A mere fifteen minutes of quiet measured step to the coast of Gurzuf along the narrow path along the cliff — and you are in Chekhov’s residence. There, where the greatest writer of the twentieth century put the point in his story «Three Sisters». Where the unforgettable «Lady with a Little Dog» and the world-famous «The Cherry Orchard» were created. Today Chekhov’s house in Gurzuf is another item on the tourist must see list. And once upon a time Anton Pavlovich loved to sit on the rocky cliff, trampled by the feet of travelers, who spent hours watching the flocks of dolphins, traversing the expanse of the sea and swimming up to the very edge of the shore.
The fall of 1898 was remembered Chekhov move to the Black Sea coast — in the city of Yalta. And in September of the following year, the universally recognized classic of world literature moved into his own house with an outbuilding, the project which was created for the playwright architect Lev Nikolayevich Shapovalov. Chekhov’s dacha was a white spot on the architectural background of those places. Even the writer Kuprin said that this cottage with a garden and an outbuilding could easily be classified as Art Nouveau, but no, one could feel someone’s peculiar taste, someone’s original thought, someone’s attentive eye in its plan.
Chekhov lived in this whitewashed and beautifully asymmetrical dacha for five years with his mother and sister. Anton Pavlovich’s wife Olga Knipper-Chekhova also came here for vacations, and she never tired of admiring the beauty of this earthly paradise, which was formed on the Crimean coast. A doctor by education, and a playwright by vocation, he loved to fish, and in these waters, as it is known, even to this day come scatterings of fish. A little higher up the shore is Chekhov’s bathing place. During the doldrums, there is nothing remarkable about this concrete floor with recesses and fences. But the one who is lucky enough to be a guest near this attraction of Crimea during a storm, will see that the waves fill the bathhouse to the top, thus forming a small pool in which you can take hot baths long after the storm.
Chekhov’s dacha in Gurzuf is surrounded by a miniature garden, most of the plants in which are planted by the hands of our contemporaries. There are, however, and those few representatives of flora, which touched the owner himself. For example, two bamboo bushes. Chekhov was terribly fond of the rustle of bamboo swaying in the wind. It seemed to him that this plant could recreate an atmosphere of calm and peace. And the palm trees planted in honor of the completion of the play «Three Sisters»! True, once there were three of them, but one of them, unfortunately, perished from the winter cold. As for the beautiful cypress tree that welcomes tourists, Chekhov’s dacha acquired it on the day of the great writer’s death. This «green guardian» was planted by Anton Pavlovich’s relatives and friends in memory of happy days spent near the blue sea. In memory of the last happy days…
After the death of the classic of world literature, the cove where the writer bathed was dubbed Chekhov’s Cove. Locals say that Chekhov’s cove is the most picturesque corner not only in Gurzuf, but also on the whole Crimean coast. Visitors note the unprecedented purity of the water and enjoy the sun baths — not burning, but caressing and gentle. Chekhov Bay is still a favorite place for schools of sea fish — absolutely unafraid and surprisingly funny. They are not afraid of people at all, and sometimes they even refuse to move when some tourists try to enter the water.
Today, Chekhov’s dacha in Gurzuf is already a history: the house where the great playwright once lived and created, the garden where he once wandered in search of inspiration. But who knows, maybe you too, being in this fabulous place, will be lucky to get a piece of Chekhov’s muse, who settled in these wonderful places forever.