The cave city Tepe-Kermen in Crimea: what is it famous for and how to get there?

Tepe-Kermen is one of the most mysterious places in the south-west of the Crimean peninsula. In ancient times it was known as the Gothia fortress. This is a cave city, the least studied by science, therefore it is especially attractive and attractive for tourists.

Scientists attribute the emergence of Tepe-Kermen approximately to the end of the 6th - the very beginning of the 7th century. Most likely, its appearance was directly related to the rapid advance of the Byzantines in the territory of Northern Taurida. For the first few centuries, the settlement served as a fortress, in which a large army of Goto-Alans was located. Later, residential buildings began to be built here, and the structure itself was tightly surrounded by a solid red wall - this happened already in the 10th century, right after the vast majority of Crimean villages fell under the military attacks of the Khazars, as a result of which Tepe-Kermen was included in the structure kaganate.

It is believed that it was within the Khazar Kaganate that Tepe-Kermen managed to achieve its greatest prosperity, despite the fact that the majority of the population were Christians. In the 11th century, after the fall of the Khazar rule on the territory of the Crimea and the transition of lands to the rule of Byzantium, the flourishing of the cave city continued. By the end of the 12th century, it was already one of the most densely populated on the entire peninsula.

However, this prosperity was relatively short - in the XII century. Tepe-Kermen was captured and completely defeated by the Mongol troops of the powerful Khan Nogai. During the yoke, the territory fell into decay, the inhabitants left these places, by the end of the XIV century. the town turned out to be completely abandoned and was no longer rebuilt.

For some time, Christian churches were still operating in Tepe-Kermen, which had become deserted, where residents of all neighboring villages came to services. In 1475, when Crimea came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Turkish troops finally destroyed all Christian shrines, from that moment a period of total oblivion began, which lasted 500 years. Only in the middle of the last century, the archaeologist Talis began to conduct excavations here again and thereby attracted the attention of tourists and outdoor enthusiasts to this place.

Today Tepe-Kermen, like many other interesting places on the Crimean peninsula, is considered a historical and natural landmark and a popular tourist destination.

The ancient settlement now consists of more than 200 caves and grottoes, built in 3 tiers. The largest grottoes and caves make up about half of their total number; historians attribute them to the earliest. In such caves there is something like a dam with a depression - presumably they were used as a nursery. There are protrusions with holes here, which, most likely, were used to tie up livestock.

In caves, you can often see the so-called “Stone rings” are circular projections in the ceiling with holes that resemble fragments of rings inserted into a large boulder. Some caves have an entrance in the form of a hatch; spacious cellars with doors make an indelible impression, their total number is just over 50, they are tiny rooms without windows.

There are also a number of rather small caves, the height of which is lower than human height - their purpose is unknown. Once at the top of the plateau, do not forget to pay special attention to the unusual sights of this amazing place.

• Residential caves - they are a labyrinth tunnel of utility blocks and rooms in the lower part.

• Gate temple with its surviving sacristy room and an abundance of graffiti on the walls, made, surprising as it may seem, in Hebrew. By the way, it is this fact that gives historians the basis to assert that Tepe-Kermen represented in the past one of the Karaite settlements.

• Cave temple with a small baptismal, massive columns, bas-reliefs, an altar, a font and an altar. It is noteworthy that the baptismal font here is rather large and is more likely designed for a teenager or an adult, this indirectly confirms the theory that Tepe-Kermen was erected at the moment when the entire population of Crimea began to convert to the Christian faith - around the 16th century. The height of the room is just over 2.5 m.

• Crypt - a place associated with a rather unusual burial rite of the deceased that existed at that time. The fact is that initially the body of a deceased person was placed in a tomb, and when his flesh completely decayed, the clergy washed the skeleton and then moved it to the crypt, this room has survived until our time.

• Casemates - most likely, it was from this place that the archers repelled attacks on the fortress.

• Sun stone - this is a boulder, standing alone on the edge of a cliff, dotted with runic symbols. There are many legends about its purpose, but none of them have found confirmation, therefore it remains only to guess what role this stone played in ancient times.

Each Tepe-Kermen cave is beautiful and connected to others through tunnels, passages and steps, and due to the so-called "light windows" it is always light inside, it is simply impossible to get lost.During archaeological excavations, traces of ancient ground structures were found, in particular, a large house of 4 rooms, a small room with a staircase were erected on the plateau - the period of their construction dates back to about the 12th century, the upper masonry was made of ordinary stone later - in the 14th century.

A unique plate with the faces of Christian saints was discovered near the cave. Near the southern part of the plateau, the foundations of a small chapel of rough-hewn logs were found.

Since ancient times, there are 2 main roads leading to the settlement - in ancient times the northern one was the most popular. It has been well preserved to our times, here you can even see the prints of wheels from old carts and carts, the ruins of individual fortifications and ancient gates.

These ruins make the most ambiguous impression on tourists - on the one hand, they are almost the only Tepe-Kermen buildings on earth, on the other, they are in an extremely poor state, but even so they amaze with their epic and monumentality.

Tepe-Kermen is a pyramid-shaped outlier, which, if you look on the map, is in the Bakhchisarai region of the Crimean Republic. The natural-historical monument is located 7 km south-east of Bakhchisarai and about 2 km separates the settlement from Kyz-Kermen, if you move to the north-east.

In the past, the outlier was part of the Crimean ridge, but due to tectonic processes and geological transformations, the peak split, now it rises alone 540 km above sea level, the difference with the adjacent valleys is about 250 m. Tepe-Kermen is located 2 km from the village of Mashino and rises above the valley of the small mountain river Kacha. The size of the steep cliffs on the southern and western sides reaches 12 m.

Tepe-Kermen is located at the very top of a mountain in a valley that people have inhabited since ancient times. This is a picturesque and very fertile place, the inhabitants of which were actively engaged in agriculture. It is better to get there from Bakhchisarai or Simferopol, you need to make a stop near the village of Preduschelnoe. This is an amazingly beautiful village, special attention of tourists is attracted by the sheer mountain Tash-Air, which seems to float in the air.

After the Ultimate, you can go further and stop near the village of Bashtanovka - in this place it is worth admiring the remains of the ancient Christian monastery Kachi-Kalion. In the Middle Ages, a monastery cloister was located here, the novices of which were actively engaged in winemaking. Nearby is the cave city of Kyz-Kermen, popularly called the Maiden's Fortress.

The final stop should be the village of Mashino, from which a dirt flat road leads to Tepe-Kermen.

You can get to this monument of archeology in another way, starting from Chufut-Kale, a small cave town. In this case, you need to go past the Karaite cemetery Balta-Tiimez. Travelers note that this road is much more scenic. It is advisable to go to Tepe-Kermen in April-May, when the valley near the cave is literally filled with the spicy smell of lush herbs and flowers, this place is especially beautiful in dry, clear weather.

Keep in mind that the cave town is a monument of architectural significance, therefore entrance to its territory is paid.

Next, you can watch a video story about the Tepe-Kermen excursion.