Many of us go on vacation to popular beach resorts. There something changes every year - new hotels appear, entertainment is added. Not at all the Taman Bay. Here time seems to be asleep. Despite the unique natural conditions, both the water area and the coastal zone remain unchanged, delighting with relative peace and quiet. They do not build modern water parks here, do not arrange vivid shows, and do not develop (yet) large-scale construction. And thank God! Now you can call it a miracle the opportunity in the summer to stroll along the deserted sea shore, see dozens of birds in nature, and not in cages, to sit quietly with a fishing rod. This is what Taman Bay is famous for. And everyone who likes this kind of relaxation is happy to enjoy harmony in this corner of the earthly paradise.
Location
Some argue, Taman Bay - which sea: Black or Azov? The people are misled by the fact that the bay is located exactly in the place where these two seas pass one into the other. Separates them the Kerch Strait, related to the Azov. Along its eastern shores is the Taman Bay. In the northern part of the Kerch Strait lies a long and narrow sand-shell spit Chushka. In the south is the Tuzlinskaya Spit, which is a long elongated island and a man-made dam. The water area between these braids is the Taman Bay. Residents of coastal areas do not argue over the issue of which sea to give priority to. As a joke, they say that they have several: Black - one, Azov - two and "wine" - three, referring to the unusually developed winemaking in the region.
Geographic features
Taman Bay cuts deep into the Taman Peninsula for 16 km. Its width is different, but in the entrance area it is about 8 km. On the north side there is another small bay called Dinsky. It crashes into land for 8 km, and the width measured at the entrance is 2 km. Gulf of Dina is part of Taman. The mirror of both is 38.4 thousand hectares. Both reservoirs have a natural formation by slow lowering of land.
Now this process continues and amounts to 2 to 5 mm annually. The salinity of water in both reservoirs varies with distance from the coastline. So, in coastal areas it is about 2-2.5% (ppm), and far reaches 11.3%. The depth of the water bodies is uneven and ranges from 0.5 to 5 meters in the Taman and up to 4 in the Dinsky bays. There are many lagoons and salt lakes with healing silt deposits in the water area, there is a mud volcano and several small islands. In winter, the water in the bays freezes (from about the second half of December to March). The average temperature in winter is slightly below zero, and in the summer most often around +25 degrees. Due to the shallow depths, the water in the bays warms up to +28, and on some days near the coast it can reach +36 degrees.
Settlements
On the shores of the Taman Bay are the villages of Taman, Sennoy, Primorsky, Volna and Garkush. Taman with a population of just over 10 thousand people is considered a city. It is inextricably linked with M. Yu. Lermontov, although there were other historical figures in this city - the Decembrists, the hero of the war of 1812, General Raevsky, the well-known Mendeleev. All these are pieces of history that glorified the city and Taman Bay. From Anapa, the village is located 60 km.
The remaining settlements are rural. Sennoy settlement is the largest of them. It has 28 streets and 14 lanes. It is connected with the railway branch to the port "Caucasus", located on the spit Chushka. There is a train in the village. D. station. Sennoy is famous for the largest winery in the region “Fanagoria”, where in addition to the store there is a wonderful tasting room. Seaside, Volna and Garkush are popular among holidaymakers due to their low prices and good living conditions. You can get to these settlements by bus or car from Anapa, Temryuk and Krasnodar.
The islands
Taman Bay of the Black Sea is decorated with small but important islands for this ecosystem. The largest of them by area are Dzendzik, Lisiy and Krupinina. Zendzik emerges from the water in the western part of the bay and is located about 500 meters from the Chushka Spit. Its length is about 200 meters, its width is about 100. The soil of the island is sand and shell. The vegetation is mainly cattail, reeds, sedge, and an admixture of some herbs.
Krupinin Island or, as locals say, Krupina, as well as Lysy, is located north of Dzendzik about 1.5-2 km. Their appearance, soil composition, vegetation and wildlife are not much different. Radio enthusiasts and ornithologists like to spend time on these small islands.
Flora and fauna
Paradise for waterfowl can safely be called Taman Bay. The photo better than any words demonstrates excellent living conditions and the breeding of feathered offspring here. Cormorants nest on the islands (more than 700 pairs), river and variegated terns (300 pairs of each species), listed in the Red Book of Russia, grebes, sea zuiks, magpies. There are bustards, swans, white-tailed eagles, loons, belladonna cranes, laughter, and streptos. Up to 250 thousand individuals of various species gather for wintering in the water area. In addition, Taman Bay is located on the bird's migration route. In spring and autumn, more than 500 thousand birds visit these places.
Among other representatives of the fauna, about two dozen species of fish live in the bay, dolphins swim to feed. On land in the floodplains of the coast from large mammals there are hares, foxes, raccoons, badgers, and from small animals - snakes and a bunch of insects.
sights
In addition to the unique ecological natural park, Taman Bay is interesting for the villages located on its shores. Each of them has something to see. So, in Taman there is the Lermontov Museum, which is the house where he stayed. Of great interest is not only the preserved interior, but also the paintings of the poet. In addition, you can visit the Turkish wells and drink fresh water there, take a walk around the Ataman ethnopark, plus swim there and go to the archaeological museum. The region is also rich in archaeological exhibits.
So, not far from Taman there is a unique settlement, founded about 3 thousand years ago and called "Hermonass-Tmutarakan". It stretched from the Taman Bay to Lake Sukhoe. In addition, there are ruins of ancient cities near the village of Primorsky and Sennaya. Here even Putin once found ancient amphorae when he was resting in these parts and diving in the bay.
Healing power
The uniqueness of the Taman Gulf is not only in its beauty and freedom from restless civilization. Perhaps his main advantage is the healing air and dirt. The fact is that in the shallow waters of the bay a special kind of algae grows. Thrown out by the waves onto the land, they create, at first glance, an ugly picture - the coast is as if surrounded by a dirty green belt that smells of hydrogen sulfide. But these plants that are exposed to the sun are an invaluable gift of nature, since they can help from many diseases, rejuvenate and improve the skin. Many tourists come to the Taman Bay just for applications from them and for the sake of healing air. The reviews of people resting here are always benevolent. Even in a short time, many managed to get rid of rheumatic pains and improve their general condition. Only those who go to the bay in search of modern entertainment are unhappy. In addition to algae, mud volcanoes and salt of estuaries have healing powers. The most popular volcano Plevaka-Blevaka, located 7 km from the base of the spit Chushka.
Fishing
Fishing is one of the types of outdoor activities that Taman Bay boasts. Depth and salinity, as well as its man-made eriks, allow both marine and freshwater fish to multiply actively. Bearing, bull-calves, flounder, mullet, lobans, horse mackerel, red mullet are caught here. Near the coast and in freshwater reservoirs you can catch pike perch, asp, sabrefish, rudd, pike and many, many other fish. In the water area of the bay, fishermen even dug channels to make it easier to rest actively. One of these spontaneous hydraulic structures served as the reason for the separation of the whole island called Tuzla from the Tuzlinskaya Spit. They fish in the bay in winter and summer, from the shore and from boats. Entrepreneurial people even organized a small business here - for a small fee they take them to places with good bite.
Relaxation
Quite a lot of people prefer noisy resorts the calm and little spoiled by civilization Taman Bay. Rest here you can arrange the most diverse. For lovers of freedom there are plenty of places where it is convenient to set up tents. Nobody drives anyone here, and food can always be purchased from local residents. For lovers of a more comfortable stay, there are two options: rent a house from a local or buy a ticket to a recreation center. There are not as many of them as you might expect. They remind many of those who come here about the old Soviet times, but the service at the recreation centers is quite decent, and the prices are good, they do not bite at all. The private sector can also please with excellent service and low prices. Here in the villages you can rent a room for 250 rubles per day per person, live with all amenities, bask in the clean golden sand beaches, breathe healing air, smear mud and algae, swim in the gentle sea and enjoy a wonderful vacation.