Simeiz is undoubtedly one of the best resorts on the southern coast of Crimea. It is distant from Yalta, to whose city council it belongs, by a distance of only 18 km. As elsewhere on the coast, the local subtropical Mediterranean-type climate is recognized as an ideal environment for people suffering from diseases of the respiratory system. Like everywhere else on the coast, the air of Simeiz smells of the sea, juniper and wisteria.
At the end of XIX century this resort became very popular among government officials, merchants and industrialists. Simeiz easily charmed all guests with its landscapes and toy-like miniaturization. Therefore, stunning villas grew up in the resort like mushrooms after rain — «Xenia», «Dream» and Kuindzhi’s house, which amaze with their aesthetics even today’s viewer, saturated with beauty.
Villa Dream came to the township thanks to the Schlee family. He is Ferdinand Schlee, an ethnic German, a publican of the Tauride provincial assembly, honorary justice of the peace and publican of the Simferopol zemstvo with 33 years of experience. She — Nadezhda Shlee, née Zaitsevskaya, daughter of a rich Russian merchant. She gave birth to 7 children, was fond of botany and linguistics. In addition to 5 European languages Mrs. Shlee was fluent in Arabic. She also became the founder and chairman of the society for the improvement of the village of Simeiz.
Having chosen Simeiz as a place where the Shlee couple were going to spend the last years of their lives, they planned to build a decent house. Architect Pomerantsev was invited, who created a real «Dream». This is a mansion for 11 rooms, made in a pseudo-Moorish style. A curious fact — the owners themselves named their house «Hayal». The word means «dream» in Arabic. Over time, the word «Khayyal» faded from the memory of Simeiz residents, and the villa began to be called «Dream», referring to its similarity to a mosque.
So, you are presented with a luxurious two-story house made of pale yellow sandstone. The main building is surrounded by a gallery similar to the Alcazar of Seville. Its columns are lined up to turn the openings into distinctive lancet arches. On the second floor, in tone with the gallery, the style is confirmed by windows in the form of narrow openings, which bring back memories of Washington Irving’s Moorish novels. The upper lines of both floors are decorated with intricate ornamentation consisting of repetition of the words «There is no victor but Allah». The roof of the building is made in the form of a dome. The perimeter of the building is surrounded by massive teeth. On the roof of one of the galleries «grew» a minaret tower. The whole complex resembles the Grenadian citadel Alhambra, one of the reference structures of the Moorish style.
The house was completed in 1911, after Mr. Schlee’s death. During World War I, the official’s widow set up a 50-bed hospital for Russian soldiers in her house. After the Revolution, the house was nationalized, slightly destroyed and required restoration.
Money for this architectural marvel was not found, so in such a state «without windows, without doors» villa «Dream» stays almost a hundred years. This attraction of Simeiz was only enclosed with a metal fence. Its territory is overgrown with an impenetrable garden — remember, Mrs. Shlee was a plant collector, so this landmark of Crimea looks more and more like a castle from the fairy tale «Sleeping Beauty», frozen in anticipation of the destruction of witchcraft.