Newly presented to me slumbering.
Our last starry paradise,
The city of pure water cannons
Golden Bakhchisaray.
The poetess Anna Akhmatova dedicated these lines to Bakhchisarai. For centuries of its existence this city beckoned, fascinated, attracted more than one servant of the pen, the sights of Bakhchisarai are described by many writers and poets, and even by A.S. Pushkin himself. And the world-famous playwright AS Griboyedov came here to relieve mental homesickness, in his travel notes of 1825, he wrote: «At night in Bakhchisarai. Music, coffee house, murmuring fountains, mosques, poplars».
Having seen Bakhchisaray you can understand why this city evokes so many emotions in those who come here. The former capital of the Tatar khans has preserved a unique oriental flavor, the impressions of which are further enhanced by the beauty of nature, atmosphere and local way of life. This is a quiet and peaceful, but by all parameters a modern and developed city, so vacation in Bakhchisarai will appeal to everyone who visits this once Muslim abode.
Starts history of Bakhchisarai from ancient times — from ancient times on the modern territory of the city there were settlements. Favorable geographical location, wonderful climate, fertile land — that’s what attracted the first settlers here. In the second half of the XIV century, the Mongol-Tatars of the Golden Horde took a fancy to these places, settling the valley of the lower course of the Churuk-Su River and forming the village of Eski-Yurt. The then Crimean viceroy of the Mongol Khan Khadzhi-Girey founded his Crimean Khanate and moved his residence from the former capital Solkhat to the fortress of Kyrk-Er (now Chufut-Kale). At the foot of the fortress appears the settlement Salachik with the palace Ashlama-Saray. But over time the residence of the Crimean khan became cramped and there was a need to build a new palace. And the history of Bakhchisarai as a direct city goes back to the beginning of the XVI century — then and began the construction of a new palace Tatar Khan Adil-Sahib-Giray, who founded here his residence — Hansaray.
The city grew up in the verdant foothills of the Crimean mountains, only 15 km from the seashore and 38 km from the current capital of Crimea — Simferopol.
Khan’s Palace is considered the main attraction and symbol of Bakhchisarai. It is located in the very center of the Old Town, all streets of which lead to its gates. The name of the residence of the Gireys «Bakhchisaray» later became the name of the city, which translates as «palace-garden». From the foundation of this palace began the flourishing of the city as a trade and crafts capital.
Already in the Middle Ages life was boiling here — healthy from the steppe, sea and mountain-forest air in the gorge, where the city is located, the inhabitants worked so hard that they became famous for their work far beyond the Crimea. People from many countries came to Bakhchisarai for the excellent things sold in the numerous markets of Bakhchisarai. As for the bazaars, there were so many of them that they were divided according to the prevailing goods.
The heyday of Bakhchisarai lasted until 1736, when it was almost completely burned by the Russian army. Those buildings, which can be seen here now, reached our time from 1740-50s, when the city was rebuilt again. But even after Crimea became part of Russia in 1794 and until the middle of the XX century Bakhchisaray remained the capital of social and cultural life of the Crimean Tatars.
Despite the fire, many sights of Bakhchisarai dating back to the XV-XVI centuries have survived to the present day. Among them are Mavzolei Azisa (Eski Durbe), part of the buildings Bakhchisarai Khan’s Palace (the rest were completed after the fire), ancient cemeteries and medieval Christian monasteries, one of which is The Assumption Cave Monastery for centuries of its existence has grown a mass of legends and legends, including the history of its foundation, which is still not really clear.
The cave cities located in the vicinity of Bakhchisarai, which emerged before the foundation of the Tatar capital, are extremely amazing and interesting. These are Chufut-Kale, Kachi-Kalon and Tepe-Kermen. Tourists from all over the world come to Bakhchisarai to see these amazing cave cities, as if given to man by nature itself.
Modern Bakhchisarai is a developed tourist center, and in general the city has the status of a historical monument. Therefore, holiday in Bakhchisarai is a variety of opportunities for every taste. Here you can not only see the ancient sights of Bakhchisarai, which will amaze even the most sophisticated tourist, but also devote time to mountain tourism, swim in the clear mountain lakes, try the local oriental cuisine, as well as simply admire the pristine beauty of wildlife and breathe the invigorating, healing air of local picturesque places.