«Where the sea drowns,
Breakwaters at the pier,
Here Alupka begins,
its proud beginning.
The silhouettes of round towers,
of Vorontsov’s creation,
The lions are guarding without fail,
These wonderful moments…»
А. Mikhailov
There is an opinion that, having visited this city, it is impossible not to fall in love with it. And for many tourists this is really true. Probably, that’s why every year thousands of people from different parts of the country and abroad spend their vacations in Alupka, and some come here again and again. Natural and architectural sights of Alupka, its calm atmosphere, peaceful and energizing, miraculous climate, azure sea — those who have fallen in love with all this can not part with this amazing city for a long time.
Alupka — one of the major cities of the South Coast of Crimea, part of the Big Yalta, but at the same time quieter and calmer than Yalta itself. Today its population is about 9 thousand people, and the length of the coastline is more than 4km. The town is located 14km west of Yalta and is part of Big Yalta, bordered on the west by Simeiz, and on the east by Miskhor.
Seeing this city for the first time, it is impossible not to admire the wealth that nature has given it. Above Alupka proudly rises one of the most famous peaks of Crimea — the mountain Ai-Petri, the cable car from which brings to the city inspired by such an exciting adventure of tourists. Under the sky piercing with its sharp teeth Ai-Petri — another picturesque peak: Mount Krestovaya — a pile of giant boulders, stone chaos. There are several such bizarre geological formations in the area of Alupka — these are its special attractions, its calling card. Cascade from the mountains to the sea descends Alupka Park with a magnificent palace of Count Vorontsov, erected from the same rock as the natural attractions and therefore harmoniously complementing the scenery. The landscape of Alupka inspires and impresses tourists, and everyone remembers it. Probably, that is why creative people liked to rest here so much: artists (Shishkin, Surikov, Bogayevsky, etc.), writers (M. Gorky, I. Bunin, L. Ukrainka, etc.), musicians (F. Chaliapin, S. Rachmaninoff, etc.). However, Alupka has come a long way before becoming one of the best seaside climatic resorts of the South Coast.
For the first time in written sources, the settlement in the area of present-day Alupka is mentioned in 960 in the correspondence between the king of Khazaria Joseph and the vizier of the Caliph of Cordoba Hasday ibn Shafnut. Khazar ruler indicates these territories as part of his lands in Taurica under the name Alubikha. However, people lived here long before the X century: the oldest archaeological finds date back to the 8th millennium BC. Closer to our era, the Taurians settled here, then their neighbors are Greeks, who called the city Alubika («fox») and founded the first temples and monasteries (including the temple of St. Peter, which gave the name Ai-Petri). Then in the I century AD. here begin to settle the Romans, well, and then Alubika falls under the rule of the Khazar Kaganate, in the Middle Ages — Genoese, then — the Ottomans, in XVIII century. is part of Russia together with the whole Crimea. The most ancient material evidence of distant eras are not only archaeological finds, but also such an interesting attraction as the ruins of the fortress Alupka-isar on the Krestovaya hill: there are preserved ruins of defense walls, towers, buildings.
The modern stage in the life of the city begins in 1823, when it passes from G. Potemkin to Prince M. Vorontsov. He builds a palace here and breaks around it a beautiful park — today these are the main attractions of Alupka. Gradually, recreation here is becoming more popular, and a small settlement turns into a resort town.
Today in Alupka there is everything for a wonderful vacation: picturesque beaches, sanatoriums, health resorts, for independent tourists — private sector, in which rent housing hospitable hosts. Mild climate and healing air attract more and more tourists who prefer to spend their holidays in Alupka — a quiet harbor of the Crimean South Coast.