Martian lake and cave city Bakla Crimea. Cave city "Bakla"
general information
The cave city of Bakla is the northernmost cave city in Crimea. Located on rocks about 300 meters high in the Bakhchisarai region near the village of Skalistoe (Tav-Bodrak), on the watershed of the Alma River and its tributary Bodrak. It is about 18 km from Simferopol to the southwest. Thanks to its secluded location, the city has retained its natural beauty.
The exact time of the city's founding is unknown. The first burials on the territory of Bakli date back to the 4th century AD, and the most ancient walls date back to the 5th century. The inhabitants of the city and its surroundings at that time were Sarmato-Alans and Goths. Bakla died, most likely as a result of a Tatar-Mongol raid led by Temnik Nogai in 1299 AD. Now the danger from the Tatar-Mongols has somewhat decreased, but the ruins of the city are regularly raided by modern robbers - black diggers. A sad example is the ravine of Bad Yar, south of Bakly, completely dug up by the deepest pits. It was once located ancient necropolis, now irretrievably lost to science.
The book of the brothers Alexander and Andrey Yen “Cuestas of the Crimean Foothills” (Simferopol, 2010) provides the most plausible (from my point of view) version of the origin of the name Bakla - from the Turkic “Baklak” - “a road vessel for water with a narrow neck.” Indeed, the most striking feature of this cave city is the presence of a huge number of grain (as well as tandoor and flood) pits with a characteristic shape. There were quite a few defensive structures of their own, and in case of danger, the residents of Bakly took refuge in the impregnable Chufut-Kala. The only significant fortification was the 6th century AD castle. in the city center, on the southern cliffs.
There is evidence that Byzantium used this city to convert local residents to Christianity at the end of the first millennium AD. A Byzantine military garrison was located on the territory of the city for some time. In general, Bakla is an example of a medieval feudal complex: a castle with an undefended settlement adjacent to it.
How to get there?
1. From Simferopol: At the Zapadnaya bus station (access to it from the railway station by minibuses 86 and 57) we take the Simferopol-Observatory bus and go to the last (third) stop in the village of Skalistoe. The local name for this stop is “gorka”. Walking 200 meters ahead in the direction of the bus (to the south), you will see an adjacent well-worn dirt road on the left. A special feature is a sign at the very turn with the inscription “making monuments”.
We turn there, to the east. Behind us is the valley of the Bodrak River, and on the left rises a ridge stretching into the distance, the slopes of which are strewn with fragments of limestone blocks from an old quarry. Once upon a time there was a necropolis in its place, naturally, completely destroyed... After less than a kilometer of driving along this dirt road to the east, a small, but dusty and noisy factory crushing stones will appear on the right. However, on weekends it quiets down. There are mountains of rubble all around. Now pay attention to the steep white-yellow rocks on your left. If you follow them further to the east, you will notice the first caves. We leave the quarry behind. Another kilometer along the dirt road, sticking to the right edge of a small forest, and several paths leading steeply up the slope will become visible. Let's go there!
2. From Sevastopol: At the central bus station we take the Sevastopol-Simferopol bus and go to the Novopavlovka stop. In the direction from which the bus brought us, we see an intersection. From west to east there is a highway to Simferopol, and to the south there is a road to Nauchny. We cross this road and wait at the stop opposite the Khan-Saray restaurant for the Simferopol-Observatory bus (give a link to the schedule). We ride it until the last (third) stop in the village of Skalistoe. Alternative title This stop is a “slide”. And then we move as already described in point No. 1. If you don’t want to wait for the observatory bus, you can go on foot. It takes 40 minutes to the turn to Baklu described in point No. 1.
There is also an alternative option. It takes longer, but is relatively inexpensive. We take the train in Sevastopol or Simferopol and get to the Pochtovaya station. Then walk south through the village and apple orchards along dirt roads. In autumn I recommend walking carefully, the gardens are guarded. On the way you will have to cross the Alma River (translated from Turkic as “apple”). In February and March, when the snow melts, this can present some difficulty. I recommend looking for a bridge for pedestrians, located between the gardens, or going east to the Simferopol-Sevastopol highway, there is a good road bridge.
What will we see?
The city, built on two tiers of rocks up to 15 meters high, consisted of above-ground and underground structures. Unfortunately, Bakla is located in a relatively easily accessible place, close to villages, so the above-ground buildings, dilapidated during the Tatar raids of the 13th century, were finally dismantled and stolen by local residents. Of these, only the solid foundations of several houses and temples have survived. The recently excavated single-apse Christian temple, oriented strictly from west to east, stands out noticeably.
Looking around the steppe above the cliffs, once filled with life, but now representing virgin soil, you involuntarily think about how many more secrets it holds. Underground structures amaze with their abundance and diversity. Every square meter of rock within the city has been developed. Carved hatching is noticeable on the walls of the caves. Occasionally there are “handles-ears” carved into stone. Most likely, they served to tie up livestock. There is a curious misconception associated with them. The first explorers of cave cities of the 18th-19th centuries (for example, Berthier-Delagarde, Baron Tott, Cambridge professor E. Clark and Pallas) assumed that the handles served for mooring boats, because. The space between the rocks, in their opinion, was filled with the sea.
Today water can only be found in a small drying spring. In the driest years it stops running already in June, in others it gurgles until August. But in September there is always a break in the water supply. Once upon a time a stream ran in the gully of Bad Yar, descending from the mountains to the south, but it is very doubtful that it was active all year round. Now he is completely dry. There were difficulties with water during the life of the city. The cliffs that have not collapsed since the abandonment of Bakly keep traces of drainage gutters. In the eastern part of the city, on the rocks, you can see a whole “reverse Christmas tree” that collected rainwater to the top. And almost every grain pit is surrounded by a special ditch that retains precious water. From many ditches, special channels lead drops of life-giving moisture to containers carved into the limestone.
In the central part of Bakly there are entire fields of grain pits. Most of it is filled with debris almost to the neck. Many of the pits available to us are so spacious that they can easily accommodate an adult. Be careful when examining them! Thick grass masks the necks, making them dangerous traps for unwary tourists.
Everywhere there are wine presses carved into rocky cliffs - tarpans with reservoirs for draining wine juice. The well-preserved eastern entrance to the city is interesting. It rises smoothly from the east, cutting the slope. A drainage channel about thirty centimeters wide is visible at the bottom. It is doubtful that he collected drinking water, rather industrial water. Just above the canal, perpendicular to it, slots were knocked out in the slopes for installing logs or a whole log flooring along which carts could climb.
Various sources indicate the existence of a semi-secret underground tunnel on the territory of the settlement, but I have not found it yet. Note the prominent rocky headland with a wooden cross 500-700 m from the city center to the west. The ruins of a temple from the 8th – 11th centuries AD are preserved here. with numerous crypts and a cave complex, once decorated with wall paintings. In one of the caves, archaeologists discovered the burial of several dozen people. Nearby there are grottoes carved right into the cliff, from which a delightful view of the Bodrak valley and the surrounding area opens. Most likely, a sentinel defensive complex operated there.
Half a kilometer to the south, in the valley, there were three Orthodox churches. Archaeologists discovered there traces of the cruciform architecture of one of the temples and fragments of ornamentation. And not far from Bakly there was a pottery center that produced pottery in large quantities.
- A story about the campaign to Baklu
Geographic coordinates of the cave city of Bakla on the map of Crimea GPS N 44.811775 E 34.004710
Today the cave city of Bakla, works like a museum under open air. Visiting it is free, but if you decide to take a guide, the price of visiting can range from 1000 to 2000 rubles. from the group. The walk from the village of Skalistoye to the top of the Bakly plateau takes, on average, 3-5 hours. This is a time with rests, stops for photos and ascent at a measured pace.
The cave city of Bakla is a monument ancient architecture and is protected by the state. The city area is about 2.1 hectares. The city is built in two tiers. The first tier served to protect the city. There were defensive structures here. The second tier was residential. The main part of the premises is hollowed out in the rock, and in fact, are caves. But in the Middle Ages, there was also a small castle on the territory of Bakla, a fortress wall and additional defensive structures.
On the territory of Bakli There were two temples, one a cave, its remains can still be seen today. The second was built of stone on a plateau. All that was left of it was the foundation. On the territory of the cave city of Bakla, today you can see not only caves, but also many advanced, at that time, utility rooms: stone pits for collecting water (there are no sources on the mountain), stone pits for storing grain and stone wineries. Excavations in Bakla were carried out twice in 1929 and in 1961, but they were quite superficial and were more like a study of the area, with selective deepening of 20-40 cm into the ground. Full-scale studies on the territory of the cave city have never been carried out.
The first name of the city has not survived to this day, but the name Bakla appeared in the Middle Ages and was given by the Turks. Not far from the city, at a distance of 1 km, an ancient burial dating back to the 6th century AD was found. It was from the items found in the crypts and graves that the life of the city of Bakla was partially reconstructed. Almost all finds from the burials were given to the Bakhchisarai Museum of Local Lore.
In addition to the beauty of the cave city, tourists are attracted to these places by another interesting fact. On the territory of the city, from the very beginning of the hill to the plateau itself, in the exposed rock, you can observe a large number of fossils of marine inhabitants of the Crimea. These fossils were formed 50-60 million years ago. In those days, Crimea was the seabed, and in confirmation of this, in the rock, you can find fossils of ancient mollusks, crabs, many shells and other inhabitants of that era. In general, this beauty must be viewed on the spot; it is very difficult to express this pleasure in words.
History of the cave city of Bakla.
The history of the city of Bakla began in the middle of the third century AD. The Byzantine Empire strengthened its position in Central Crimea and began building a series of fortifications that were supposed to stop or at least complicate the invasion of nomadic tribes, who often made their way from the mainland to Crimea. In the 5-6th century, from a small guard post, the cave city of Bakla turned into a fortified fortress. A small garrison appears in the fortress and the city begins to develop. By the 7th-8th century the city had about a hundred houses. The main part was carved out of stone and was mostly caves.
In addition to houses, a small cave temple appears, agriculture develops and vineyards appear. The main development of the city took place in the 10th-12th centuries. It was this time that can be considered the heyday of Bakla. Very little is known about the life of the city, but from the finds made in 1961, it can be judged that trade was developed with almost all the large cities of Crimea at that time (Kerkinitida (Evpatoria), Chersonesus (Sevastopol), Kafaa (Feodosia) and others. The heyday of the city of Bakla was interrupted by the invasion of Nagai; in 1299, under the onslaught of nomadic tribes, Bakla was plundered and destroyed, like almost all the cave cities of central Crimea. After the invasion of Nagai, the history of the city is not known.
How to get to the Cave City of Bakla
Get to Bakla the easiest way is from or . Between these cities is the village of Pochtovoye. Here you need to leave the main road towards the village of Skalistoe. Almost at the very exit from the village, you can leave your car and begin the climb to the cave city. There are several trails leading to Bakla, but each leads to the top of the plateau, and the difficulty of the trails is approximately the same. This makes it almost impossible to lose your way.
The cave city of Bakla is one of the many cave cities of central Crimea and one of the unique ones. A visit to Bakly is often included in walking tours around Crimea.
Cave medieval city Bakla very convenient for visiting with children of different ages. Although it is not only convenient, but also interesting. During your walk you will visit a lake whose depth is greater Sea of Azov, you will smell an orchid that does not produce nectar and you will be able to read the inscription in ancient Greek carved into the ruins of an ancient church.
So, why is it convenient to go to Baklu with children?:
- is located 25 km from Simferopol: if you are traveling with a baby, he will not have time to become capricious;
- from the Novopavlovka-Observatory highway to Bakly you will have to walk about 3 km: not so much that you will get tired;
- the settlement is very compact: all the caves can be explored in a couple of hours;
- the place is very picturesque: in clear weather, all five Crimean yayilas (Karabi, Demerdzhi, Chatyr-Dag, Babugan, Ai-Petrinskaya yayla) are visible from Bakly.
When preparing for a trip to Baklu, one must take into account that:
- there is no water on Bakla (there are only temporary catchments that appear after heavy rains);
- as in any cave city, these very caves are carved into a cliff - so it’s better not to lose sight of children or hold their hand;
- the place is popular among residents of surrounding villages who come here by car for a picnic;
- There is open-pit limestone mining nearby which creates noise but is far enough away that there is no dust.
Once we spent almost the entire day getting to Bakly, but Anton recently scouted shortest way with minimal altitude gain.
- the path begins in the village of Skalistoye at a large white stone cross on the side of the road
The cross points to the road to, past which our 2-kilometer path will pass.
2. First we go to a flooded quarry, the depth of which is about 20 m - deeper than the Sea of Azov!
3. went at the end of May - enjoyed the various grasses
4. The strawberries haven’t ripened yet, but I think we can go pick them now
5. the road to the monastery goes along pine forests
6. although the poster promised only 1 km to the ancient settlement, it seemed to us that the walk was a little longer
7. The dirt road climbs smoothly through a shady deciduous forest
The valley in which the medieval settlement is located has a special microclimate. To confirm this, we came across many rare species of wild orchids and dangerous beauties.
8. orchids from left to right: anakamptis, ophrys hornata (water-bearing), red pollenhead
Ofris It is interesting because the flowers do not offer nectar to insects. The plant's lip secretes volatile substances from the group of pheromones, identical to the secretion of insect glands during the mating period. The smell triggers the animal's behavioral mechanism. In addition, the ofris very accurately imitates the posture of a bee ready to mate.
Pollenhead It is interesting because the stem does not have foliage, thereby not participating in the process of photosynthesis.
9. crushing factory quarry as a parallel reality, but Sasha’s attention could be diverted to looking at the trucks
10. Tartar blooms
11. in the distance - roof Crimean mountains– Chatyrdag, whose name translates as tent mountain
12. Don’t forget to bring binoculars – there’s a lot to admire here!
13. We had a snack at the top of Mount Bakla in the shade of an oak tree
14. down in the valley there are large plantations of large clover
15. We start our walk along Bakla from the eastern spur
16. one of amazing features This cave city has more than 60 granaries carved into the rock - no other cave city in Crimea has such numbers!
It is not completely known how such granaries were made: only a narrow “neck” 30-40 cm in diameter comes to the surface of the earth (only a child can crawl through it), while inside the “vessel” expands to almost a meter. The depth of the granary can reach up to one and a half meters. An adult simply will not reach the bottom with his hand, and will not squeeze inside through the neck - how were these vessels hollowed out in the thickness of the rock?!
17. granaries on the edge of the cliff - destroyed, apparently the front edge of the settlement collapsed over several centuries
18. In addition to granaries, many wine presses - tarapans - have been preserved
19. You must walk carefully - a narrow path along the edge of a cliff
20. Sasha has fun in the sun-heated rocks
The city of Bakla existed in the early Middle Ages, in the V-VIII centuries AD. To the north of the city passed one of the main trade routes of Crimea - in ancient Greek city of Chersonesos. The exact name of this settlement between the Alma and Bodrak rivers is unknown; the current name of the city was given much later and is translated from Turkic, according to one version, as “beans”, according to another, as “bottle” (hence, by the way, the modern word “baklashka” came from) ).
In those distant times, Bakla was divided into two parts in plan: a citadel fortified by a high wall and an unprotected settlement. In case of danger, the inhabitants of the settlement hid inside the citadel. Now the entire territory of the citadel is overgrown with dense bushes and hazel, so it is best to visit in winter, when the view is not obstructed by foliage.
21. entrance to the artificial church on the territory of the citadel
22. in the north-eastern wall of this church there is a niche (view through the hole in the ceiling and from the inside)
23. next to the niche there is an inscription carved in Greek, which translates as “The Fragrance of the Joy Candle” (now the inscription is circled in pencil - in the lower right photo)
24. Also in the church there are remains of a column at the entrance
25. Bakla has still been little studied by archaeologists and is fraught with many mysteries - for example, this even row of holes right on the edge of the cliff
We gradually go around cave after cave. You have to have a rich imagination to imagine how life was in full swing here. We go out to the western end of the Baklin settlement - Cape Tserkovny. There is a Christian complex here: the remains of an above-ground temple, burial structures, a dry source of water and a well with steps. The cave church of the 12th-13th centuries was located in a stone outcrop that once hung over Cape Tserkovny. In 1995, the rock collapsed and now the church lies with its entrance up at the foot of the cliff.
26. cross on the site of the above-ground church on Cape Tserkovny
If you go up further, leaving the collapsed “cave” church on the right, you can see a long grotto; in the depths of the grotto, 17 artificial caves are carved into the rock. During excavations, numerous Christian burials were found here. However, some researchers believe that the caves initially served not as burial crypts, but as living cells for a small monastery.
On the site of Cape Tserkovny, at the southeastern edge of the cliff, there are 10 crypts carved into the rock. A Christian necropolis of the 12th-13th centuries was discovered nearby. Burials took place in tombs made of stone slabs. Tombstones were installed over the tombs, some of which are truly works of stone-cutting medieval art. Here, during excavations, the ruins of a small medieval Christian church were found. Unfortunately, the burial ground was brutally looted in the 90s of the last century. In the western part of the cliff, the cape area was connected to a natural grotto through a vertical tunnel-well carved into the rock. Now you can climb into the grotto under the Church Cape only from its foot on the side of the valley.
http://lazar-mon.ru/istoricheskij-ocherk
We returned from Cape Tserkovny along the dirt road to the flooded quarry in Skalisty. The descent is almost as smooth as the ascent to Baklu. The entire route took about 6 hours including snacks.
HOW TO GET THERE
by public transport:
- from Simferopol(a/c Zapadnaya) by bus going to the village of Nauchny (Observatory) to the village of Skalistoe. You need to get off at the second stop near the store. Further walk across the lake to an abandoned quarry and the monastery of St. Lazarus
- from Bakhchisarai by bus to Novopavlovka, then either catch a passing bus to Skalistoye or walk to Skalistoye - it’s about 1-2 km.
by personal transport:
on the Simferopol-Sevastopol highway in the village of Novopavlovka, turn onto the road leading to the village of Nauchny (Observatory). Drive 1-2 km to the next village of Skalistoe, where at the cross turn onto the dirt road to the monastery of St. Lazarus.
The early medieval cave complex of Bakla is located southeast of the village of Skalistoye. You can get to it either by train from Simferopol to Pochtovaya station, then on foot along the highway to the village of Skalistoye, or from Simferopol to Skalistoye by bus, then from Skalistoye along the highway towards the village of Nauchny. Beyond the bridge, the highway on the left side hugs the cliff face, under which a couple of residential buildings are nestled. At the foot of the rock you can see a grotto called Shaitan-Koba (Devil's Cave). On the far edge, during the Mousterian archaeological era, in a small natural grotto about 4 m deep, a group of Neanderthals, the predecessors of Homo sapiens, found refuge.
After walking a little further along the highway, then you need to turn left, following the country road. On the right there will be a small clearing, and on the left there will be a rocky ridge over which the Soviet man “worked”, the slopes are strewn with sawed-off fragments of rock. Then you can continue along the road, soon a stone crusher will appear on the right, after which you need to walk along a dirt road running along the edge of the field, along the forest edge, or you can, having turned earlier towards the rocks, walk along the beam and terraces of the rock ridge, through the bushes, along rocks On this path there are fragments of rocks with caves; here you can admire the beauty of the rock ridge and the approaching complex of the Baklinsky settlement, which are not visible because of the forest edge if you walk along a dirt road.
Bakla - this one is interesting archaeological site, was first explored by employees of the Crimean regional museum in 1929. The appearance of the cave city dates back to the second half of the 3rd century AD.
If you climb the path to the caves located to the west, in the midst of deep silence you can hear the sound of steadily dripping drops - this is in a break in the rock above, from the cliff, water seeps in thin threads from a source located somewhere higher in the thickets. The path along the rocks, past the caves, leads to the plateau. Far from its edge rises the second tier. Moving east along the plateau, traces of the life of a long-abandoned city are noticeable: utility pits, water collection tanks, gutters, tarapans (grape presses), grain pits, steps to caves, graves. There are many artificial caves preserved throughout. The terrace is covered with wild fruit trees - the remains of gardens.
On the southern edge of the cliff, dominating a narrow valley, in a very small area there are the remains of a fortification. Excavations have shown that the defensive walls cover layers dating back to the time of the open settlement; the fortification area was integral with the rest of the village. Here in the III-IV centuries. there was a significant settlement. The population - Sarmato-Alans, partly Goths - was engaged in viticulture, gardening, agriculture, and winemaking. The earliest belt of defensive walls was built in the 5th century. Later, it is believed, in the 6th century, a castle was built here. Its defensive structures were made of large blocks of local limestone with lime mortar. The fortified settlement was probably destroyed during the Tatar raid of 1299.
The citadel was surrounded on three sides by walls made of hewn limestone blocks. During the life of the fort, the citadel was rebuilt at least three times. The remains of a rectangular gate tower were discovered in the northern corner of the citadel. To build defensive walls, the surface of the rock was hewn. Outside the fortification there was a basilica building, which burned down around the 10th century.
The southeastern flank of the battle walls ends at a cliff, on the edge of which there was a structure that closed the defense - a tower or battle platform with a parapet.
The area was quite densely built up. Here the remains of 2 houses were found, one of which had 8 rooms and 2 floors. The lower, non-residential one was sunk into the rock, on the surface of which there were preserved cuttings for wooden pillars and vessels.
"In the western part cave settlement, in the upper tier, almost at the level of the ridge, there is a rock ledge, separated from the ridge by a crack: a church was carved into this ledge. The doorway faces north, a step leads down, the interior is divided into two parts, the smaller one - the altar - is slightly lower; Small recesses are carved into the altar; it is separated from the rest of the space by an iconostasis, judging by the grooves carved into the walls. Opposite the altar is a window; Immediately at the entrance to the left, two crosses are carved on the wall." - you can find this description of the church in most sources, but you will not be able to find the temple itself using this description, because it has collapsed and you can find it on a slope, with the doorway facing up.
In the western part of the settlement there are a lot of battle caves, some of them were led from the surface by hatches, others were led by stairs carved into the rock.
Where the upper cliff of the ridge recedes far from the edge of the terrace, it is easy to climb it, and walking in an easterly direction to the very high point, look around the surroundings. At the foot of the cliff lies a valley and fields, on the left on the horizon you can see the majestic Chatyr-Dag, on the right - the slender silhouette of Tepe-Kermen and the Chufut-Kale plateau.
In the valley visible from Bakli in the Middle Ages there was a village. Fragments of large clay pithoi are often found here; In its eastern part the remains of a pottery kiln were discovered. To the south of this place, on the slopes of a ravine called Bad Yar, a burial ground with burials of the 7th - 8th centuries was discovered. Unfortunately, this necropolis was almost completely looted.
Here, on a hillock, stood a temple, the remains of which were found during excavations. It was built over a burial crypt, lined with well-hewn stone slabs, on which scratched images of people, horsemen, and signs of Turkic and runic writing were preserved.
Information
photo from the site
Bakla is perhaps one of the wildest and least visited cave cities in Crimea, which still retains the spirit of past centuries. This beautiful medieval city, destroyed by time and “black” archaeologists, keeps many secrets and amazing mysteries within its ghostly walls.
The little-known nature of the Baklin settlement can be explained simply - the settlement is located much to the north of the bulk of the popular cave cities, and therefore tourists often bypass it. The cave town of Bakla is located at the foot of the mountain of the same name, 2.5 km from the village of Skalistoe, at an altitude of 430 meters above sea level. Here, on the southern slopes of the Inner Ridge of the Crimean Mountains, under the influence of weathering, two high ledges were formed, separated by a small terrace. It was on this convenient plateau, protected from the west and east by limestone ridges, and from the south by a 15-meter rocky cliff, that a small agricultural settlement was founded in the 3rd century, whose inhabitants specialized in wine production. Having existed for three whole centuries, it turned into the northern outpost of the Byzantine Empire. This defensive fortress initially served as a temporary refuge from raids by nomadic tribes, and later grew into a small provincial town, which was destroyed by Tatar troops at the end of the 13th century.
The territory of Bakly covers an area of about 1 hectare; more than 100 cave structures have been discovered here, some of which are multi-room and two-tiered. Archaeologists found here not only the remains of numerous tarapans and settling tanks, but also elements of pottery kilns. For many centuries, potters and winemakers have supplied residents of surrounding villages with their products. Around the 6th century, a fortified citadel was built on the site of the wine-making complex, surrounded by walls made of lime blocks and a deep moat. And now in some places you can still see the remains of defensive walls (curtains), turned into embankments and overgrown with grass. Between the curtains, the inhabitants of the citadel erected two 7-meter towers. Below, on the southern steep slope, combat and patrol caves were carved. In the center of the citadel, in a large eight-chamber house, was the residence of the Baklin ruler. There was also a small church here, as well as many two-story residential premises, the walls of which were erected using the so-called “Christmas tree” masonry. They say that there was once a path leading from the citadel to the valley. underground passage, but where exactly it is located is unknown.
The city and the settlement of artisans, located near the citadel, were not surrounded by protective walls. Nevertheless, the Bucklin town was densely built up, with several large blocks separated by alleys and streets. Each house had several utility rooms, which were often located in caves carved into soft limestone. Most of them were large granaries. They are the biggest mystery of Bakla. The fact is that all these pits are made in the shape of pithos (ancient Greek jugs) and have cone-shaped holes or “necks”, the surface of which is carefully polished. If the pits were intended exclusively for storing bulk products, then why was it necessary to process them with such care? In addition, many of them are so narrow that they can only accommodate a child. How exactly they were carved into the rock remains a mystery. And there are thousands of such holes on the plateau! Subsequently, some stone “vessels” were destroyed, and the inhabitants of the settlement turned them into spacious caves, in the ceiling of which there were “porthole” holes. One of these collapsed caves, with two holes in the ceiling that look like eyes, is called a stone “smiley” by tourists.
Availability large quantity stone pithos and gave the name to the ancient settlement. Although many associate the origin of the Tatar name Bakla with the word “bean”, there is a more plausible version of the origin of the name of the city - famous local historians, the Ena brothers, believe that the name “Bakla” comes from the Turkic word “baklak”, which means “ road capacity for water" or, more simply, a bottle. Each such “bag” was surrounded by a groove for collecting rainwater. Water, moving along narrow ditches, fell into large drainage gutters. This reverent attitude towards moisture can be explained simply - the city residents suffered from a lack of drinking water. There is only one spring on the plateau, which dries out greatly in the hot months. Another seasonal source is located near Bad Yar, the mecca of “black” archaeologists. It was called “bad” because of the ancient burial ground in which, starting from the 6th century, the Goths and residents of Bakly were buried. Now almost all the medieval crypts of the burial ground have been looted. In some places, greedy people dug 6-8 meter holes in the ground, exposing the remains of ancient people. Modern ministers of the church several years ago collected the bones scattered throughout the ravine and reburied them near the cave city, near the western rocky ledge of Mount Bakla. Rumor has it that many “black” archaeologists know places on Bakla where real treasures are buried and ask a lot of money for their secrets.
Not far from the necropolis, above one of the burial crypts there was once Orthodox church. In the Baklin Valley, the remains of seven more early Christian cult complexes were found, many of which have been practically unexplored. The presence of many temples suggests that it was here that the legendary city of Fulla, the diocese of the Khazar Kaganate, was located.
But let's leave it historical facts and let's see what Bakla has become today. The Bucklin Plateau is surrounded by green hills covered with dense pine forest. The road, winding among tall grasses, leads the tourist to the southern slope of the Baklinskaya cuesta. Here a truly fantastic sight is presented to the eye - light limestone walls are covered with bizarre weathering patterns that resemble a honeycomb. Under the citadel, the cliff is cut with delicate tubercles, in some places similar to the thorns of roses. Hundreds of perfectly preserved shells are visible on the yellow limestone surface exposed to the wind and sun. The abundance of birds circling above the valley is also striking - in the sky above Bakla you can see hawks, vultures and crows.
Above the western upper cliff of the cuesta stands a 40-meter stone sphinx, which some tourists have nicknamed the petrified “demon” guarding the ghostly city. At the foot of the sphinx there is a small cave, around which vines have grown wildly. Not far from the stone “beast”, next to the reburial, the remains of an ancient monastery with a collapsed chapel are visible. Here you can see several crypts and cells carved into the rock, into which tourists sometimes climb. The inside is very beautiful - niches for lamps are hollowed out in the walls, and their surface is painted with figures of saints, crosses, silhouettes of fish and ships.
After walking around the area, you can stop and breathe cleanest air, filled with the aroma of herbs and flowers. In spring, wild cherry orchards, hawthorn, and many varieties of orchids bloom here. Bakla is an incredibly beautiful and energetically strong place! Once on the plateau, you feel a special energy background - the body is filled with the pristine energy of the earth and air, and the soul is in joy. “What grace!” - exclaim tourists who come here for the first time. Instructors have experienced the impact of this powerful force more than once. , carried out on Bakla, are performed easily, with great benefits for the body and mind. It is especially good to meditate here, sitting at the southern cliff of the mountain. The peace and “untroddenness” of this place contribute to deep dive inside oneself, calm and clear the mind. True, the blessed silence is sometimes disturbed by the sounds of civilization - near Bakla there are several limestone quarries. From afar, the slopes of an old abandoned quarry, partially flooded with water, resemble the walls of ancient Egyptian pyramids.
The enchanting beauty of this place cannot be expressed in words. To do this, you need to come to Baklu and walk around the entire plateau, examine the cozy, sun-warmed caves, so similar to. And, of course, you shouldn’t say goodbye to the ancient settlement. Experience shows that once you get here, you will definitely want to come back...
On the approaches to Bakla there is the famous Shaitan-Koba grotto (or Devil's Cave). This is a special place, which is a monument of archeology and history. The fact is that in the Mousterian era (300-30 thousand years ago) there was a site of Neanderthal man here. This is evidenced by numerous archaeological finds, including thousands of flint tools, weapons, as well as remains of bones of various animals and birds that prehistoric people hunted. It still remains unclear why the cave was given this strange name, however local residents, unlike tourists and archaeologists, they are in no hurry to visit it... Very often, places where inexplicable and strange events occur are popularly called “devil’s”. Perhaps it was in this cave that people encountered incomprehensible and mystical events... or perhaps something terrible happened here that forced people to avoid the cave? Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, we will not know this secret.
8 km from Bakly, in the Glubokiy Yar ravine, near Bakhchisaray, several vertical stones were found - menhirs, which represent ancient megalithic structures, similar to Stonehenge. Opposite one stone, nicknamed the “sun sight”, there is a so-called “leaky cave” with a “window”, or Teshik-Koba. On the days of the spring and autumn solstices, a ray of sun penetrates through this “window” and falls exactly on the menhir. This is extremely interesting place is probably ancient observatory, and the limestone block is a powerful place of power, attracting esotericists from all over the CIS.