Old Crimea is a city in the eastern region of the Crimean peninsula located on the Churuk-Su river. It was founded in the XIII century, after the entire steppe Crimea became part of the Golden Horde.
Initially, the city was called Kyrym, and then, at the behest of the Genoese, Italian settlers, it began to be called Solhat. Later it was divided into two parts: the Christian, in which the Italians lived, and the Muslim, where the emir’s residence was located. So the double name of the city of Kırım-Solhat appeared.
History
Thanks to the Italian merchants who were active in trade on the peninsula, Kırım-Solhat soon turned into a prosperous city and became a center of commerce on the famous Silk Road connecting Asia and Europe. When the Crimean Khanate appeared , it was renamed Eski-Kırım, which means "Old Kırım", hence the current name Old Crimea came from.
Geography
The city is located next to Mount Agarmysh, which is the easternmost part of the Crimean mountain range, ridges of gentle Crimean mountains. Since 1975, it has been an officially declared natural monument. To the east, the mountain range lowers and passes into the plain. From this place towards the sea stretches a chain of small ridges, fan-shaped, interspersed with valleys. This massif represents the Feodosiya small mountains, the highest ranges are Biyuk-Yanyshar, Tepe-Oba and Uzun-Syrt.
Location
On the eve of entry into the Russian Empire, the Old Crimea, a map of which makes it possible to verify this, became the junction of several paths. The road Simferopol-Feodosia passed through the center of the city, along Yekaterininsky Street. A road led to the Zurichtal colony, the German patrimony, from the eastern city outskirts, the St. George Valley, and along the foot of Mount Agarmysh there was a path to Karasubazar, a large trading city. Another road started from Bakatashskaya Street and headed to the Bulgarian town of Koktebel and the villages of Bakatash, Armatluk, Barakol and Imaret. And, finally, the last, fifth, connected the Old Crimea with the Armenian monastery.
Architecture
In the 19th century, the city began to be built up with Russian houses, respectable one-story mansions. The buildings were built from Ak-Monai shell rock, which was mined in abundance in quarries. When it became known about the upcoming journey through the Crimea of the Russian Empress Catherine II, a palace and a fountain were built in the historical part of Old Crimea to receive it with honor. An Orthodox cathedral was erected there.
The city of Old Crimea consists of several districts with ethnographic features. Its center dates back to ancient times, the medieval church belongs to the period before the invasion of the Tatars, from which only ruins remain at present. From the Middle Ages there are mosques, fountains and a caravanserai. All buildings are currently ruins.
The entire northeastern zone is occupied by the Tatar part of the city. The main street - Mechetnaya - consists of small two-room houses made of adobe with clay floors. There is no ceiling in such buildings, on top there is a gable roof. On the southeastern side of the Old Crimea, Greeks live, whose houses are more solid, built of stone, mostly two-story. And between the Greek and Tatar quarters there are houses of the Armenian population, among which there is one dilapidated medieval church.
Population
The most modern was the western part of the Old Crimea, country houses prevailed there. Neat houses built in a classical architectural style were considered a decoration of the city. It is characteristic that many Russian artists, poets, writers provided their cottages for use by those in need. For example, the cottage of the poetess K. Umanskaya became a boarding house for patients with tuberculosis. Many wealthy residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg moved to the Old Crimea, built houses and lived, actively engaged in charity work.
Russian country houses were concentrated on the Bulgarian street. Their architecture was diverse. There was everything: from the pseudo-Moorish style and provincial classicism to modernity. As a continuation of the quarters of Russian country houses, cottages of the sanatorium were built, which was intended for people in need of treatment of internal diseases. To the west of the Russian summer cottages there is a whole colony of Bulgarian settlers, which was called - Bulgarian. There were houses in the Bulgarian national style, a church and a school. Five fountains were constantly operating in the settlement, from which residents took water for household needs.
Bulgarian settlement
The Bulgarian colony lived its own life quite apart, people tried to provide themselves with everything necessary. At each house a cattle barn was built, a cellar and a small barn. However, people did not avoid communicating with other citizens. The whole Old Crimea gathered on a Bulgarian fair, arranged on a small square near the church, on Sundays. Trade proceeded briskly, made new acquaintances, and established business ties. The personal life of the townspeople was no exception - mixed marriage happened quite often.
Sights of the Old Crimea
The city has many attractions, the main of which are buildings of the XIII-XIV centuries, when the former Krym was the center of the Crimean Yurt, the state of the Crimean Tatars. The mosque of Khan Uzbek is still operating. A little away is another mosque of Sultan Beybars, which is the most ancient religious building on the Crimean peninsula. To the east of the city center there was once a mint and a large caravanserai, which at one time contained one hundred camels. There are also the ruins of the Kursum-Jami mosque.
In the south-west direction, five kilometers from the city of Old Crimea, the photo of which is presented on the page, is an Armenian monastery. It is called Surb Khach, which means "Holy Cross". The monastery is operating, belongs to the Apostolic Armenian Church. There are also the ruins of another Armenian monastery - Surb Stefanos.
One of the main attractions of the Old Crimea is considered to be the Catherine Mile, which is an exhibit of the city literary museum. This is a stone column with a square base and an octagonal pommel, designed for a road-landscape reference point. In addition to this exhibit, there are four more pillars with similar names, all of them are in the Crimea.
Not far from the city of Old Crimea, in a southerly direction, is located the source of St. Panteleimon the Great Martyr. It is built into the chapel, which was restored in 2001 instead of the burned out in a fire in 1949.
Green Road
The most visited attraction of the Old Crimea is the Green Road. The writer Alexander Green often walked along this path to Koktebel, where his close friend Maximilian Voloshin lived at that time. Voloshin himself often walked along this road, and also on it one could meet the Tsvetaev’s sisters, Sergey Efron, Maria Zabolotskaya, Voloshin’s wife, who loved to walk alone.
Old Crimea, where rest was considered the best pastime, quickly became one of the most attractive cities of the Crimean peninsula, celebrities, writers, actors, artists began to gather in it.