon”, “9th Company”, “The Star and Death of Joaquin Murrieta” were filmed in the fort.

Sights of Eski-Kermen

The old settlement contains well-preserved structures erected in the 6th-12th centuries.

This is a large block of stone, hollow inside, in which the temple is built. On one of the walls of the sanctuary there is an ancient fresco depicting three noble horsemen and a boy.

Defensive structures.
The defense system is represented by casemates, loopholes, towers and sally gates. In the north of the fortress, a first-class sentinel complex has been preserved, which includes two caves, embrasures and loopholes.

Siege well -
This structure is about 50 meters deep. There are 6 flights of stairs going down into the well, which lead to a hall with water. You need to go down into the well very carefully, because the steps are slippery and worn out on the lower flights.

Temple buildings.
The following temple buildings have been preserved on the territory of the city:

• temple with a semicircular pedestal;
• Church of the Assumption with a darkened fresco of the Virgin Mary;
• the remains of a rectangular basilica with a chapel and marble columns.

Cave of the Stone Bear. In one of the Eski-Kermen caves lies a stone bear covered with moss. Along the ridge of this giant there is a hollow through which drops of water flow that have fallen from the ceiling. Drops fall even in the driest weather.

Video overview of the city:

How to get to Eski-Kermen

You can get to the medieval settlement by bus, minibus or your own car. You won’t be able to get directly to the city gates; you will still have to walk some part of the path.

Bus route

From Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yalta you can get here by intercity buses, from Bakhchisarai - by commuter buses or minibus taxis. The destination is the villages of Krasny Mak, Zalesnoye, Kholmovka or Ternovka, located at a distance of 4-6 km from the settlement. Then you will have to walk.

Car route

You can get to the settlement by your own car. When departing from Bakhchisarai you must:

• follow the highway T0117 “Yalta - Bakhchisarai” for 14 km;
• before s. Red Poppy turn right onto the country road;
• before reaching the village. Kholmovka turn left;
• drive along the dirt road to the northern slope of the plateau.

ATTENTION: When approaching from the city of Bakhchisarai to the village. Tank is an off-road area, cut by deep potholes and ditches. This point should be taken into account by owners of cars with low ground clearance.

Hiking routes

There are hiking routes from the villages of Zalesnoye, Ternovka, Kholmovka to the cave ruins. The shortest and interesting route starts in s. Zalesny (3.8 m), the longest and most boring - in the village. Kholmovka (6-7 m).

IMPORTANT:
Every a tourist route marked with colored signs, so it is almost impossible to get lost here. The most difficult section is 0.7 km on the approach to the settlement.

Eski-Kermen Eski-Kermen on the map of Crimea

GPS Coordinates: N44.6146, E33.6380 Latitude/Longitude

What to take on a hike

For driving on dirt, stone and gravel roads, lightweight sports shoes with non-slip soles are best. In the warm season, you need to have a hat and a backpack with a reserve drinking water and sandwiches.

It is windy in the mountains, the temperature here is 5-10 ◦C lower than near the sea. Therefore, tourists with poor health, who are afraid of drafts and often catch colds, need to take a warm, light jacket or windbreaker on the road.

Eski-Kermen, one of the largest cave cities Crimea.

Love this one so much cave city. He is very close to me holidays of new wine Dionysia, exactly on Eski-Kermen we crush grapes with our feet, dance Bacchic dances and perform rituals dedicated to the ancient cult guilt. This city evokes in me a voluptuous feeling of nostalgia for something gone forever, because here we walked during the “Brotherhood of the Black Arrow” tour, or stayed here during the ten-day trans-mega tour, when we were staying in the neighboring Cherkess-Kermen. Therefore, as for many other reasons, I have a special, reverent attitude towards this city. Fate, rock, has tied us tightly... I especially love Eski-Kermen, when there is no one here, no loud-mouthed guides, no annoying tourists who don’t understand why they were brought here, who are alien to the energy of this place, just as the people who have inhabited this city for a thousand years are alien. When there are no tourists, cyclists and local residents here... There is such a time, it’s winter... But only at this time, when there is no one here and I am alone within the walls of the cave house, where the mountains are visible from the “balcony”, dark forest and the constellation Orion, I understand how happy I am with such experiences... But the most incredible sensation is given by a winter walk on a moonlit night among the ancient walls and caves of what was once one of the greatest cities of the past...

At the top of the plateau are a huge number of caves, there are more than 400 of them, more than in other cave cities Crimea, so the city holds a kind of primacy in this matter.

Although very few reliable facts have been preserved about the city, many secrets can be revealed to an attentive traveler walking along the ancient streets among the remains of houses and looking into the most diverse caves.

Nobody remembers the true name of this amazing, most “cave” city of all. Crimean fortresses.

The Tatars simply called him Eski-Kermen, it is assumed that the Khazar name Kut, and the Goths who settled here called this city Shivarin, possibly the Greek name in different eras city ​​life could be Fulla, And Climates. Such a variety of names is not surprising - the city existed for a thousand years, and it was inhabited or tried to be conquered by different ethnic groups.

The main entrance gate of Eski-Kermen, once on the left and right of the gate, powerful gate fortress towers rose on hewn platforms.

The city itself, with an area of ​​8.5 hectares, is located on a flat plateau of a steep table mountain.

Its length along the north-south axis is 1000 m, its greatest width is 170 m, the height of the steep cliffs reaches 30 m.

The slopes of the mountain are made of huge blocks, sharpened by wind and rain.

In all these blocks, along the entire perimeter of the plateau, there are carved hundreds of caves for a variety of purposes, from temples, residential buildings, combat casemates to barns and granaries.

In the central part of the plateau there is a huge Basilica, nearby blocks of residential buildings and narrow medieval streets have been excavated.

The huge estate of the winemaker, with tarapans for wine pressing and deep cellars where the wine was stored, has been well studied.

On the outskirts of the city there are monasteries. One of them, in the form of a trefoil on the way into the city, at one time served as a refuge for travelers who were late for the city by the time the gates closed.

The gates are cut down funerary arcosolia And ossuary, rock tombs and small chapels.

The deep rut, just like in Chufut-Kale, cuts through main street city ​​and serpentine descends into the valley, reminding us that for a thousand years a turbulent life was in full swing here, leaving us with rare artifacts.

The types of temples are also amazing in their own way: "Judgment" with bishop's chair, small and unique Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary with a tarapan knocked out in the corner and a cellar for storing wine. When ascending to the city from the eastern side, the traveler is greeted by a stunning temple carved into a separate stone - this is the so-called Temple of the Three Horsemen.

One of the horsemen is St. George the Victorious, revered in the cave cities of Crimea, and two other unknown warriors of locally revered saints. One of them has a boy sitting behind his shoulders. Tomb graves unknown heroes of the past were carved right into the floor of the temple...

The cyclopean structure of the siege well is truly amazing.

In the well it is quite possible to go down the ancient steps carved into the rock. The steps go in five flights 30 meters deep into the rock.

It was through this well that the city was captured Khazars during the uprising of John of Goth.

It is interesting to walk along a narrow corridor through a crevice and climb to the northern sentinel complex. Stunning views of the tower Kyz-Kule neighboring city Cherkess-Kerman.

Visit the western and eastern granaries, see the place where the city gates once were, touch with your hands the grooves where the beam locking the gates was once placed, climb the rounded ledges that keep traces of the “bed” of the place where huge stone squares once rested , representing fortress curtains and powerful towers.

Truly multifaceted and unique Eski-Kermen!

Like all cave cities of Crimea, Eski-Kermen did not appear out of nowhere. It is believed that since ancient times, people have adapted mountain grottoes for their needs and created new ones with the help of pickle.

But at the same time, Eski-Kermen also has the completed forms of a fortress and was clearly created according to some ingenious plan of an ancient architect.

According to archaeological research, the fortress was built on the initiative of the Byzantine authorities at the end of the 6th century. to protect the approaches to the outpost of the empire in the South-Western Crimea - Chersonese.

The garrison of the fortress consisted of local residents - ready and alan- federates

(allies) of the empire.

The granaries on the eastern part of the city were later used as combat casemates.

Presumably at the end of the 8th century. Eski-Kermen falls under the rule of the Khazars.

It is possible that the inhabitants of the fortress took part in anti-Khazar uprising, known in literature as the revolt John of Goth.

Some researchers also associated the destruction of the fortress walls with this event.

By the middle of the 9th century. the influence of the Khazars in the South-Western Crimea weakens and then completely ceases.

fortress walls made of huge blocks blocked off the most inaccessible areas of the fortress.

About life Eski-Kerman in the IX-X centuries. we know little.

Most likely, at this time the settlement was a sparsely populated fortress on the Byzantine-Khazar borderland.

From the second half - end of the 10th century. life on Eski-Kermen, begins to be reborn.

This revival is associated with the help of Byzantium, which is clearly seen from the primary source, the so-called “notes of the Gothic toparch.”

Historians and archaeologists have identified the destroyed city described in the “Note” in the area called "Climates", with the Crimean “cave city” Eski-Kerman.

Archaeological research carried out in 1928-1930 showed that the fortress walls in the southern part Eski-Kerman, were demolished to the ground.

According to excavations, the destruction of the fortress walls in the southern part of the city occurred no earlier than the end of the 8th century. and no later than the 10th century. The results of excavations indicate that after the destruction of the battle walls, the life of the city continued.

According to one assumption, defensive structures Eski-Kerman could have been dismantled at the end of the 8th century by the Khazars, as a consequence of what was described in "The Lives of John of Goths" unsuccessful uprising of the Goths under the command of Bishop John against Khazar rule.

Along with the identification described by the toparch, the destroyed city Climates with Eski-Kermen, it has been suggested that the remains of the fortification Kyz-Kule which is located on a hill Tapshan, near Mount Eski-Kermen, northwest of the northern end of its plateau, are located on the site of the “fortress” whose construction is described "Note of the Gothic Toparch".

Thus, the topographical features of the mountain Eski-Kerman and its immediate surroundings, along with archaeological data, as well as general geographical information contained in "Note of the Gothic Toparch", can serve as a reliable basis for linking the “Note of the Gothic Toparch” with the Crimean “cave city” Eski-Kerman.

Later, on the site of the former fortress, Eski-Kermen is gradually formed medieval city. By the XII-XIII centuries. the settlement was already built up with rectangular blocks, separated by streets up to 2 m wide. This is the highest flowering of the city, at this time temples were built and painted here, the city reached its greatest size.

At the end of the XIII-XIV centuries. the settlement was destroyed.

He is associated with the campaign of the Golden Horde temnik Nogai to the Crimea in 1299.

After this life is Eski-Kermen gradually fades away.

The city was probably finally destroyed at the end of the 15th century. during the Turkish invasion of Crimea and the fall of the principality of Theodoro, centered on Mangup.

In the 16th century Among the local population, only vague legends have been preserved about him.

Yes, the Polish envoy Martin Bronevsky, who visited Crimea in 1578, wrote: “Not far from Mancopia... there is a certain very ancient fortress and a city, but it, neither among the Turks and Tatars, nor even among the Greeks themselves, due to its extreme antiquity, bears any name. It fell into ruin during the time of the Greek princes, about whom numerous atrocities are reported in these places that they committed against God and people.”

From this passage it is clear that people are driven by an idea - a spirit. There was a people, and not one at all, but the remnants of many peoples who once ruled Taurica and lost their former power. In the Middle Ages, united Goths, professing the Greek Orthodox religion, spoke among themselves in Greek - the only language of that time for interethnic communication. This conglomerate of various ethnic groups - the remnants of the Tauri, Greeks, Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, Goths, Polovtsians and other peoples - represented a community of highlanders. And this community had an idea - to live in the cave city of the fortress. Build stone houses and fortress walls, cut down dwellings and outbuildings in the rocks, build ossuaries and crypts in the rocks, right on the territory of the city, for their loved ones... for there was no fear of death, there was no disgust for their dead fellow tribesmen. This society had a different culture, a different idea of ​​the meaning of life and death. And so they lived for a thousand years, from generation to generation, adhering to their idea of ​​state independence and pride. They knew how to stand up for their home, children, wife and parents with a sword in their hand. A proud and brave people who revered the ashes of their ancestors and supported the traditions of their grandfathers... But they died under the blows of an evil fate... And the surrounding peasants living in the mountains and forests did not have this spirit and idea of ​​​​living in a fortress city; when attacked by the enemy, they abandoned their home , animals, arable land and ran away to the mountains...

So over time, the cave cities and those who lived in them were forgotten. And already 200 years after the death of the city, in response to questions from inquisitive visitors, local residents - descendants of the ancient and glorious, but who had forgotten their grandfathers and customs - spoke Tatar: "Eski-kermen", which translated means Old Fortress…

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