Crimea

The first settlers appeared in Crimea 100,000 years ago, when it was not yet a peninsula. Later, when the Mediterranean Sea flooded the area of the modern Black Sea in the Stone Age, Crimea became an intermediate base for migratory flows and remained so for several millennia.

Antique Crimea

In the Bronze Age, the peninsula was inhabited by the semi-legendary Cimmerians and Taurians, displaced by the Scythian civilization, which left many archaeological traces. Skilled horsemen, the Scythians preferred the steppe regions of the peninsula, leaving the coast to Greek settlers. The descendants of the Asia Minor Miletus favored the vicinity of modern Kerch, founding Panticapaeum and Theodosia. Peoples from the opposite shore of the Black Sea, from Heraclea Pontica, founded the fortress of Chersonesos near today’s Sevastopol. By the 5th century BC, strong states had grown up around the fortifications – the Bosporan Kingdom with its capital Panticapaeum and the republican Chersonesos Taurica. Already then in the Crimea cultivated the first vineyards, built sea ships, erected stone dwellings and public buildings.

Crimea in the Middle Ages: first contacts with Russia

Crimea in the Russian Empire: Taurida province

The Crimean region was transferred to Ukraine in 1954 mainly for economic reasons: it was more convenient to solve the issues with water and energy supply of the territory, which lacked its own capacities. After the collapse of the USSR, Crimea remained within Ukraine with insufficient, in the opinion of many residents, autonomy. In 2014, during mass unrest and the overthrow of the country’s president, a referendum was organized in Crimea where, according to official Russian sources, the majority of citizens voted to become part of Russia.

Climate and natural sights of Crimea

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‘ Crimean Nature Reserve

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Steppe Crimea

Steppe areas are not well known to tourists, although there are many interesting things there too: wild tulips and bows completely transform the fields in early spring, later comes the turn of poppies. Dry, even arid summers and mild winters are characteristic of the flat Crimean territories. Despite droughts, there are gardens, melon plantations, vineyards. The largest lakes of Crimea are located in the steppes: Sasyk and Donuzlav. Due to high salinity they are not suitable for irrigation, but on the deep-water Donuzlav in the south-west of the peninsula you can rent a sports yacht and practice sailing.

Crimea coast: beach vacation

Artek

The year-round camp complex occupies a 7-kilometer strip of coastline near Gurzuf. Actually, it is 10 autonomous camps with their own programs, 4 of which are still under reconstruction. Each shift has its own theme, but children will additionally be offered to choose a specialization: to be engaged in tourism, journalism, animation, sports, to study marine science. During the school year the camp has its own school for middle and high school students. In the summer season of 2016, a voucher for a 3-week shift cost 65,000 rubles – more expensive than in other children’s institutions of the peninsula, about 1.5 times.

Treatment in Crimea

Crimean sanatoriums offer treatment for many diseases, but the main specializations have developed since the XIX century: with the help of the unique climate, landscapes, water and mud are solved problems with the lungs, joints and musculoskeletal apparatus, skin. In most cases, treatment requires minimal effort from patients: you just need to breathe and wander along the paths arranged in sanatorium parks, and the healing air of the Crimea: a mixture of sea wind and aromas of coniferous plants – will do its job. In addition to breathing procedures offered water: showers, baths, taking mineral waters. There are many mineral springs in all parts of the peninsula, but safe wells are equipped only for a dozen of them in the area of Kerch and steppe resorts. Local waters are especially useful for diseases of the digestive and urogenital system.

Healing lakes and mud

In total, the Crimea recorded 26 therapeutic mud deposits and sources of salt-saturated water – rapa. Unfortunately, tourists coming wildly often just burrow into the mud and sit there for hours. Medics warn that uncontrolled mud baths are fraught with burns, the dosage depends on the patient’s condition, age and diagnosis. Among popular mud treatment destinations is Saki, a shallow salt lake with silty mud and drinking mineral water from a well on the southwest side of the village of the same name. Moynak Lake is popular in the area of Yevpatoria, and Chokrak Lake in Feodosia.

Handmade sights of Crimea

Despite the devastating wars that depleted the strength of the peninsula’s population for many centuries, Crimea has preserved many landmarks from previous periods.

Archaeological Antiquities

The findings of archaeologists are stored in Crimean museums, and the ruins of ancient structures can be visited directly while walking around the modern cities of the peninsula. Kerkinitida is an ancient city of V-II centuries BC in the area of Yevpatoria. Reserve “Scythian Naples” on the territory of Simferopol – the ruins of the former Scythian settlement of two thousand years ago. The UNESCO World Heritage List includes the reserve “Chersonesos Tavrichesky” as the most preserved Crimean example of late antique polis with straight streets, fortress walls, the first Christian temples-basilicas. On the ruins of the ancient theater are performances of ancient Greek playwrights, tickets for the performance are bought separately. Access of tourists to the ancient buildings is allowed from 9 am to 8 pm, the department of Byzantine antiquities works up to 7 hours in summer and 5 hours – in winter, the cost of a ticket without an excursion – 100 rubles for an adult.

Palaces of Crimea

Museums of Crimea

The main historical and natural history museum of local lore is located in Simferopol – it is the Central Museum of Tavrida. Weekend in it on Tuesday, the ticket costs 120 rubles. In the Art Museum of Simferopol interest is a valuable exposition of Russian paintings of the XIX century and icons, the Soviet period is well represented. The museum accepts visitors for free on concessionary days, a full ticket will cost 200 rubles.

Many writers and artists of all-Russian scale lived in Crimea for a long time. The memory of them is preserved in the Literary Memorial Museum of Alexander Grin in Feodosia, the house-museum of Konstantin Paustovsky in Old Crimea, the house-museum of Maximilian Voloshin in Koktebel, the Aivazovsky Art Gallery in Feodosia, the house-museum of Ilya Selvinsky in Simferopol, Chekhov – in Yalta. In addition to traditional museums, there are also exotic ones in Crimea: recently in Feodosia there was opened an exposition of hang gliders.

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Active vacation in Crimea

If the number of vacationers in sanatoriums in the Crimea has decreased, then fans of active pastime continue to come here for the traditional routes for hiking, horseback riding, cycling, quadrotourism, rock climbing and kayaking. Actual children’s programs with short hikes, in which young travelers acquire primary skills of climbing and handling ropes, develop physically, learn to fish.

Dolphinariums and water parks

Tourist Information

The beach season in Crimea lasts from mid-June to early October, you can often swim as early as May. For treatment, travelers come all year round, especially since the cost of accommodation in winter is reduced almost 2 times.

Transportation in Crimea

Cellular communication in Crimea

Of the largest Russian operators, only MTS came to the Crimean peninsula with its mobile Internet. At the same time, small local operators are trying to establish work, but they are not yet ready to serve the interests of newcomers and provide cheap services for negotiations with other regions.

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Where to stay

The flow of tourists has recently decreased, so there will be no problems with finding accommodation even at the height of the season. Still the majority of guests prefer to stay at private accommodation for economy reasons. The eastern coast of Crimea is traditionally cheaper, there you can rent empty apartments of former military personnel who moved to other regions, for the whole season for a symbolic amount.

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Restaurants and cafes

All kinds of catering establishments on the embankments are numerous, and there are both very decent with reasonable prices, and outright eateries. Before visiting restaurants and cafes is strongly recommended to look at reviews. “McDonald’s” in Crimea is not, but there are a lot of homegrown fast food establishments.

Safety issues

Natural cataclysms in the Crimea happen an order of magnitude less than on tropical islands, as the sea is internal and destructive tsunamis are not observed on it. On average in the Crimea occurs three serious, up to 8 points, earthquakes per century, usually in the area of Yalta, Sudak and Sevastopol. They are accompanied by significant destruction, but casualties are extremely rare. The land of Crimea reacts to European and Asian shocks, but they do not pose a danger to people and structures. In the fall, the sea is very stormy, careless tourists who came too close to the edge of the embankment, can be washed away by the wave. Mud volcanoes in the east, outwardly small and safe, can drag in no worse than a swamp. Mudflows come down from the mountains near Alushta and Sudak, so during the rain it is strictly forbidden to sleep in tents in lowlands and on the banks of rivers.

How to get to Crimea

The main way for tourists is by air. Flights from Russian regions are received by Simferopol airport. Since the flow of passengers is high, in the future it is possible to transfer charter routes to “Belbek” in the vicinity of Sevastopol. Until now, this airport has served the needs of military aviation, but its runway is capable of accepting small civilian aircraft.

By private vehicles and tour buses, tourists get to the peninsula via the Kerch crossing. Despite the fact that the distance between the ports “Crimea” and “Caucasus” is only 5 kilometers, last year overcoming this obstacle at the height of the season stretched for a day, sometimes for two. Now, the waiting time has been significantly reduced.