Sights of the Old Crimea and what to see

An overview of the sights of the Old Crimea and what you must see

Old Crimea is one of the oldest cities in Crimea. Its history is rich in events, cultures and religions, which have left behind many iconic historical places here. During archaeological research, it was established that the first settlements on the site of the modern Old Crimea existed as early as the Neolithic period (this is the period from 10,000 to 2,200 BC!!!), but their traces can only be seen in city museums. Most of the sights here date back to the Middle Ages.

Among the most interesting and must-visit, we recommend:

• The ancient Armenian monastery of Surb Khach.
• The oldest of the active mosques in Crimea is the mosque of Khan Uzbek.

It is also worth visiting at least one of the thematic museums, we recommend the Literary and Art Museum, where you can get acquainted not only with works of art, but also see archaeological artifacts.

If you have enough time, you can visit other interesting thematic museums and historical and cultural sights of the Old Crimea, which we will tell you in detail later. To see all the sights here, one full day is enough, and together with the museums, two days will be enough. Which is convenient, museums work here without traditional weekends on Mondays or Tuesdays, so you can safely come to the Old Crimea any day of the week.

You can come to the Old Crimea to explore the sights for one day as an independent trip or with excursions from other resorts of the Crimea, especially conveniently from Feodosia, Koktebel or Sudak. If you are traveling on your own and there is no shortage of time, then you can come here and spend the night for a day or two, but the problem is that there are very few accommodation options here. But what can we do, because so far the city is not particularly in demand for overnight stays among tourists, and therefore there are almost no offers.

As for moving around the city to explore the sights, it is best to go here on your own transport or with excursions. The fact is that although the city is small and some of the sights and museums are easy to reach on foot, some of them are too far to go. For example, to the monastery of Surb-Khach (and it can not be missed) from the city center 5 kilometers, to the chapel of Panteleimon 2 kilometers. And taking into account the fact that you still have to "get lost" along the route between different attractions, then such an idea seems very doubtful. There is no official taxi for trips inside the city in the Old Crimea, you will have to use the services of private "bombers" who request a lot of money for trips. Alternatively, you can still use city buses, but to be honest, they are useless for exploring local attractions.

And now we present to you the most complete list of attractions of the Old Crimea, indicating their opening hours, the cost of visiting and ways to get to them yourself:

Uzbek Khan Mosque

Uzbek Khan Mosque is the oldest of all existing Crimean mosques. It has been preserved the best of all and occupies a central place among the sights of the Old Crimea. Without visiting this place, it is impossible to get fully acquainted with the history of the city, and no excursion is complete without it. Today it is not just a mosque, but a kind of open-air archaeological museum. On the territory, in addition to the building of the ancient mosque itself, there are ruins of an ancient building – a madrasa, the oldest in the European part. Tombstones with carved inscriptions found during archaeological excavations are collected in open areas. Read more about the Uzbek Khan Mosque here.

Surb Khach Armenian Monastery

This is a unique medieval monastery of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, and perhaps the main attraction of the Old Crimea. It is the only well-preserved Armenian monastery on the territory of the Crimea of the XIV-XIX centuries. In addition to the fact that it is a state-protected historical and architectural complex, it is also an active shrine, especially revered by Orthodox Armenians, and not only by them. In the temple there is an amazing icon "Blinking Jesus", the peculiarity of which is that looking at it, it may seem to someone that his eyes are open, and to someone – closed. The territory of the monastery complex includes several buildings that were built and completed in different periods. The main building is an ancient stone church, erected in 1358. Nearby there are monks' cells, a clergymen's house (formerly a hotel for pilgrims), a refectory and a garden with holy springs where you can get water. In the temple and refectory, which is also a museum, on the walls you can see inscriptions carved on stone, telling about the history of the temple. Read more about Surb Khach Armenian Monastery here.

Caravanserai

Caravanserai is a place of shelter for trade caravans on the way to the markets for the sale of goods, and in modern words, it is such a kind of hotel for merchants. In the Middle Ages, the Old Crimea was a major trading center, because the Great Silk Road passed through it. That's why there was such a Caravanserai here, numerous caravans with various goods stayed in it for the night. Today, only part of the wall on the western and northwestern sides remains of it. And this was facilitated not only by time, but also by local residents, who are gradually dismantling the historical monument for building materials for their needs. If you look closely around, you will see that stones from an ancient structure are used at the base of fences and walls of neighboring private outbuildings. Learn more about the Caravanserai here.

Beybars Mosque

The Beybars Mosque is considered the oldest in the Crimea, but today only ruins remain of it. This is not a functioning mosque, but an archaeological site. It was built around 1287 at the expense of the Egyptian Sultan Baybars, who wanted to perpetuate his name in this way and "made" himself such a gift for his next birthday. However, we have not been able to establish any historical facts confirming its presence in the Old Crimea. To date, only the outer walls of the mosque have remained. Read more about the Beybars Mosque here.

Kurshun-Jami Mosque

This is an object of cultural heritage of the Old Crimea, but oddly enough, today its ruins are located behind a blank brick fence and steel gates. If you are lucky enough to get into the territory, you will see the remains of the brickwork that once made up the walls of the building. Moreover, these gates are almost always closed and you can only look at the ruins through the fence. Kurshun-Jami was built around the second half of the XIV century, later than other surviving Old Crimean mosques. Read more about Kurshun-Jami here.

Musk-Jami Mosque

The Musk-Jami Mosque (Musk-Jami) is actually lost for tourists, although in some guidebooks you can find false information that this is one of the key attractions of the Old Crimea. In fact, today there is no free access to its ruins, because there are private buildings on the site and if something has survived, it is almost impossible to find it.

Little is known about the mosque. It was built in the first half of the XIV century during the reign of Khan Uzbek, at the same time as the Mosque of Khan Uzbek, by a certain righteous Yusuf. It was a musky mosque. Musk is a substance produced by the glands of rats and deer, it was added to the mortar during construction. According to historians, a specific smell of musk emanated from the mosque after the rain.

The Church of John the Baptist

The Church of St. John the Baptist is the ruins of an ancient Orthodox church, in our opinion one of the most interesting ruins in the Old Crimea. Very little is known about the church and its origins. The construction period is attributed by various sources to the period of the X-XIV centuries. According to the architectural style, presumably it could belong to both Greek and Armenian communities. The church is located among residential buildings and buildings, so it's not easy to find it right away, but it's definitely worth looking for ruins. Read more about the Church of John the Baptist here.

Chapel of Panteleimon the Healer

The Chapel of Panteleimon the Healer is a small church complex on the outskirts of the Old Crimea. It includes a chapel, a font and a holy spring, which is famous among believers for its healing properties. The territory of the complex is well-groomed and tidy, there is a place to sit down and relax from the hustle and bustle. In the church shop you can buy candles and order prayer services. The water in the spring, according to tourists, is very life-giving and healing, but, unfortunately, in the summer the spring may dry up altogether, or you will have to wait a long time until the water is full. Learn more about the chapel of Panteleimon here.

Church of Panteleimon the Healer

The Church of Panteleimon the Healer is a local Orthodox church. It is not historical, it was built in 2008-2011 on the site of an old church. The temple is beautiful, majestic. It is not particularly remarkable for tourists, but if you wish, you can go into it and pray, order a service and light a candle. 100 meters from the Panteleimon Church are the ruins of the ancient Church of John the Baptist.

Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary or simply the Assumption Church is a small but important parish church in the center of the Old Crimea. The place is sacred and visited to a greater extent by local residents, and among tourists it is almost unknown. Nevertheless, this temple has its own sad history. Emperor Nicholas II even came here at the end of the XIX century. To the right of the church gate there is a spring with drinking water (for some reason everywhere this source is called a fountain). It was built at the beginning of the XIX century by the Bulgarian P. Mikhailov. It's worth stopping by the church, if you pass by on the way, you probably shouldn't visit it specifically. Learn more about the Church of the Assumption here.

Literary and Art Museum

This museum is located in an old house of the late XIX century, which in itself is a local landmark and architectural monument. At different times there was a merchant assembly, a seminary, the Gestapo, the Komsomol city committee and a kindergarten. The museum's content is more like a provincial museum of local lore than traditional literary and art museums. The exposition occupies 2 floors. Among the exhibits are works of art, many paintings, including contemporary artists, documents and photographs of famous Crimeans. A valuable collection of archaeological finds collected on the territory of the Old Crimea and its environs, mostly from the Middle Ages. Read more about the Literary and Art Museum here.

The Catherine Mile

In the courtyard of the Literary and Art Museum there is a small open-air museum, the central attraction of which is a sign in the form of a pillar called "Catherine Mile". Such pillars were installed along the entire route of the motorcade of Empress Catherine II during a trip from St. Petersburg to the Crimea in 1787, and they can still be found in different parts of the Crimea along the roads, and all of them are original historical monuments. Learn more about the Catherine Mile here.

Paustovsky House Museum

The house-museum is notable for the fact that the great writer and journalist Konstantin Georgievich Paustovsky (1892-1968) lived in it for a very short time, in 1949. Many people know his works from the school curriculum, but even now you can discover it again and again – "Telegram", "Golden Rose", "Distant Years", the autobiographical collection "The Tale of Life" and others. The museum's exposition includes drawings, personal belongings, furnishings and household items. Everything that is connected not only with the life and memory of the writer in the Old Crimea, but also with the typical arrangement of the house of the 1940s-50s. The museum is small, there are few exhibits, so we advise you to visit only with a guide, otherwise, you should not go in. Read more about the Paustovsky House Museum here.

Green's House Museum

This is the house where the writer, novelist and poet spent the last days of his life, the author of world–famous works - the story "Scarlet Sails" and the novel "Running on the Waves". This house was bought shortly before the death of A.S. Green, he lived here for only one month and died of stomach cancer. The museum exposition is small, includes a house and a garden. The furnishings of the house are very modest, three rooms with personal items, belongings and photographs of the writer are presented for inspection. We recommend visiting the museum with a guide, since it will be almost impossible to understand and learn about A.S. Green only from the exhibits presented, and it will be uninteresting. Learn more about the Green Museum here.

Museum of the History of the Crimean Tatars

The private museum of the history, culture and way of life of the Crimean Tatars is located in an old house, the adjacent courtyard area is also used for the museum exposition. The decor of the house is a residential interior of a Tatar family of the XIX century. Among the exhibits you can see household items and utensils, clothes and accessories made of silver, family photos. The museum is private, was opened in 1999, but today it is in disrepair. In addition, it is not so easy to find, there are no identification plates on the facade, which is probably why there are few visitors.

Museum of History and Archeology

In November 2018, a Museum of History and Archeology was opened in the Old Crimea. It is part of the museum complex of the State Budgetary Institution of the Kyrgyz Republic "Crimean Tatar Museum of Historical Heritage", among which The Museum of Akhmet Khan Sultan in Alupka and the Memorial complex to the victims of deportation (p. Lilac Bakhchisarai district).

In the museum exposition you can see objects from the era of the ancient Solkhat, dated XIII-XV centuries, as well as later periods. It presents products made of ceramics, stone, metal. The collection is constantly updated. So, among the latest finds are tombstones with Arabic inscriptions found at the site of ongoing work at the local stadium. Learn more about the Museum of History and Archeology here.

Solkhat House Museum

This is a private museum organized by Akim Giyasov, an enthusiastic person, and today his family, his wife and sons, continue the work. The museum's collection is located in the courtyard of the house, and is constantly being updated. Among the exhibits there are many unique ancient finds from the period of existence of the ancient city of Solkhat, now the Old Crimea, to objects of the recent past.

It contains authentic artifacts of ceramic dishes, household items, numismatics, metal and copper products, finds from the Great Patriotic War, a collection of weapons. The age of individual items is estimated to be about 3000 years old. Any ethnographic museum will envy such a collection.

Green's Trail

The Green Trail is a hiking route from the Old Crimea to Koktebel, which got its current name due to the fact that the writer A.S. Green walked from the Old Crimea to Koktebel to visit his friend – artist Maximilian Voloshin. But in fact, this trail was laid long before it got its current name. It was used by crews back in the middle of the XIX century, and the road had the status of a zemstvo road. The route will be interesting for fans of light hiking. Learn more about the Green Trail here.