Mount Boyko. Crimean Shambhala - mountain smartly. Crimea, Mount Boyko: a description of where it is located, how to get there. Mount Boyka - the anomalous peak of the Crimea

The Boyka massif or the Crimean Shambhala - this is how people call it for a long time.

And not easy! These mountains are a unique natural creation and an anomalous zone of energy and historical value. Filled with legends and facts, a long history of anomalous phenomena, research by ufologists and expeditions for the Grail and other artifacts.

The Boyki massif occupies special place in research medieval history Tauriki. According to researchers, Boyka is unique phenomenon among other fortifications Southwestern Crimea. The remains of six medieval settlements have been found on the territory of Boyka.

Medieval fortifiers erected walls blocking the passes leading deep into the massif. On one of the peaks of Boyka in the VIII-IX centuries. The Church of the Savior, large for that time, was built. In addition, three fortifications were built - two of them - on the top of the Kurushlyu-kai cliff, the third - by the definition of archaeologists - a fortified corral - on a cliff near the Boykinsky waterfall.

The ridge connecting the massif with the Ai-Petri Yayla was dug up by a deep ditch. The area enclosed by walls reaches 225 km². No fortification of Taurica can compare with it in size. According to O.I. Dombrovsky, this settlement was a closed lot, consisting of several rural settlements united around big temple Savior, who in the X-XIII centuries. was a religious and administrative center.

Apparently, Boyka was a fortified church-feudal complex - a phenomenon that was original among the medieval monuments of the Crimea. A similar phenomenon was the massif of Mount Ayu-Dag with its walls and a fortified monastery. The emergence of fortifications on the Main Ridge Crimean mountains historians attribute to the VIII century. It was then that the peninsula fell under the rule of the Khazar Kaganate. In the middle of the VIII century. the Khazars, taking advantage of the weakening influence of Byzantium on the mountainous Taurica, actively penetrate into the foothills, imposing heavy tribute on the population. All this led to the outbreak of the anti-Khazar uprising in 787, which was brutally suppressed by the authorities of the Kaganate.

The authorities of the Kaganate are repairing and restoring the Byzantine fortresses of Mangup and Chufut-kale, erecting the fortification of Kyz-Kermen. The military hardships associated with the struggle for influence in Taurica of the Khazar Kaganate and Byzantium, and then the penetration of the Pechenegs into the Tauride steppe local population seek refuge in the mountains.

In conditions of instability of the situation, the constant threat of raids and robberies, the local population resorts to the construction of mountain shelters fortified with walls. Construction methods obviously bear traces local tradition and examples of Byzantine fortification. The walls of the Boykin fortifications are made up of wild stone dry or with lime mortar. Their width - 1.5 - 2.6 meters, preserved in height up to 3 meters. long walls accessible passes leading to the Boyki plateau were blocked off. The total length of the barrier walls of the massif reaches 1500 m. In addition, there are three fortified shelters, conventionally called Kurshlyuk-I, II, III. VIII - Xvv. - the time of the final victory of the Christian worldview in Mountain Taurica. It was at this time that the Gothic diocese was created. Temples are built in fortresses and settlements. By IX - Xvv. the creation of Christian monasteries in Mountain Taurica also applies.

Mount Satera is located on the Boyka mountain range, a few kilometers from the village of Bogatyr, Bakhchisarai region of Crimea. It was there that one of the feudal fortifications of the Byzantine principality Theodoro (Dori) was located, where the monastery of Christ the Savior was once erected by the Orthodox Greeks. What was built earlier - a fortification or a monastery - is not known. From the monastery and its temple, only the remains of the foundation remained, and from the fortification - almost nothing at all. There are also fragments of walls where it was easiest to climb the mountain.

Near the walls there is now a cross and a jar for donations from pilgrims. On the site where the remains of the foundation of the largest in the Crimean mountains are now located Orthodox church was an ancient shrine. This place has been known since very distant times (14th century BC) and has always been revered by everyone. Who brought flowers to him, who - fruits, who - their wealth, and who forgive me came and passes with one prayer - Our Father, which contains all requests to God, from forgiveness to the descent of the Holy Spirit on a person. Ask the Creator and you will receive. Remember only what will be given to you according to your readiness to bring the Light of the Heart to the world and not otherwise.

The well-known Crimean local historian V.Kh.Kondaraki spoke about the existence of a large temple of the Savior on Boyka. In 1955-1956. archaeologist OI Dombrovsky, examining the Boykin massif, discovered the ruins of a temple on a hill near the Makhuldur pass. The large temple (its dimensions are 27 x 18 m.) was built from a local, rather beautiful stone - the Boykin conglomerate. It is a three-nave, three-apse church of the basilic type. Inside the temple are burial places, obviously, of the priests who served in it.

The mountain is shrouded in secrets and famous for its mystical stories. They say that during two archaeological expeditions carried out on Mount Boyka in the 60s. (under the guidance of Professor O.I. Dombrovsky) and the 80s. (under the guidance of the scientist V.L. Myts), some members of the expeditions, during the measurement of the ruins, very often felt uneasy. Residents of the surrounding villages located near Boyka know about the mysterious influence of the mountain on the human mind, and therefore they try to bypass it. But this does not stop researchers of ancient secrets. Much earlier, in 1927, another expedition visited the Boykin plateau, led by the occult scientist A.V. Barchenko. Repeated attempts to find mysterious Shambhala brought him to the Crimea, to the foot of the Boykinsky mountain range. Search " secret knowledge in the caves" ended unsuccessfully - one of the members secret expedition went crazy, so the research had to stop. Reports about the expedition, labeled "Top Secret", are still stored somewhere in the Lubyanka...

Other seekers of the unknown visited here during the Second World War. Five members of the German service "Ahnenerbe", accompanied by 14 SS men, in the summer of 1942, were searching for ancient artifacts on the top of the mountain. However, after some incident, they hurriedly left this place, taking with them a heavy box with unknown contents ... Five members of the expedition never returned home.

Springs flowing from the mountain have a healing effect. Give Health and Beauty. There are different stories about this place. interesting stories: then tourists will meet white-bearded old men in white linen shirts ... Only this place is strong and by faith it is given to know it. Those who are not ready will not come close to him. But if you hit, be ready to harness yourself and drag your debt cart along the path of life. In general, everything is as always: each is given according to his merits. To whom is forgiven, and to whom it is loaded even more. This place is also sacredly connected with fidelity. If you already got into it, know that soon changes will come in your life ...

In one of the valleys, there is a unique unusual echo that reflects noises that have arisen many kilometers from it. There is even a certain sound-enhancing background, for example, birdsong is amplified several times here. Laid here hiking route for ordinary tourists who just love Crimean nature. Chairs treat guests with delicious wild fruits. The sound amplification effect allows you to fully enjoy the birdsong. From the top and in its vicinity you can do very beautiful photos. Mount Boyko in Crimea, with its steep slopes, is a fairly recognizable place.

There are sights "at the junction" of mysticism and reality. This is the "Rune Labyrinth". This place is overgrown with forest, and the cracks in the rocks form strange patterns that resemble the writings of antiquity. The evenness of some cracks is surprising, and there is almost no doubt that these are far from the consequences of a glacier, which are the easiest to explain incomprehensible signs on the rocks. In unusually straight faults lovers mystical phenomena see ancient writings of extraterrestrial forces. Scientists explain their appearance by failures rocks, dissolved during the retreat of glaciers, but this does not make the place less beautiful (albeit less dangerous).

From the slopes of Boyka you can admire the picturesque panorama grand canyon. For this the best places considered viewing platforms called capes. The best are considered the 2nd and 4th, as well as Trapis. Also, views of the rocks of Syuyuryu-Kaya and Sedam-Kaya and views of the small canyon of these places, created by the Sary-Uzen River, open from here. Also, from the lookout near t / s Boyk, you can see the slopes of the surrounding mountains: Sotira, Khush-Kaya, Karaul-Kaya and Eagle Fly rocks (not to be confused with the mountain Sedam-Kaya mentioned above, which also has a similar name).

There are many temporary watercourses on the slopes of Boyko, including the Yokhagan-Su stream (Dry stream), which flows into Auzun-Uzen near the second corridor of the Grand Canyon. It forms a series of waterfalls during the spring flood, which can only be seen from the top of Boyko, since visiting the canyon in spring is life-threatening.

popular rumor and personal experience They say that those who have been here will never be the same again. The spirit of the mountain itself will endow you with the strength of the Spirit and longevity, and the magical atmosphere will fly away all heavy thoughts and feelings.

Mount Boyka is a massif separated from the Ai-Petrinskaya yayla by the gorge of the Grand Canyon. Steep cliffs of Boyka hang from the east over the village. Sokolin. When you enter the village from Bakhchisaray, they are visible through the left windows.

There are five peaks in the Boykin massif: Kurushlyuk (1026 m), Boyka (1087 m), Kush-Kaya (1107 m), Karaul-Kaya (1134 m) and Sotira (1172 m).

Boyka is not as famous as her neighbor the Grand Canyon, but she has her own interesting objects both natural and historical.

The top of the Boykinsky massif is covered with a dense beech-hornbeam forest. Some places are completely wild. trails, except planned routes, are weakly pierced. So they don't come here often. I can’t even believe that some 600 years ago life was in full swing on the plateau! On the ridge that connected Kurushlyuk and Sotira, there was a settlement that was quite large for its time - Poika.

"Venerable Poika", as it was called in one of the medieval documents. The inhabitants of Poika were engaged in metal foundry. They mined iron from nodules that were found nearby - in the vicinity of the Mulkhudur pass. A road passed through Poika, linking South coast Crimea(South Coast) and the Belbek Valley. The path of the modern tourist route leading from the village. Bogatyr to Boyka through the Mulkhudur pass, in many respects coincides with the medieval road. In some places along the trail, fragments of old crepes have been preserved.

The settlement on Boyka arose in the 9th-10th centuries. and existed until the end of the 15th century, when it was destroyed by the Turkish invasion. Not even any intelligible ruins have survived from it. The only monument is the remains of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior excavated by archaeologists. The rectangle of the ruins of the temple is all that was left to the descendants as a memory of the “Venerable Poika”. The ancient walls of buildings have long since collapsed and are overgrown with grass, but the name of the settlement has been preserved, but now as the name of a mountain range. Boyka is the slightly modified Boyka.

For the last 500 years, Boyka has remained deserted. Probably, this isolation from the civilized world gave rise to the creation of some mysterious halo around these places. The followers of esoteric teachings call Boyka none other than the Crimean Shambhala.

Two day hike for hikers

Starting point c. Bogatyr (former Mulhudur). The only way to get to the village is by private transport. Public transport there is practically non-existent. You can take the bus -Schastlivoe, which also does not run often, to get to the village. Green and walk to Bogatyr on foot. An option for a group is to hire a minibus in Bakhchisaray.

Behind the lake, on the outskirts of the village, two trails start. In order not to be mistaken, we need to go around the lake, leaving it on the left hand. Further - up the marked path. You can clearly see the ravine between Boyka (right) and Sotira (left) ahead. On this ravine, called on the maps "Yol ravine" ("Yol" - in Tatar "road"), we will climb. The ascent takes about 2 hours and leads to the Mulkhudur pass. At the pass there is a fork of three trails. We need to turn right. Left branch - descent to the Grand Canyon. The right leads directly to the ruins of the temple.

The path along which we came to the temple, almost immediately from its walls, begins to descend to the west, to the Tar-Bogaz pass, which separates the hill with the temple (Kilse-Kaya) from the top of Boyk. We remember this path, we still need it.

Behind the ruins good clearing, from which the Ai-Petri massif and the domes of the radar station on the town of Bedene-Kyr are visible. This is the right place to relax.

After a rest, we return to the mentioned path near the walls of the temple. On it we will go to the next point of our journey - a lookout on the cliff of Mount Boyka. The trail, moving away from the ruins, descends to the Tar-Bogaz pass, then rises to the opposite slope, passes glades, a large oak tree, stone pyramids and goes to a gorgeous lookout, from where the view is like from an airplane: a green plain with spots of villages scattered over it. Falcon, Outback, Novopole, Polyana, Rich Gorge, Aroma, Green. And around the ridges, mountains, the gap of the Belbek gates. The rocks on which the lookout is located are called Ertma-Kaya (Artma-Kaya).

If our hike is one-day, we return back to Bogatyr. If we are counting on two days, we choose a place to spend the night.

The second part of the route starts from the already familiar Mulhudur pass. There are three roads at the fork. Two are less interesting: On Bogatyr and on the temple. The third is towards the Grand Canyon. It is a wide marked road with no branches. We go down it for quite a long time. Finally, we will see the same wide road branching off to the right. We turn to her. Having passed a little, we will see to the right the sign “Boyka tourist camp”. Further - all the time straight. The road will lead to the 4th cape above and go down to the Blue Lake.

Heard and read a lot about one of sacred places Crimea - mountain boyka. She is credited with numerous inexplicable properties, phenomena, compared with the Tibetan Shambhala. They say that mechanical grinding is regularly heard from the bowels of the earth in the Boyka area, that UFOs land here, that people disappear in these places, that from the top of the mountain you can hear the sound of a train coming to the Simferopol railway station, located 40 km from this mountain! We heard it, read it and ... decided to see it with our own eyes!

The GPS track of this route can be viewed and downloaded.

August 10, 2014 in a very fast minivan, collecting all our travel company, we "flew" from Feodosia to the town Bogatyr, what in Bakhchisarai region.

There was no need to guess about the direction of ascent - boyka immediately attracts the eyes of travelers.

Having stretched our stiff limbs, already at the beginning of the second we moved with backpacks along the street with a symbolic name.

A little higher locality an attractive stake is discovered, tempting on a sultry August day with its coolness. At the edge of the forest above the rate is a tourist camp "Bogatyr" with benches, a fire pit, places for tents, but all for an appropriate fee. We are not tired yet and we are moving up the path.

About an hour later, we heard Boyka's first warning - in the midst of the summer heat, deaf thunder peals were heard somewhere far beyond the mountains. They didn't believe it! Didn't get it!

And after some half an hour the sky was overcast, thunder clouds crept in and brought down a downpour with hail on us ....

The wind picked up, it got colder, mud streams formed. I had to huddle in a flock, like penguins, take cover with a tent cover, and warm up with cognac.

After squeezing our T-shirts, throwing water out of our sneakers, we continued to climb. We left Boyka on the right, not tempting fate on slippery clay, set ourselves the goal of reaching the tourist camp "Boyka". On the southern slope of the ridge, we were already enjoying the sun!

By 18 o'clock we have already reached the target.

Already in the parking lot, some more "miracles" appeared unique mountain: damp, frozen and out of order five mobile phones;

GPS-navigator, on the contrary, has been corrected in work; the headlamps that were in the backpack turned on by themselves and shone.

We set up camp, had supper, dried the essentials and lay down in tents...

The morning of August 11 greeted us with a gentle sun. The plans included a radial hike - a descent to Great Crimean Canyon, climbing to the upper reaches of the canyon, returning to the parking lot and honoring the anniversary of one of the group's tourists. After the morning "portion of wishes" to the hero of the day, the whole group set off lightly.

Canyon in all its glory. Dark opening in the right rock - goat grotto. We walk along the path along the edge of the gorge, looking for a convenient descent.

Somewhere after an hour and a half transition we go down to blue lake, which simply fascinates with purity and transparency.

From blue lake the path lies in the upper reaches of the canyon, which compresses its walls with every meter.

The bed of the stream becomes narrower, a scattering of small stones turns into blocks, turned by water ...

Here we are at the Bath of Youth. None of them resisted the temptation to "throw off" a year or two in icy water.

And everything went according to plan, until dark clouds covered the heavenly opening between the stone walls. The second day the rain follows us!

The downpour that fell on us forced us to abandon the ascent to the upper reaches of the canyon. But even when returning along an already passed route, it took a lot of effort to bypass slippery stone ledges! Morning landscapes seem to have been rediscovered thanks to new shadows, searing sharpness and the disappearance of haze.

The camp greeted us with a re-wetted sleeping bag, straightened out to dry in a clearing, and streaks on congratulatory posters.

But all this meant absolutely nothing for the upcoming incendiary evening with songs, congratulations, unplanned goodies at the table and even a birthday cake!

On the twelfth of August, we had to climb to the top of Boyka and, after a short lunch break, go to the camp "Bash-Dere" for the third night.

To do this, we had to return behind the pass, where on the first day of the campaign we passed by a branch to Boyka. In the absence of rain, we studied the trail more closely. Slightly descending from the top of the ridge to the side village Bogatyr we noticed the sign of the spring. The spring itself Deren Kozu located about 50 meters above the trail.

In the shade of the beeches, it was easy to walk and there was enough time for a photo.

Here are the first symbols of the miracle mountain.

And here is the mistress of this mountain ... after the "overturned" glass.

At the cliff on the western side of the mountain, a Russian flag flutters on a metal flagpole. And what a view! Even Sevastopol viewed!

Branch-monster, the keeper of the secrets of the mysterious Boyka.

They walked around the entire peak, touched various treasured stones, but did not hear any sounds from underground, from space, from the Simferopol railway station!

We ate, we rested. And now we are walking with backpacks along the gorge to the side Ai-Petri.

Parking "Bash-Dere". Here we spent the night before the final throw to the Ai-Petri Yayla.

The spring before the ascent Ai-Petri.

The first pointer to the plateau we met. Like a lantern in a city park!

The birch trees on the top of the Crimean mountain also look unusual.

Continuation of fantasy.

Everything is under control - 50 km covered in four days!

This Yalta.

Cable car funicular, overgrown with a town of stalls and cafes.

And now the stuffiness of the streets is already enveloping us Miskhor. The hike is over.

PS:GPS track of the hike along the route Bogatyr - Mount Boyka - t.st-Boyka - t.st. Bash-Dere - Mount Ai-Petri - Miskhor Can .

One of the natural fortresses is mountain range Boyka, lying above the village of Sokolino. A deep gorge of the Grand Canyon separates Boyka from Main Ridge Crimean mountains, the length of its circumference is over 60 kilometers.

The southeastern edge of the Boyka turns into a long narrow ridge leading to the Ai-Petrinsky plateau. From the east, Boyka is washed by the Belbek River, which originates at its foot, and from the west, the Golubaya (Kokkozka) River flows out of the canyon.

Boyka consists of five peaks, facing in different directions, and wooded slopes roll down into the massif to a deep basin, inclined towards the canyon bed. The heights are called as follows: Kurushlyuk - a long rocky ridge that starts at the mouth of the Grand Canyon and stretches over the Ai-Petrinsky highway and the valley of the Blue River; Mount Bogatyr, with powerful rocks, rises above the village of the same name, located on the western slope of the massif: Mount Sotira, or the Savior, is the most significant of the heights of Boyka (it is turned by northern cliffs to the village of Nagorny, and its eastern cliffs look at the road to the village of Zelenoe passing at their foot). The height of Karaul-Kaya (Watchtower Rock) is turned by a steep edge to the east towards the village of Happy. Mount Kosh-Kaya (Falcon slope), its rocky side rises above the village of Klyuchevoi. From Mount Kosh-Kaya, the mentioned ridge departs to the southeast, connecting Boyka with Yayla.

Boyka is reliably guarded by its rocky cliffs, and only in the passes of the soldier's nature are there relative conveniences for laying passing roads. Here, the highlanders erected barrier walls across them from cliff to cliff, in addition, on the western side of Boyka, there were two small fortifications: the lower one - on one of the rocks of the Kurushlyuk ridge and the upper one - on the ridge itself.

It was early spring. Our archaeological expedition, having loaded the horses with profitable equipment, climbed along the road that goes from the village of Zeleny. We camped on a bright, wide clearing in the Boyka Central Basin. At that time of the year, green leaves did not yet flutter on the bare branches of trees, and many snowdrops adorned the forest clearings and edges. Spring is fraught with the smell of travel, and its air always excites the heart with the call of unknown adventures.

We, young archaeologists, members of the circle at the children's tourist station in Simferopol, then wandered around Boyka, looking for the remains of medieval buildings in the forest thickets. Our expedition was led by the famous archaeologist Oleg Ivanovich Dombrovsky, our elder friend and comrade. We, the boys, grew up, matured, but until the death of Oleg Ivanovich we did not forget about him, we met, we had long conversations about everything. Oleg Ivanovich, very kind and disinterested, always came to our aid, became our attentive mentor, and we trusted him with all our plans, even our innermost dreams. Age, or rather the difference in age, because Oleg Ivanovich was good for all of us as fathers, did not affect our relationship. It was a strong, tender and great friendship of an intelligent and warm-hearted man-scientist with a motley crowd of boys who grow up and do not betray their Teacher.

At that time, we found six settlements of the 10th-15th centuries on Boyka. On the saddle between Sotira and the Kurushlyuk ridge, where the road wound in ancient times (now it has turned into a path, but under a thick layer of humus, deep ruts can be traced in places, rubbed by wheels in solid rock), the remains of a crepid have been preserved, protecting the road from destruction. Crepida consists of a powerful masonry of large processed stones with a rectangular front side. We have cleared the ruins ancient temple measuring 18 x 27 meters. The temple was three-apse and three-aisled with a narthex and porch at the western end. The Church of the Savior with a gable roof turned out to be one of the largest in the Crimean Mountains.

He died from the Turkish-Tatar invasion, traces of robbery and fire are fragments of melted dishes found in pits inside and around the temple. The name of the temple, as archaeologist V.Kh.Kondaraki believed in the 19th century and confirmed this version in our days by O.I. Dombrovsky, gave the name to the mountain itself - Sotira. It is also the reason for such a long preservation of this Greek name- the Church of the Savior - the Savior.

I love Boyka for the wildness of its forests with unimaginably twisted trunks of beeches and hornbeams, for the charm of its meadows and attractive beauty. mountain peaks, for its dilapidated and abandoned paths and roads, from where every now and then the heart-wrenching deep distances of pure blue, green and sunlight. A lot of way goes to Boyka from the villages of Mnogorechye, Bogatyr, Schastlivy. You can also get to it from the Yalta Yayla - on the way past Mount Endeka along western slope Kush Kai.

Beautiful and comfortable Boyka for forest recreation. Here, at any time of the year, you can set up a small camp or tent and wander around the charming area all day long.

The day was calm and warm. The sun was warm. Through the rare blueness of the fog, a soft diffused light poured onto the mountains. Suddenly, very close in the oak thicket, something rustled, crackled. Wow! A whole herd of wild boars gave us a tear. They live freely in the Crimean forests. It is interesting to see powerful, very cautious animals in the wild.

For the night we choose a flat area near the stream, we pull firewood to it - there is plenty of dead wood around. We don’t have sleeping things, so we collect dry leaves on the bed, put a log under our heads, and the fire of the fire will warm our feet.

I like to listen to the night forest, now and then groaning in sleepy restlessness. A bird called out in the darkness. Another one followed her. Then someone, stomping heavily, rushed off in the distance. And the eyes cannot tear themselves away from the sky, hung with bluish stars, like March ice floes. I wake up in the middle of the night. The white well of light from the fire was squeezed by the black haze. Embracing, warming each other, comrades sleep. I'm throwing wood. The fire, as if having washed itself, cracks and grumbles with displeasure. Flashes illuminate thick trunks with crooked branches. An epic forest with trunks bearded with moss.

The morning silence is broken by dry crackling. This is trying not far from us sitting woodpecker. He twirled around the trunk, looked slyly in our direction - and fluttered.

The white ingot of the sun rises. It's time to get up. We have fun washing. Like pearls glitter on the faces of drops of cold water.

It is a pity for a friend who warmed us all night, but we carefully fill the fire - such is the law in the forest.

Boyka is also rich in wild gardens-chairs, they grow apple trees, pears, plums, cherries, walnuts, and many wild berries.

On lost roads sometimes there are coal-burning pits. Oaks several hundred years old rustle on them. It can be seen that in ancient times there was a craft for the production of charcoal on Boyka. We found the remains of a blacksmith and foundry workshop on the Makhuldur pass. In geological terms, Boyka has been poorly studied so far. The specific rusty-red color of the earth and loose rock underlying the conglomerates suggested that ore could be mined here. And so it turned out, scientists determined that iron concretions found in red sandstones right there on the pass could serve for smelting metal. Such concretions are found among the pebbles of many mountain streams of Boyka.

There are on the five-domed array and good sources with clean spring water, not drying up even in dry years.

One night the night caught me on the Yalta Yayla. A bluish starry haze spread over the world. Sleepy ringing silence spread over the forests and tracts. Below, in silver moon casting, lay the mysterious Boyka. I thought that I saw fairy land, as if she had come from the pages of adventure books. It's like I discovered an unknown mountain range, legendary country El Dorado. Youth is always imaginative...

There are places in the Crimea, and they do not immediately take possession of the traveler, as if they do not reveal their inner charm to him. But then comes a great need to once again visit this desired corner, causing vague regret, even sadness, as if you missed something in your hectic life and did not have time to see it. You will definitely return to your favorite trails, tracts and meadows.

That's all. Just a few words about the "venerable Poika". this is probably the old name of Boyka, and it is mentioned in one of the inscriptions of Mangup. The legends about Boyka, which until recently circulated among the inhabitants of Kokkoz, Big and Small Ozenbashi, Aujikoy, Makhuldur, Bogatyr and other villages of this district, vaguely tell that Boyka was once " big city", allegedly defeated by the Turks during their struggle with the" Franks "(Genoese).

In the distant Middle Ages, the five-domed Boyka, protected by fortress walls and fortifications, a moat on a narrow ridge between Boyka and Yayla, as well as natural cliffs, was a large closed lot, consisting of six settlements united around the large temple of the Savior. Built of heavy blocks of wild stone on a saddle between Mount Sotira and the Kurushlyuk ridge, where the road to the South Coast passed nearby, the temple was the largest in the Taurica Mountains in size. Its floor was decorated with multi-colored "mosaic" from the plates of the local kong-lomerat. The ceiling of the temple was made up of light arches and vaults of calcareous tufa, and the roof was covered with smooth sandstone slabs.

The wealth and significance, the grandeur of the Church of the Savior, which stood on Mount Sotira (from the Greek "Savior"), was evidenced not only by architecture, but also by expensive imported dishes from Asia Minor and Chersonesus, carved tombstones, ornamented pithoi. The Church of the Savior was headed by the Boykinsky church-feudal lot.

In the 15th century, the Turks besieged Boyka, but they could not take it: the rocky cliffs and fortress walls became too difficult and dangerous for them. The siege of Boyka lasted a very long time, and all this time Procopius was tormented by the thought of his water mill, built on a mountain river: “Did the Turks find the mill? Do they destroy it or not? ?"

The mill of Procopius stood behind falcon mountain, away from the fortress wall that closes Boyka. It was a well-equipped mill, hidden among boulders on a mountain stream. The watchman and caretaker on it was the old and mute Greek Calicus. "Is the old man alive? Did he give away secret cellars with grain and flour?" thought Procopius.

The Turks attacked Boyka from the other side, where their cavalry approached along a good road. They climbed the Makhuldur pass, trying to take the citadel of Boyka, the Church of the Savior, on the move. But again and again they failed. Now they left their furious attacks, where they lost many brave Janissaries, and laid siege to Boyka with guard posts, carefully looking through and blocking all roads and paths leading to it. True, in highlands where the mill stood, there were very few Turks. Procopius, from the height of the Falcon Rock, carefully scanned the area near the mill. Nicholas, the head of the fortress wall security, gave him a spyglass bought from Genoese sailors. Procopius kept watch all day, but did not notice anything suspicious. On the contrary, through the eyepiece of a spyglass, he saw the hunched silhouette of a lame Greek, flashing near the river on which the mill stood. The blocks of stone at the mill covered the branches of trees and evergreen ivy, so that it could not be seen from the height of Falcon Rock. "Or maybe at night secretly slip to the mill and inspect it?" thought Procopius. The gate in the fortress, secretly made in the foundation of the wall, had long been shown to him by Nicholas. “I’ll do that tonight, I’ll go to the mill. It seems that it’s quiet around, and the Turks calmed down, deciding that they couldn’t take Boyka. water will break everything in its path. And besides, what a master I am if I don’t examine and check my property!” - so thought and suffered Procopius.

The autumn night breathed a thunderstorm, shining with azure flashes. "There will be a downpour, and I will slip through unnoticed, look only at the mill and come back!" Procopius finally made up his mind. His wife saw him off and closed the iron gate behind him.

- Wait for me. When I return, I will knock five times, and you will open the bolt, but do not sit against the wall, otherwise the night guard will see you. Come to the gate at four in the morning and listen to my knock! Procopius told her.

The storm was approaching, and there was a damp and bitter-sour smell of autumn leaves. Procopius stepped carefully beside the path, peering intently at every bush and tree. The dark forest was empty and quiet, Procopius grew bolder and walked faster, but did not lose his vigilance. The storm rolled in blackness and rain noise. "Very well, I will be invisible and inaudible," Procopius decided. At the mill, he appeared at the same time as the pouring downpour. "Is Calicus alive?" thought Prokopiy. The lame Calicus was there, sitting at the table with a burning lamp and eating a wheat cake. They seized Procopius on the threshold of the gatehouse. There were a lot of Turks in the ambush.

Are you the owner of the mill? -Yes.

— How did you get out of Boyka?

Procopius was silent. He was interrogated by a small plump Turk with a shiny, moon-shaped face and black arches of eyebrows. They brought the mute Calicus and passed his hands under the rotating millstones. Calicus didn't even bellow in pain, only his mouth was bubbling with bloody foam. Then his legs were broken, and then Procopius told about the iron gate. The Turks immediately ordered them to be led to the gate. They hurried along the slippery path.

Procopius knocked five times, and the wife pushed back the bolt. Ten warriors slipped behind the fortress wall, the rest remained at the secret gate. His wife, who screamed in fright at the sight of the Turks, was immediately cut open in the stomach with a crooked knife.

- Lead us to the temple! ordered the Moon Turk. Procopius was tormented by thirst, his insides burned with fear of torture. He quickly walked to the pass to the Church of the Savior. The Turks glided behind him like dark shadows. The rain stopped, and the washed moon smiled from the brightening sky. The Church of the Savior was taken quickly and silently, the sleepy guards and monks were quickly slaughtered by the Turks. And then the green banner of Islam flew up over the Church of the Savior. The defenders of the fortress walls of Boyka were seized with panic and despair.

Procopius was dying at the temple, where the Turks crucified him near the century-old oak. Luna Turk slashed Procopius' mouth twice with a knife, rewarding the traitor with the bloody sign.