In our opinion, this cave city is the most interesting of all the cave cities of Crimea. This is the opinion not only of us, but also of many local residents who are engaged not only in tourism in their native land, but also explore them in detail. Undoubtedly, Eski-Kermen is unique, but now we will discuss what.
We pay entrance tickets and get into the territory. First we go from the bottom of the mountain on which the cave city is located, then we go up.
We will start the ascent from the side of the Temple of the Three Horsemen and then we went to explore the city along a free route, as the path led.
A bit of history. Let’s start with the fact that this is a medieval walled city founded in the 6th century AD. It is located not so far from Bakhchisaray, there are several more cave cities almost nearby. The area of Eski-Karmen is more than 8 hectares. This cave city is located on a table-like plateau (table mountain), rising 30 meters. The role for which this Byzantine fortress was founded was in defense against the raids of the Crimean nomads. The fortress existed until the 14th century and wars with families lived in it, in the amount of more than 2000 people at the moments of the maximum «flourishing» of the city.
On the territory there are wide streets through which carts could pass, there were quarters and a Basilica built in the 6th century AD, as well as several temples with frescoes that have survived to this day.
Remains of the Eski-Kermen Basilica Remains of the Eski-Kermen Basilica
The ruins of the settlement have survived, and these are about 350 caves on the mountain itself and more than 50 beyond. In fact, in most cases, it was the caves that performed precisely the economic role (cellars, sheds, premises for livestock, etc. The buildings themselves for people’s lives were located above the caves or next to them.
The city was destroyed at the end of the 13th century by the Mongols, but the city survived, although this greatly crippled it. At the end of the 14th century, new Mongols raids completely destroyed the city.
Eski-Kermen, like many places in the Crimea, is a movie hero, several films were shot here. The most famous is the film «9th Company», the locations of Afghanistan were filmed here. Do you remember the round holes in the cave where the soldiers hid?.. The shooting of Witches’ Dungeons, Finist the Bright Falcon and several other lesser-known films took place here as well.
Entrance fee: Adult 100 rubles, children 50 rubles.
With. Red poppy, Crimea
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