The mountain is like a white rock. Excursion to the white rock, Belogorsk. Scythian barrows, caves and place of execution
Ak-Kaya or White Rock is not the most promoted tourist place in Crimea. Meanwhile, its history is rich in significant events. From ancient times, the snow-white fortress served as a refuge for both the beast and man. The caves and grottoes of Ak-Kaya hide many secrets and archaeological discoveries, and the picturesque snow-white slopes of the mountain are a wonderful natural scenery, which is actively used by directors and artists.
hospitable mountain
In the southeastern part of Crimea, above the valley of the Biyuk-Karasu River, in a corner remote from popular resort places, stands the magical Ak-Kaya - a snow-white rock, the same age as mammoths and Neanderthals.
Once the mountain was under water, at the bottom of the boundless ancient ocean. In the thickness of its limestone, archaeologists have found confirmation of this - the fossilized remains of ancient mollusks and fish. The sensational discovery occurred more than 20 years ago. In one of the quarries of the mountain, the bones of an amphibious whale of 50 million years of storage were found!
When the waters of the mighty Tethys receded, the land rose, raising Ak-Kai above the Crimean steppes. Blown by the winds, washed by rains for hundreds of centuries, the rock changed its appearance, acquiring, in the end, bizarre outlines with pillars-towers and caves, similar to the loopholes of a fortress. Here, in harsh prehistoric times, all kinds of earthly creatures, including primitive man, found refuge. In the upper cave of Altyn-Teshik (translated as the Golden Nora), located at a height of 52 meters, many animal bones were found, among which the majority were the remains of mammoths, as well as stone tools. Not so long ago, another sensational discovery occurred: in the Golden Hole, during excavations, researchers discovered perfectly preserved skeletons of a Neanderthal woman with a child, who are 150 thousand years old!
Despite the inaccessibility of Altyn-Teshik, the flow of curious guests visiting the cave does not decrease. The Golden Burrow has acquired a lot of legends, according to one of which its 20-meter grotto was once the lair of a werewolf snake. In the cave, allegedly, there is a secret hole that stretches all the way to Feodosia. Another tale explains the "golden" nickname of the cave. According to it, a chest with gold is hidden in Altyn-Teshik. There are many who want to find treasures, however, so far no one has found the treasure ...
A fairy tale is a lie, but a hint to it. It is likely that the hidden bowels of the White Rock are indeed hidden precious caches. When exploring the upper and lower caves, tamgas were discovered - generic signs of the Sarmatians, indicating the presence of a warlike tribe in the caves of Ak-Kaya. Who knows, maybe one day, some lucky person will find a treasure with Sarmatian gold.
The foothills of Ak-Kaya are no less attractive place for treasure seekers. Closer to summer, various people with shovels flock to Karasubazar (as Belogorsk was called in ancient times), near which the rock is located. It is not surprising, because here is the largest concentration of ancient Scythian burial mounds, and among them, perhaps, there are rich tombs of Scythian kings.
By the way, once Karasubazar was a rich trading city through which the famous Silk Road passed. In 1666, the famous Turkish traveler Evliya Chelebi, who visited Crimea, wrote: “This city is located in the very center of Crimea. A river flows through it, and on it there are more than 100 rotating water mills. Throughout the city, springs gurgle and bathe gardens. In total there are 8 bridges made of wood... On both sides of the city, to the right and left of Karasu, countless orchards and vineyards are worthy of praise. In general, if we describe this city in detail, countless books will turn out, and this will become a hindrance to travel ... "
A significant section of the Great Silk Road from Sudak and Kafa through Karasubazar and Solkhat to the north - to Veliky Novgorod, was controlled by the powerful Tatar clan Shirin. In honor of the owner of the surroundings of the rock, a descendant of Genghis Khan, she was given another name - Shirinskaya. The noble family consisted of more than 300 murzas, the eldest of whom was elected, on top of the White Rock. The Shirin Beys were so influential that the Gireys gave their daughters as wives to their sons.
During the reign of the Khanate in the Crimea, the slave trade became one of the main sources of income for the local population. The surroundings of the White Rock were filled with the ringing of shackles. Those sentenced to death were mercilessly pushed from a height of 100 meters. Often they killed innocent hostages, demanding a ransom by blackmail. Twice Bogdan Khmelnitsky, captured in 1620, was brought to the White Rock. In front of his eyes, captives were thrown from the mountain, forcing him to ask the hetman not to delay with the ransom.
During the Russian war for the Crimea in 1777, the White Rock became the headquarters of the famous Russian commander A.V. Suvorov. A talented military leader, managing a 10,000th army of soldiers, managed to snatch victory from Kalgi-Sultan, which has several times superior forces. The enemy was taken by surprise. First, the Tatar courtyards, which were clearly visible from the mountain, were hit with cannons, and then the cavalry rushed over the rock, dispersing the Shirin army through the surrounding mountains. After, on the White Rock, the Crimean Khan Sahib Giray signed an agreement with Prince Dolgoruky, according to which the Crimea was declared independent of Turkey by the Khanate.
The result of Russia's 10-year war for the Crimea was also summed up on the White Rock. On June 10, 1783, Prince G.A. Potemkin took the oath of allegiance to the Russian state of the Crimean Tatar nobility. Then the city of Karasubazar became the administrative center of the peninsula.
At the top of the White Rock
A path leads to the White Rock along the eastern corner ledge. Being part of the Inner Ridge of the Crimean Mountains Ak-Kaya, from the side of the plain it has a height of 100 meters. In some places, the ascent makes travelers sweat a lot, but the efforts are rewarded with a stunning view. The top of the White Rock is a flat surface. In the east - a chain of ancient burial mounds. On the other hand - the valley of the Biyuk-Karasu River and, as if in the palm of your hand, Belogorsk. In clear weather, you can see the eastern part of Simferopol, and in the distant haze, closer to the horizon, the ridges of the Main Ridge and the high massif of Karabi-Yaila stretch.
White Rock is beautiful at any time of the day. At night, especially during the full moon, the mountain looks mysterious and mystical, shining in the dark with the whiteness of its ledges. It is no coincidence that Ak-Kaya is a favorite place for filming adventure films. Everyone's favorite Soviet feature films were filmed against the backdrop of the White Rock: Headless Horseman, Mirage, Fifteen-Year-Old Captain, Business People, Lobo, General Lukacs, Mustang Pacer and even Cipollino and many others.
There is no better place to film a western! By the way, those who want to feel like a cowboy can rent a horse. At the foot of the White Rock there is a horse farm. There, travelers will be offered to drink cool koumiss and ride a horse: In addition, there are rest rooms on the farm, so you can stop for a couple of days and try to find Sarmatian gold!
How much I traveled around the Crimea, I always had the feeling that on this island of land someone had collected geological and landscape beauties from almost all over the world - so many different reliefs and views can be found here.
One of these places can be called the White Rock, which will be discussed today.
Almost in the middle of the Crimea, between the Main mountain range and the endless steppes, an extremely unusual cuest formation rises more than 300 meters, reminiscent of the world-famous landscapes of Arizona (albeit with the exception of the color scheme) - the vertical wall of Ak-Kaya, or White rock.
It is hard to imagine, but this rock was once the seabed, as evidenced by the huge number of fossilized shells and mollusks that come across here just under your feet.
Since Soviet times, this place has been chosen by directors who make films about the American West, Indians and not only - at different times on the White Rock they filmed "The Man from Capuchin Boulevard", "Mustang Pacer", "Leader of the Redskins", "Mirage", "Chipollino", "Armed and Very Dangerous", "Kings and Cabbage", "Lobo", "Changers", "Wonderful Valley", "Headless Horseman", "Airplane Flies to Russia", "Dungeon of the Witches", "Escape to the ends of the world”, “Code of the Apocalypse”, etc.
2. White rock is located in the Belogorsk region of Crimea above the valley of the Biyuk-Karasu river. If you get to it from the north, you will not immediately realize that you are heading for an incredible cliff - you are driving along steppe roads that roll over hills and suddenly ... there is a sheer wall under you.
From the south, the rock looks exactly like in the photo - Ak-Kaya directly on the left, Mount Ajilar on the right. Between them, a crumbling winding road goes up, along which they used to climb the plateau. Now there is an asphalt road to the right of Ajilar, from which a dirt road already branches off at the top, passing almost along the edge of Ajilar and Ak-Kai. 
3. The White Rock was formed by the erosion and weathering of Cretaceous limestones and sandstones over many thousands of years. If you stand under the rock itself, at the foot you can clearly see the mounds of what were once rock walls 
4. Plateau on Mount Ajilar. Here, at the foot of Ajilar and further, in the hollow between it and Ak-Kaya, the very films that I mentioned at the very beginning were filmed 
5. Views from the plateau of Mount Ajilar 
6. Field geometry 
7. And in the distance you can already see the White Rock 
8. The same giant repeater, which I have already mentioned earlier, is also located here. 
9. At the foot of the White Rock, more than one city was built with scenery for filming. Everything that you saw, for example, in "The Man from the Boulevard des Capucines", was located exactly in this place under the rock. 
10. Views from the White Rock 
11. The tip of the rock wall. It feels like someone just cut off all the excess with a knife 
12. The height here is about 325 meters above sea level 
13. The old road that led to the rock. Today, you can climb it only on a well-prepared off-road vehicle. 
14. Faults in the upper part of the plateau. There are generally a lot of faults, natural grottoes and caves. 
15. Rock wall of the White Rock. Below you can clearly see the scree created by the wind. 
16. One day these "small" pieces will fall off and fly down with a roar 
17. At the foot of the White Rock in the 70s, about 20 sites of primitive man of the Mousterian era were excavated.
And near the ancient hearths, a large number of bone remains of the extinct fauna of the Crimea were found: mammoth, cave bear, giant and red deer, saiga, primitive bull, wild horse, onager, etc. 
18. One of the breaks on the rock wall 
19. But once it was the seabed. Yes, it's hard to believe, but it's true. Here and there under your feet you come across such stone blocks, which consist entirely of fossilized shells. 
20. Clam frozen in stone 
21. Somewhere it's just a piece of rock 
22. Some mollusks themselves became pebbles. 
23. White rock, view from the road. This is how most people passing by see it. 
24. Layer cake created by wind and time... 
(Crimea) for a modern person is like the Wild West. It is full of mysteries of ancient times, secrets and is one of the unusual, mysterious and attractive places on the peninsula. It is located near the city of Belogorsk. There are almost no crowds of tourists here, so this area retains its charm, it has not yet been spoiled by the benefits of civilization. In addition, the White Rock is of no interest to beach lovers.
First impression of the mountain
This is good, because the beauty provided to us by nature can be quickly destroyed. This is rare in the world, and this is a real miracle of the Crimea. If you find yourself in these places, you need to admire them, only then it will be clear that the peninsula is not only beaches and the sea. Its typical landscapes, reminiscent of the Wild West, were very popular with cinemas and many Soviet-era films were shot here, such as “The Man from Capuchin Boulevard”, “The Headless Horseman” and others.
The action of all the paintings took place among the wonderful landscapes surrounding this place. They call this amazing miracle of nature Ak-Kaya, which translates as “white rock”. Crimea is very decorated with this beauty, which actually has such a color, especially when viewed from afar. Although there is nothing strange here, since the rock consists of limestone. When the sun shines on it, in front of us is a real bewitching sight.
Stunning view - reason for hiking and more
It is advisable to walk through the territory of the entire Ak-Kaya, to visit one of the caves belonging to the Paleolithic period. You will not regret it, because it offers stunning views of the surroundings. By the way, walking is not the only way to travel and get to know this unique wonder. You can also explore these places on horseback.
In this case, there will be much more impressions, as you will feel like a hero of Soviet films shot here. (Crimea) is definitely worth visiting these places. It is far enough away from the noisy and crowded cities, it will give you the opportunity to visit the unique Crimean nature, see amazing landscapes, and enjoy its charm with your own eyes.
White rock (Crimea), how to get to this wonderful place
It's time to tell you how you can visit these places. It is advisable to first get to Simferopol. There are several ways here: both from Russia and from Ukraine. We will not consider this. We believe that you are already in If the path is not planned on your own car, then from Simferopol we go by any minibus, following in the direction of the city of Belogorsk.
The best reference point for you will be the village of Vishennoe. When you come to its outskirts, you will immediately find yourself not far from the snow-white, wonderful rocks. Now you know how to get to the White Rock (Crimea). Address: Belogorsky district, village of the same name. It is, of course, low, only 325 meters, but it is worth looking at the neighbor of the village of the same name. For the attention of history buffs: until 1948 it was called Ak-Kaya.
More detailed location of the rock
There are people who are not satisfied with this wording of the address. They are not local, and it means nothing to them. For them, there is a special explanation of where the White Rock is located in the Crimea. Its location is 50 kilometers from Simferopol and five kilometers from the highway from the capital of the republic to Feodosia. You need to drive through the city of Belogorsk about one kilometer to the northeast, and then four kilometers to the village of Belaya skala. He is at the very bottom of it. Now, probably, everyone will understand where the local celebrity is located. It remains only to indicate that it rises directly above the valley of the local river Biyuk-Karasu. The height difference between the top of the cliff and the valley is one hundred meters.
The origin of the rock
A very interesting question - where did it come from and how did such an unusual beauty come about? It was formed as a result of weathering and erosion of Paleogene and Cretaceous sandstones and limestones. This process is an example of the well-known cuesto relief. The weathering of the mountain in the upper part created oval niches, grottoes, pillars.
Weathering products are constantly accumulating below - erosion hollows, piles of boulders, scree. Some plants hold back erosion in places. These are thickets of hornbeam and wild rose. All this contributes to the beauty of the White Rock monument (Crimea). The photos posted here convey only part of this splendor.
The history of this cultural monument, excavations
In the sixties and seventies of the last century, at the foot of the cliff, on its northern side, the Crimean expedition of paleontology excavated twenty sites of a primitive man of the Mousterian era. We found a lot of flint points, scrapers, knives. They found a sufficient number of various bone remains of the disappeared fauna of the peninsula near them: an onager, a wild horse, a primitive bull, a saiga, a giant noble deer, a mammoth and others. During the excavations, a fragment of the skull of a Neanderthal, an adult, was first found here, and later the remains of a child of the same time.
The reason is the favorableness of the territory of the White Rock object (Crimea) for housing: river water, many sheds and grottoes, deposits of the necessary flint. Even a high cliff was useful - it was ideal for hunting many animals. Already in our era, in the first centuries, Sarmatians lived here in a cave. According to some assumptions, it then served as a sanctuary, a kind of temple. Tamgas were found - signs belonging to the clans of that time, which were carved in stone and this confirmed the ownership of these territories.
Scythian barrows, caves and place of execution
Many burial mounds are located on the plateau. At the foot of the cliff in the Middle Ages lived Shirin, the leader of one of the wealthy Tatar families. Access to the upper cave is very difficult, since the entrance to it is located at a distance of 52 meters from the sole in the form of a circle-shaped hole and from the edge of the cliff at 49 meters. There are three legends dedicated to Altyn-Teshik:
- This cave is the lair of a serpent who was a werewolf. He kidnapped handsome men around and brought them here.
- This cave stretches very far - to Feodosia.
- Here the robbers hid a chest of gold.
Elder families were elected on the rock, Murzas dissatisfied with the Khan of Crimea gathered here. In the Middle Ages, Ak-Kaya was a famous place of execution. In front of Bogdan Khmelnytsky, who sometimes visited here, captives were thrown off the cliff in order for the hetman to pay the ransom on time. Suvorov's headquarters was here in 1777. In 1783, the Crimean nobility took the oath of allegiance to Russia here.
What are these places now?
If you are a fan of ancient sights, come to Belogorsk (Crimea). The white rock will enchant you with its beauty. Although, if you get close enough, you will see that the wall of this giant is not white, but has a creamy tint. You can immediately notice a large number of caves and grottoes. In their darkness, one can imagine many dark tunnels that go into the darkness of the dungeons. But in reality, most often they turn out to be small cavities. The white rock has a slightly overhanging “cornice”, under which relief patterns stretch.
They look like honeycombs, some outlandish. They are sometimes called weathering honeycombs, formed as a result of the bombardment of rocks by particles of rocks - sand, which is carried by the wind. The wind that blows here from the west has not only formed small cellular forms, it has also created round windows, grottoes, various niches, as well as columns, and they have been supporting the upper tier for many years. The “roof” of the entire kilometer of the rock is outlined by a weathering belt - horizontal, about a meter wide. From below, the rocks are covered with cones of rubble talus, which are well cut by erosion furrows and ruts. On them in some places there are blocks of limestone of huge size. It is recommended to climb the rock in the late afternoon: soft lighting, not hot, distances open up for observation. If you want to see all the holes, follow the path located in the west of the cliff. And don't forget to shoot, shoot, shoot all the time. Numerous photographs will remind you of this excursion.
Entertainment for outdoor enthusiasts
If you are tired of a relaxing holiday, and you want to cheer yourself up well, then for brave tourists there are organized jumps from the White Rock (Crimea), carried out from a height of 120 meters. Since only 20 jumps are possible per day, prior registration is required: the event is organized by the Adrenaline active recreation club. Jumps are performed with a rope, the first - for 1200 rubles, the next - for 900. If you wish, you can climb the rock for 180 rubles on a horse.
The program is very active, including camping and gatherings around a friendly fire. Its cost includes a video-photo report as a keepsake, everything is then laid out on VKontakte. Those who dare to jump are awarded a certificate. Safety is guaranteed, and there are a lot of impressions about 80 meters of free fall.
Fishing at the White Rock
As we have already reported, the local river Biyuk-Karasu flows not far from the rock. One of the best fishing in the Crimea is organized on it. White Rock is a great landmark for this. The area of the reservoir is 4.8 hectares. The pond is equipped in the Belogorsky district, the village of Ukrainka. To get to it, you need to go along the Feodosiya highway from Simferopol to the village of Zuya, this is about 18 kilometers, then turn left to the desired settlement (another eight kilometers). Here for carp fishing there is a special reservoir, fishing is carried out according to the “catch-and-release” rule.
You can catch cupid, silver carp, carp - Hungarian, mirror and scaly. You can stay in equipped cabins. That is, those who did not set out to swim in the sea will be satisfied with how they spent their vacation.
The White Rock (Ak-Kaya) is a well-known landmark of the Crimea, which is located between the steppe part of the peninsula and its main mountain range. This is also the name of the village, which until 1948 bore the name of Ak-Kaya, (“White Rock” in Tatar). Since 1981, Ak-Kaya has been a natural monument.
Geographic features
Ak-Kaya is a sheer cliff that rises above the valley of the river. Biyuk-Karasu at 100 m. The valley itself is 225 m above sea level. The geological rocks that make up the mountain are white limestones as well as sandstones, which provides a unique color. The peculiarities of these rocks allowed nature to create a real miracle by weathering: grottoes, niches, and pillars appeared closer to the top of the rock. In its lower part, blockages of boulders, picturesque screes and hollows formed. The rock is partially protected from erosion by wild rose bushes and hornbeam, which have actively grown at its foot.
The height of the cliffs reaches 107 meters.!
This is a treasure trove of information for geologists. in the rock layers, the remains of the ancient inhabitants of the sea, which was once here, are perfectly preserved.
Historical reference
Archaeological expeditions in 1960 - 70s. were able to unearth 20 sites of an ancient man (their age is 300 - 30 thousand years BC) at the foot of Ai-Kai. In addition, the remains of ancient animals were found:
- - mammoth,
- - cave bear
- - giant deer
- - onar, and a number of others, no less interesting.
The natural conditions of the mountain - caves, grottoes, a nearby river, the presence of a silicon deposit - made these places very comfortable for the primitive inhabitants of Crimea. In addition, it was convenient to drive prey to the sheer cliff during the hunt.
It was in this place that the remains of a Neanderthal were found for the first time on the peninsula.
At the beginning of a new era, the Sarmatians lived in this territory, scientists believe that the rock was a sanctuary for them.
In the Middle Ages, the Tatars already settled here. The noble family Shirin, descendants of Genghis Khan, controlled part of the Silk Road passing through the current Belogorsk. For them, Ak-Kaya played the role of a veche, where the Elder clan was elected, and the Murzas discussed their claims to the Crimean Khan.
But it was also a convenient place of execution. The owners of the area, who did not disdain the slave trade, threw off the cliff those whom they could not (or did not want to) ransom. Bogdan Khmelnitsky himself, who was captured by the Tatars in his youth, saw this. Then, before the eyes of the future hetman, the captives were executed in order to stimulate him to collect money more intensively for his own ransom.
Interesting:
The Shirin clan was so powerful that the khans of Crimea gave their daughters to them as wives. And the city of Karasubazar (now Belogorsk) was considered the economic capital of the khanate.
In 1777, the headquarters of A.V. Suvorov, who defeated the Tatar army. An oak tree has been preserved at the foot of Ai-Kaya, under which, according to legend, the great commander rested.
Good to know:
On the plateau of the White Rock in 1783, the elite of the defeated Crimean Khanate, through their representatives, swore allegiance to the Russian Empire.
Legends of Ak-Kai
The inhabitants of Crimea are very fond of telling beautiful legends about their wonderful peninsula. And the White Rock is simply created for amazing events to take place here.
According to one version, once it was the dwelling of the Zmey Gorynych himself. As usual, the monster flew around the neighborhood, stealing livestock from people for food, and, according to the laws of the genre, fell in love with a young girl. The Serpent dragged his chosen one to the cliff.
Beauty found out how to kill the monster, and dropped the letter with information from the mountain. But in vain she waited for help, no one came. Time passed, she gave birth to a baby, for which a happy father made a golden cradle. And only when he heard the cry of the baby, a certain hero took out a magic sword and managed to defeat Gorynych. True, the end of the legend is sad - everyone died, including the beauty and the child, with whom she threw herself off the cliff. Only the golden cradle remains, and enthusiasts still hope to find it.
According to another legend, one of the most famous caves of Ai-Kai (Altyn-Teshik) served as a treasury for local robbers, hence the name, which in Russian sounds like “Golden Burrow”. And some are sure that an underground passage begins from this cave to Feodosia itself. There are other interesting stories connected with the rock.
Be that as it may, but Ai-Kaya is a real treasure for scientists. Lots of discoveries made here.
— geologists,
- biologists.
— ethnographers
archaeologists and historians.
Video review
Information for tourists
The legendary treasures of the Golden Hole and the Scythian mounds attract modern treasure hunters to the White Rock, but it is no less popular with ordinary tourists.
You can climb Ai-Kaya:
– by car, preferably in an SUV and not in winter;
– on a horse, at the foot of the cliff there is a horse farm, where they will rent a horse, and they will offer a route to choose from - 1.5 hours up and down a steep path or a calm ascent and descent in 3 hours;
- on foot, which, of course, cannot be called an easy walk, but all difficulties will be rewarded with beauty that can only be appreciated from the top point.
Going to the White Rock, travelers see not only this miracle of nature itself and breathe the beautiful air, but also get acquainted with historical artifacts, excavations of the ancient Scythian settlement. And many more wonderful experiences await them along the way.
Important!
There is no shade on the plateau, you need to take hats, and there will be no place to take the water that is on the mountain!
Fans of active and extreme recreation can try rope jumping (jumping off a cliff on a rope). And romantic natures stay at the campsite and spend the evening with a guitar by the fire
Interesting:
The unusual shape and beauty of the mountain attract filmmakers. Many famous films were filmed here, among them
- "The Man from the Boulevard des Capucines"
- "Headless horseman",
- "The Star and Death of Joaquin Murieta"
- "Business people".
How to get to Ai-Kai
From Simferopol to the village of Belaya Skala is only 47 km,
- by car you need to go along the highway to Feodosia, then turn to Belogorsk;
- by bus from the Vostochnaya bus station to Belogorsk, then take a minibus to the village of Belaya Skala, then on foot;
- Possibility to travel by bus.
Address: Belogorsky district, Belaya Skala village
White Rock on the map of Crimea
GPS Coordinates: N 45 06.483 E 34 37.317 Latitude/Longitude
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One of the most interesting natural sights of Crimea is the White Rock near Belogorsk. It is clearly visible from the Kerch-Simferopol highway, but we advise everyone - take your time, turn to it, take a closer look!
White rock on the map of Crimea:
April-May is the best time for an excursion to the White Rock (Ak-Kaya, Turk.). In the spring of her, rather modest vegetation has not yet withered in the sun, and most importantly, crows bloom in Krasnaya Balka - strikingly beautiful wild peonies.
White rock - a miracle of the Central Crimea
We arrived at Belogorsk at 8 o'clock, when the rock was still in a light morning haze, so we decided to start exploring the surrounding sights with a visit to the Suvorov Oak. The highway all the way from and partially to Belogorsk now resemble a huge construction site - the Tavrida highway, bridges across rivers, a canal are being built:
Crimea has not seen anything like this for a long time.
Suvorov oak and Biyuk-Karasu
The 800-year-old oak itself is simply amazing (diameter 4 m, circumference 10 m, crown 40 m), you feel like an ant next to you:
This is not only a botanical, but also a historical monument - under it is our famous commander A.V. Suvorov in 1777 accepted the surrender from the envoys of the Turkish Sultan. This happened after a 10,000-strong Russian army defeated a 40,000-strong Turkish one not far from this place.
From the oak we went to the rock, but crossing the bridge over the Biyuk-Karasu River, we decided to first drive up to it, it winds painfully beautifully in these places:
Then they turned to the rock itself, to the very place that resembles the prow of a ship. Its height above sea level is 325 meters, above the valley is more than 100 meters. There are many such cuestas in Crimea - mountains, steep on one side and gentle on the other. We previously talked about an excursion to a similar one -. But the White Rock is undoubtedly the most unusual.
Many probably recognized this landscape from Soviet and Russian films, of which more than a dozen were filmed here. Therefore, I was also immediately indignant - I see Texas, but where are the cowboys on horseback? Immediately, as if by my order, the horses appeared, but the unlucky "cowboy" ran screaming after him.
Onosma bloomed at the foot of the White Rock - a Red Book plant with funny yellow bells:
Yellow flowers predominate noticeably in the area, especially on the arid yayla - the flat top of the mountain, but more on that later.
Having admired the white mass hanging over our heads, we decided to climb into the grotto. In fact, there are a lot of grottoes, caves and other recesses in the White Rock. It is not for nothing that about 40 sites of an ancient man were found in these places.
Grottoes Altyn Teshik, Uch-Koba and Krasnaya Balka
At the nose of the cliff there are two large caves. The first, similar to a huge drop and inaccessible to an ordinary tourist, is Altyn Teshik. Here the robbers supposedly hid a rich treasure. Now birds live in the cave (or as in a bird market).
The second is called the Lower or Big Grotto. There is a steep, but quite accessible trail leading to it. At this time, her summer adonis (Adonis) and hybrid poppy were blooming (not the self-seed that makes the Crimean fields turn red in May, but its earlier and smaller counterpart).
Once in the grotto, judging by the excavations, there was a sanctuary of the Sarmatians. Now, at the entrance to the grotto, a huge hawthorn is growing, just blooming the first flowers.
Inside, unfortunately, everything is not so great. Too many "Neanderthals" visit it these days.
Mice lay around the grotto, dropped kestrels, several pairs of which actively scurried around the area, either flying away or returning to the rock, where they were met by the sharp cries of chicks.
Further along the mountain, we drove by car, admiring the bizarre outlines of rocks and grottoes (this group of grottoes is called Uch-Koba), and stopped at the foot of the Red Beam. It is named so in honor of Vorontsov (anguish-leaved peony), which covers it with a raspberry-scarlet carpet for one or two weeks every spring:
We were a little late, so most of the peonies had faded and the beam looked rather modest:
But in the bushes at the foot of the yayla, spring adonis began to bloom, also a rare protected plant.
On the plateau (yayla) of the White Rock
Another minute or two and we are on the yail, from where an unusually beautiful view opens up on the surroundings. That is why, although you can climb to the top by car, we still advise you not to do this, but to walk along the cliff on foot.
This walk will take at most an hour, and the impressions will last a lifetime.
The Ak-Kaya massif, composed of Paleogene and Cretaceous limestones, is part of the low but picturesque inner ridge of the Crimean Mountains, which also separates the Main Range.
The plant community of the plateau can be safely attributed to the type of asphodeline steppes, thanks to this plant, asphodeline, resembling young pines:
They were just beginning to bloom, delighting the bumblebees, whose long proboscises can only reach the deeply hidden nectar:
We also met insects from the Red Book Crimean butterflies-sailboats and a friendly company of large caterpillars of the ringed silkworm (or some of its relatives). Apparently they have already eaten everything where they hatched and have just marched to a new place:
We brought binoculars, so we got the opportunity to admire not only the life of insects, but also birds.
The most interesting (and beautiful) were the kestrels, which, completely ignoring us, flew along the rocks, from time to time uniting with their neighbors to drive away crows and crows from their nests. There were also a lot of swifts, but it was difficult to see the black lightning, but they perfectly heard the loud “shush” of their wings.
Here is the edge of the White Rock, I am resting on the sharp bow of the “ship”:
Once upon a time, the heads of the Tatar families were elected here, here in front of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, captives were thrown off a cliff in order to hurry him with a ransom, here in 1783 representatives of the Crimean Tatar nobility took an oath of allegiance to the Russian Empire before Prince Potemkin.
Now on the right hand you can see how the fields are turning green, in the distance the pine forest is darkening:
On the left, such a lunar landscape prevails:
By the way, it is convenient to start the excursion route along a wide path that runs between these hills and the White Rock, climb it up, then go through the plateau, go down the Red Beam and return to the beginning of the route along the road along the cliff. We drew it on the map.
On the way back, we no longer went along the cliff, but approximately along the center of the plateau and almost immediately began to stumble upon local orchids:
In general, there are many orchids in Crimea and all are protected by law, you can’t tear them.
A 7-10 minute leisurely walk from the edge of the cliff is a quarry where stone was once cut for neighboring settlements:
Since Karasubazar (now Belogorsk) was the trading capital of the Crimean Khanate for a long time, he needed a lot of stone.
Interesting fossils found nearby:
These are nummulites (because they resemble coins), shells of unicellular organisms of the foraminifera order. Imagine, 100 million years ago, unicellular (!) Organisms built houses for themselves, resembling spiral flying saucers, the size of a silver royal ruble! By the way, the Egyptian pyramids are built of such nummulite limestone.
Unfortunately, we, with our meager knowledge in paleontology, could not determine the name of this fossil, perhaps part of the spirifer shell.
Finally, we admired how the rock crystal found right there shimmers in the sun:
At the edge of the plateau, we wandered a little, looking from above the caves covering the edge of the beam, found a descent, and suddenly, from the dry and almost bare steppe, we got into the “jungle” - dense thickets of trees and shrubs, which ivy diligently braids, moving along the rocks.
There are a lot of caves, or rather grottoes, they are dry, cozy, it is not surprising that ancient people settled in them. Moreover, the plateau served as a convenient place for hunting - surrounded the animal and drive it to the cliff.
Finally, after admiring the amazingly bright peonies again, we got into the car and drove on.
Ak-Kaya settlement and Kok-Koba grotto
Soon, behind the Red Beam, the rocks move apart and the road turns right towards Cherry. On the left hand there will be a rock:
On it is the Scythian settlement Ak-Kaya (III century BC - III century AD). On the plateau itself, numerous round and square holes remind of this:
Some of the buildings were excavated a little lower (on the contrary, you can see the Kok-Koba grotto):
The size of this settlement was second only to the Scythian Naples, excavated near Simferopol, and alternately belonged to the Scythians, Romans, Khazars. The total area of the settlement is 10 hectares, that is, there is still digging and digging, and many interesting discoveries await us. Perhaps it will be possible to prove that this is the medieval fortress of Fulla, mentioned in the annals as standing at the "cave with a source."
After examining the settlement, we went to the same “cave with a source” - to the Kok-Koba grotto:
It is huge and extremely picturesque:
When we entered through a small side entrance, a herd of cows was resting there, then a herd of schoolchildren, much more frisky and noisy, joined our company:
The uniqueness of the grotto is that its water oozes directly from the walls, in some places drips from the ceiling, and in the center it forms a waterfall of drops that gather into a small bowl carved in the rock and flow down in a stream into a reservoir overgrown with reeds at the foot of the grotto.
All this is unusual and very beautiful.
The grotto of Kok-Koba was the last point of our journey. Through Cherry we went to the track, and once again admiring the White Rock from it, full of impressions, we went home.
