Balaklava bay - one of the bays of Sevastopol, on which lies the town of Balaklava.
Balaklava Bay is a consequence of a tectonic fault. Entrance to the bay situated between Cape George (he Balaklavskiy, east coast) and Cape Kuron (also known as West, battery). At the entrance to the bay on the east coast is Mount Fortress (Kastron) with the ruins of the fortress genueskoy Cembalo . Curved bay, picturesque, hidden by mountains, invisible from the sea. Permanent calm water in the bay, no matter how the elements raged in the high seas, due to the unique natural form of Balaklava bay - in the form of the English letter S. In this bay is deep enough here, close to the shore, the placement of large warships.
Feeling fishing village, sung Kuprin, stored in sturdy houses and numerous dinghies. Infrastructure of tourism business is developing rapidly: the first floors of all central buildings already occupied by bars and shops, wintering skiff was held in the neighborhood of expensive private boats.
feature Balaklava bay is its semi-closed and limited communication with the open part of the Black Sea. Configuration of the coastline separates the bay into two parts - the southern deep-water, communicating with the open part of the sea, and the northern shallow, almost stagnant part.
Balaklava bay - the best harbor for sailing on the Black Sea coast in terms of its geographical, natural and navigational features. It is closed from the wind and waves from all directions. Balaklava Bay is not loaded large-tonnage vessels, which creates fewer problems and increases the safety of navigation.
Mysterious much not only in the future, but in the past history of Balaklava, which is the most ancient Chersonese . Bay in ancient times was inhabited brands. And as archaeologically proven that makes inhabited the southern coast of Crimea in the early first millennium BC, the small Balaklava may well claim the title of one of the oldest cities in the world. Ancient Greeks who settled here in the years 422-421 BC and faced with local inhabitants, gave the first extant name of this place: Syumbulon-Limni, which means "bay of signs, symbols, omens. Perhaps it is mentioned in the Odyssey of Homer as the Bay listrigonov. It is believed that the name derives from the custom of the Tauri (known pirates antiquity) to burn night bonfires on the beach in order to entice a passing by boat. The vessel is plundered, and the hapless sailors sacrificed the main goddess Taurus - Virgo.
Further developments, including the arrival of the Romans belong to the vague and mysterious period in the life of Balaklava. Interrupted course of history can only be established since 1357, when the balaclava is already in the possession of the Genoese. This year, as the story preserved the Latin text, there was built a church (now Church of the Twelve Apostles the church survived to the present day and is the oldest in Balaklava).
In the name of the Genoese fortress her, - Cembalo - preserved sound Greek Syumbolon. The fortress had great strategic importance. Left Bank Balaklava bay crowned with the Castle hill, on which was a fortress and Cembalo. The remains of the towers, which are still in the first half of the 19 th century, there were twelve, already visible from the quay, and intrigue anyone who first arrived in Balaklava. Rise to them is not difficult.
his balaclava got a new name after the conquest by the Turks in 1475, becoming known as "Balik-SEE" or "fish-nest. However, the first Turkic name is mentioned Balaklava Athanasius Nikitin in his "Journey Beyond Three Seas", using a slightly different place-name: "Balyk" or "rock fish". Some time, when the Turks, Balaklava existed as a major shipbuilding center and place of confinement of the Crimean khans, but the 18 century came to a complete desolation. In 1774, Balaklava coast occupy Cossacks to protect him from the Turkish landings.
Since the late 19 th century Balaclava already beginning to develop as a resort: it built cottages Princes Yusupov and Gagarin, Count Naryshkin, etc., open mud baths. During the Great Patriotic War, Balaklava suffered little, but for a long time was closed for a visit.
the fortress Cembalo less than an hour walk to two beaches - the Middle and Golden. Since paths can see the so-called "barrel of death." It is located on the steep mountain ascetic. This is the fruit of a perverse fantasy esesovtsev: the prisoners were forced into the barrel, opened the bottom, and people fell down.
truly magnificent building, remaining in Balaklava since the Cold War "- an underground factory for the repair of submarines on the right bank of the bay. Construction of an underground complex started in 1957. The main work that took place in heavy-duty rocky ground, the builders completed the Moscow metro. Hide submarines in the event of nuclear war - such is one of the purposes of this unique fortification. There is also an artificial sea channel and a dry dock. Entrance to the underground complex is masked, but the place where it is perfectly visible from the Genoese towers. In the once-secret location, appear on a document as an object 825 GPU, now called the museum, which anyone can visit.
