Many centuries ago, the valley of the Kachi River was not as it can be seen today: the waters of the river were turbulent and deep, there were large fish in it, and wild boars, wolves and bears roamed along the slopes of the picturesque valley. Here lived Alans, Goths, and then the river became the border between the principality of Theodoro and the Muslim Crimean Khanate. To our days on the territory of the peninsula has preserved many monuments of that time, one of which is the ancient Christ of John the Baptist in the village of Verkhorechye.
When exactly was erected this unique landmark, it is not known exactly, but many historians assume that the Temple in the name of the prophet and baptizer John the Baptist appeared in the XIV-XV centuries. It was erected on one of the two hills, separated by a beam, on the site of the ancient Gothic cemetery, the largest and oldest of the surviving in the territory of the Crimea.
Visiting this ancient cemetery and the remains of the medieval Orthodox church preserved on it gives anyone unforgettable emotions. These sights, one of which is already more than, and the other a little less than a thousand years old, towered above the green Crimean expanses, for many centuries saw the blue sky and thick greenery, and now anyone can see them.
Only one altar apse 3 meters wide and 2.5 meters high has survived from the medieval church. It is a sad fact that this most valuable historical monument was destroyed in the XX century. Back in the late XIX century, the temple stood intact after the next repair carried out by a peasant family in 1849, as evidenced by the preserved limestone slab opposite the structure with the inscription «Built by the villager Karp Yakovlev son Savelyev and his wife Elena 1849 March 1 day». The first restoration was carried out in 1587 by the family of the abbot Constantius, as evidenced by another inscription.
But even the preserved remains of the church are unique due to its rare architectural features. 
The altar of the church is not round, but triangular in shape (if you look at it from behind), nowhere else in Crimea there is no such temple. Even greater fame of this antiquity brought the legendary fresco «Adoration of the sacrifice» found in it, also unique in its kind. Such frescoes were a rarity in the mural painting of medieval temples in general, and in the Crimea it was the only one. The two-tier fresco in the upper part had belted images of Christ, the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist on an azure background (deesis), and in the lower part — the image of the infant Christ lying on a large round sacrificial dish, on both sides of which stood three saints in full height, and at the edges of the picture were depicted two angels with ripids (opahalami). Today this fresco is in the Bakhchisarai Museum.
The history of the Church of St. John the Baptist, which flourished for more than five centuries, as well as the history of many other churches, was interrupted during the Great Patriotic War. Leaving the village, the Germans together with it set fire to the ancient church, and further, already in the 60s, the locals themselves completed the job, dismantling what was left of the cloister for use in construction. Despite this, the memory of the temple is alive and will live on. The Temple of St. John the Baptist is a place of pilgrimage for many believers, often come here and ordinary tourists, wishing to see a unique antiquity.
No less impressive than the remains of the temple, makes a huge ancient Gothic cemetery. On a treeless neighboring hill from the temple of St. John the Baptist preserved a lot of grave slabs, the oldest of which appeared here in the IX-X centuries! On many of the slabs you can still see images illustrating the occupation of those who are buried under them: shepherd’s gerliga, blacksmith’s tongs, saws and many others. Some slabs are decorated with ornaments, images of vines and brushes.
In the valley of the Kachi River near the village of Verkhorechye, two really unique attractions of Bakhchisarai, ancient and mysterious, have survived to this day. They beckon everyone who is interested in history and mysteries of the past, or simply wants to see the most ancient sights of Crimea and keep the memories of their striking energy for a lifetime.