Bear Mountain in Crimea: Legend of Origin and Location

One of the main attractions of the Crimean peninsula is the famous Bear Mountain Ayu-Dag, located on the southern coast. In the article, we will consider the location and legends about the origin of this mountain.

It is enough to see Ayu-Dag once in a lifetime to preserve its solemn beauty and stunning splendor in memory forever. The rounded summit of the mountain range rises above the ground at an altitude of 571 km, propping up white fluffy clouds.

The mountain lowers its sharp cape 2.5 km into the warm Black Sea. The brown sandy slopes are covered with a train of stones and lush green forest tops. At the foot of the mountain, between the protruding cliffs, there are small areas of land - wild beaches. Even from a height, you can see that the water in these tiny bays is clear and clear like a baby's tear. The rocky bottom is far visible through the crystal clear sea surface.

The villages of Gurzuf and Partenit are located in the valley of the mountain. Houses buried in gardens, sanatoriums, squares and parks surround the approaches to Ayu-Dag in a dense semicircle.

The road to the top of Bear Mountain lies past the famous camp "Artek". For those who climbed up, a wonderful panorama of the slopes of the Crimean ridge and the southern coast of Crimea opens up. The total area of ​​the mountain range is 4 sq. m.

For a long time, people have noticed that the massif is very reminiscent of a lying bear. Therefore, the mountain is called Ayu-Dag, which means "bear-mountain" in Tatar. Many legends and legends tell where Ayu-Dag came from. The most beautiful of them is about a beautiful girl and a mighty and ferocious bear.

A long time ago, there were no people on the southern coast of Crimea.Only huge ferocious bears lived here, making constant raids and destroying everything around. No one dared to encroach on the territory of predators.

Once the remains of a wrecked ship washed up on the bear's shore. Among them was a small package containing a tiny girl who survived the shipwreck. The heart of the mighty lonely leader trembled at the sight of a helpless tiny baby. The bears spared the girl and left her in the pack.

Years passed. The girl turned into a beautiful girl with an extraordinary voice. When she sang, everything froze around, enjoying the enchanting sounds of her songs. The old bear loved the girl with all his heart, the bears doted in her.

It seemed that the idyll would be eternal, but fate decreed otherwise. The waves washed up a boat with a sick and weak young man, who fled from captivity to his homeland. The girl went out to the young man in secret from the animals.

The young people fell in love with each other and decided to escape. The lovers got into the boat and swam forward. But then the predators returned to the shore. The old leader looked into the distance and understood everything: the heart of his pupil now belongs to another. She has forgotten her former attachments and wants to return to people.

In a frenzy, in an insane rage that there is power, the bear roared. He fell to the shore, lowered his mighty head into the water and began to quickly drink the water. The whole flock did the same. And the water in the sea began to decrease, the boat began to approach back to the coast, where a fierce death was inevitably awaiting the young man. And then the beautiful girl began to sing. In her song, she prayed for the salvation of heaven, bears for mercy to her beloved, and the leader, who replaced her relatives, for forgiveness. Having obeyed, the bears involuntarily retreated.

The old bear also forgave his favorite, stopped drinking water. But he did not want to get up and take his head out of the water. He could not calm his mental pain. So he lies here, on the seashore, in anguish and grief from the fact that he has lost the only love and affection in his life. The mighty body and huge paws of the predator turned to stone, the muzzle turned into a sharp rock, the back was covered with dense forests. This is how the Bear Mountain Ayu-Dag appeared in the Crimea.

Another legend says how the Greek king Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Ephigenia to the gods. The goddess of the hunt Artemis took pity on the poor girl and at the last moment placed a doe on the sacrificial altar instead.

In gratitude for her salvation, the young maiden was supposed to become a priestess in the temple of Artemis and make sacrifices. The temple was located on the territory of Tavria, where the Taurian tribes, cruel in temper and customs, lived. Anyone who tried to get to them from the sea, Ephigenia had to sacrifice.

Such barbarism was not to the girl's liking, she suffered a lot. To alleviate her fate, Artemis taught her to understand the language of animals. The beauty made friends with a huge bear and spent all her free time with him.

Once Efigenia's brother, Orestes, was captured by the Taurus. The young people managed to deceive the Tavrs and escape from Tavria by sea. And the abandoned bear, missing his friend, lay on the shore and looked into the distance, waiting for her return, but in vain. Without waiting for Ephigenia, her faithful friend petrified, turned into Bear Mountain.

Ayu-Dag appeared on our planet more than 150 million years ago. This is one of the failed volcanoes of the Crimean peninsula. In those days, on the territory of the Crimean peninsula, there was a huge pool of fresh water called Tethys.

Molten magma tried to find a way out of the bowels of the earth under its waters for 1 million years, but never got out. Under the pressure of magma in the earth's crust, extensive faults and a domed upland were formed. Over the years, Tethys disappeared from the face of the Earth, the sandy rocks on the slope gradually eroded, exposing solid stone massifs. The wind blew the seeds of trees and plants here, which gradually mastered the summit.

The natural complex formed in the Middle Jurassic period is considered by scientists to be unique. This is evidenced by the minerals found at the foot of the mountain, of which there are more than 30 names. The following stones are found here:

• tourmaline;
• amethyst;
• porphyrite;
• vesuvian;
• pyrite.

Most of the palaces on the territory of Crimea were created from gabbro-diabase. It is used to decorate the stands of the Moscow Kremlin, metro stations in the capital, and the banks of the Moskva River.

Ayu-Dag is the largest open-air museum in southern Crimea. Since 1974 the mountain has the status of a state reserve of republican significance. The unique flora and fauna of these places is one of the main attractions of the region. Climbing the slope of the mountain, in the cool forest you will be greeted by the mighty, moss-covered oak-sorcerers, who bare the trunks of the "shameless" - small-fruited strawberries, fluffy evergreen junipers, long-livers - dull-leaved pistachios.

These are unique plants that have existed on the planet in the pre-glacial period. Of the 577 plant species found on the territory of the nature conservation complex, 44 species are included in the Red Book. The reserve is especially beautiful in spring, when fog spreads between the trees in a thin light haze, and the ground is covered with an endless carpet of snow-white snowdrops, blue primroses and multi-colored crocuses. A real "enchanted wild forest" from Vysotsky's song.

The fauna of Ayu-Dag is diverse. Roe deer, squirrels, hares, stone martens, badgers, flying species live here. There are reptiles, different species of birds nest and stop during the flight. Of these, 16 animals are listed in the Red Book.

There are unique historical monuments on the territory. In the VIII-XII centuries there was a settlement of Christians. According to scientists, people lived behind rounded defensive walls and descended to the foot of the mountain to work in the fields.

Bishop John of Gotha (according to church chronicles) founded here a stone monastery of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. An earthquake in 1423 destroyed many springs; there are few water sources left here. And after the conquest of Crimea in 1475 by the Ottoman Empire, people completely left the mountain. The ruins of the monastery and the remains of the fortifications can now be seen on the territory of the hill. On the Monastery Cape, where the ancient temple was located, there is a cross in memory of its founder.

The face of the bear is a cape with a stunning view of Artek and Gurzuf. From the eastern observation deck one can see Partenit, Maly Mayak, and in good weather - Alushta.

All necessarily happen on the glade of Ai-Constant, where they are fed with good energy, they examine the ancient ring-shaped defensive fortification of the VIII century, climb to the top - the Mound of Desires and descend to the Cape Monastery, and then to the Klissura glade, where the ruins of temples built in the VIII-IX centuries remain. The journey ends in Panair Bay, where the 10th century temple was located.

The reserve separates the two largest resort areas of Crimea: Big Alushta and Yalta. On the east side of the mountain there is the village of Partenit, the villages of Lavrovoe, Frunzenskoe and the health resort of the Ministry of Defense "Crimea". On the west side there are Gurzuf and Artek.

Looking at the map, you can see the bays of Panair and Tashir - Liman, which are visible from the Cape Monastery, located in the south of the reserve. The geographic coordinates of the reserve: 44 degrees 33 minutes 25.89 seconds north latitude and 34 degrees 20 minutes 10.72 seconds east longitude.

To get from Alushta to the mountain by car, you should follow these steps:

1. you need to get to the Partenita village along the E105 and M-18 highways;
2. go to the turn to the Bypass road, move past the Aivazovsky park in the direction of the "Crimea" sanatorium, from where the ascent begins.

If you go by car from Yalta, you should adhere to the following algorithm:

1. drive along Drozhinsky street, exit onto the Tourist highway and follow the N19 Yuzhnoberezhnoe highway;
2. follow to the sanatorium "Crimea" on the street Solnechnaya in Partenit.

To get from Yalta by public transport, the following algorithm is possible:

1. follow the bus from Yalta No. 110; can be reached by any other bus from the bus station, going in the direction of Alushta.
2. get off at the “Cemetery” stop, as drivers do not always stop at the turn to “Artek”;
3. follow the road until the turn to “Artek” is about 0.8 km.

From Alushta and Simferopol, you need to get to the Lavrovoe stop, and then continue on foot along the highway to the turn. The cheapest, but longest way is by trolleybus, namely:

• Simferopol and Yalta - route 52;
• Alushta, Yalta - No. 53;
• from the airport of Simferopol - No. 55.

For an overview of the hike to Bear Mountain, see the next video.