The cave city
Tepe-Kermen is one of the most famous sights of the Crimea. It is located at a
distance of 7 kilometers from
Bakhchisaray - in the valley of the river Kacha. An ancient settlement is
located on Mount Tepe-Kermen, which rises above the river valley at 300 meters.
The shape of the mountain is very similar to the Mayan pyramids.
Cave city, which
was once a large and developed settlement of Tauris. He is one of the main
Crimean attractions-riddles. Not far from this settlement are other cave towns
of Bakhchisaray. Nowhere else on the peninsula of Crimea is there so much
ancient historical and archaeological monuments. Every year, thousands of
tourists visit the ruins of Tepe-Kermen and other Bakhchisaray fort sites.
"Tepe-Kermen"
is translation in means "Fortress on a hill". Its history dates back
to the late 5th - early 6th centuries AD. It was during this period that cave
settlements began to appear on the Crimean peninsula, in which it was possible
to hide from the raids of nomadic tribes. Some historians are inclined to think
that the cave Crimean cities were founded during the reign of Justinian the
First - the Emperor of Byzantium, who
decided in this way to further secure the approaches to Chersonesos.
The heyday of
the city-fortress was in the XII - XIII century. At that time it was actively
built up. In Tepe-Kermen, many residential and household buildings appeared,
and defensive fortifications were strengthened. The foundations of many
non-caving structures have survived to the present day. Until the end of the
XIII century, the fortress on the hill was one of the prosperous cave
fortifications of the Medieval Tauris.
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| Caves of Tepe-Kermen |
But 1299 was a
turning point in the history of the city. Most historians and archeologists are
convinced that Tepe-Kermen ceased to exist as a result of the invasion of Tatar
hordes led by Khan Nogai. The Tatars simply destroyed the entire population
after the capture of the city, and there was no one to restore it.
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| Remains of dwelling |
The historical
and archaeological complex "Fortress on the Hill" covers an area of
more than a hectare. Natural and man-made caves are located in six tiers - at
a height of 1 to 5 meters. They have different shapes - square, rectangular,
oval and round. Several centuries ago in the caves there were dwellings,
temples, handicraft workshops, economic and storage facilities. The largest
caves consist of several "rooms". Walking through the territory of
the ancient city can be very long.
In the western
area of the hillfort on the top of the hill there is a cave temple built in the
11th century. It's unique - there is nothing like this among
the sacred monuments of Crimea carved into the rocks. The temple with the
baptistery is interesting, especially its architectonics, uncharacteristic for
the 11th century. His altar is shifted inwards, not across. This is not the
only, but the most famous church of Tepe-Kermen.
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| The temple with the baptistery |
All excursions
are traditionally completed by climbing to the top of the Fortress on a hill
where you can see a huge stone standing alone on the edge of a steep cliff.
Once upon a time this monolithic block was part of a large building. In one of
the traditions of the cave city, it is said that it was this stone that the
soul of the last mayor of the city moved, who did not wish to leave
Tepe-Kerman..
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| Caves of Tepe-Kermen |
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| Caves of Tepe-Kermen |
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