The estates of the Southern coast of Crimea are special sights of ancient Taurica, keeping the memory of imperial times, when famous Russian aristocrats and outstanding people — writers, poets, artists — lived and vacationed here. One of such estates, which has, perhaps, the most exotic name — is the estate Karasan, located in a picturesque place to the east of Partenit.
Karasan Manor is located just behind the rest house «Aivazovskoye», which is the eastern border of Partenit. Surrounding her area is called — Karasan, in honor of the main treasure of this corner of the South Coast — a palace and park ensemble that decorated the shore of the picturesque bay between Cape Plaka (second name — Utes) and Mount Ayu-Dag. From here to Alushta — 15km, to Yalta — 25km, which gives this place seclusion, although even here like to visit tourists who prefer the greenest and most beautiful places of the South Coast.
Karasan Manor is an original palace and a magnificent park that stretches around the beautiful building on 18 hectares. To see this place will be interesting for all connoisseurs of ancient architecture and garden art, as well as for those who are interested in history — it is very rich in Partenit.
The first owner of land near the village of Small Beacon on the cliff behind the eastern border of Partenit in 1812. becomes General M.M. Borozdin, brother of the governor of Tauris A.M. Borozdin. In 1816, he finally moved to his estate and in 1820 began laying the park around it. After the death of the first owner, the estate passed to his daughter Anna Mikhailovna and her husband, a representative of an ancient noble family that gave Russia several outstanding statesmen — General Nikolai Raevsky. He gave the estate its name: it is believed that he named it in honor of the Persian province of Khorasan (translated from Persian as «sunrise»), where he happened to visit when he was the Russian ambassador to Persia. And the main contribution to the way we see this magnificent place today is made by their son, Mikhail Rayevsky.
From his father M. Rayevsky inherited a love for nature and a sense of beauty, thanks to which in 1885-1887 on the site of the former building in 1885-1887. erected a new — romantic palace in the Moorish style with elements of Baroque, Russian and Crimean Tatar architecture. In the same years the park is expanded and the number of plants in it reaches 220 species.
One of the legends about this place is connected with the erection of the new building. According to this story, during the construction of the building by order of the manager used stone brought from the Bear Mountain, where the medieval Christian church was dismantled. The Raevsky couple after that began to be haunted by failures, they could not have children for a long time. Only after a bas-relief with the image of the Virgin Mary with a baby in her arms was built into one of the walls of the house, the couple waited for their long-awaited firstborn. This bas-relief has been perfectly preserved to our time, and today it can be admired while looking at the palace building.
The architecture of the three-storey palace impresses with the mixture of styles, unusual and diverse graceful elements and details, mesmerizes and makes you want to look at it for a long time. It is believed that the Crimean architect K.Eshliman was inspired by the ancient palace of the XVII century, built in Isfahan, Iran. Faceted columns, large Moorish windows, stucco ornaments, stained glass windows, wooden carved balconies, arches, platbands, spacious terraces — all this merges into one harmonious whole, creates a unique look of the palace. The interiors of Karasan are equally beautiful, preserving the ancient molding on the ceiling and walls, beautiful staircases, carved limestone panels, luxurious fireplaces.
No less impressive is the park around the palace, where you can see exotic plants brought from Africa, North and South America, the Mediterranean, Japan. Here you can stroll through the largest grove of century-old Italian pine trees on the Black Sea coast, among blue Atlas cedars, Aleppo pine, bamboo grove and cypress alley, admire the 200-year-old Lebanese cedar growing in front of the palace facade.
This place was admired by Alexander Pushkin, who repeatedly visited the Raevskys, who owned the estate until 1917. Well, and today to appreciate the beauty of this sightseeing Partenit can everyone who spends his holiday in Crimea — it is easy to get here from Yalta or Alushta. Here you can also live, because today the territory of the palace and park ensemble became part of the sanatorium «Karasan», and its doors are hospitably open to all comers.