Add a review about the cave monastery near Sudak

If you slightly expand the geography of your stay and visit its suburbs during your holiday in Sudak, you can see a lot of interesting things. . On the way to the New World, at the foot of Mount Sokol, one of the highest mountains in these (477 m), there are ruins of an ancient cave monastery . As far as historians know, it was built in the 8th century by . e . by Byzantine monks who escaped from the iconoclasm that developed then . For six centuries the monks lived here - icon-lovers, while in the 15th century power and the Crimean peninsula was not conquered by the Turks . Military events affected the fate of the monastery "in the name of St. . the Great Martyr George", he was ruined and abandoned . However he was not forgotten, remaining included in the list of shrines of the Tauride province .

Orthodox written sources of the 19th century testify to the fact that Sokol Mountain is once again a well-placed shelter for monks, but at the beginning of the 20th century only ruins remain. What happened to the cave monastery over the years? And the matter is in what, as archaeologists later established. The sandstone in which the cave monastery was carved was located on a layer of clay. Over time, it began to blur, which led to the collapse of sandstone. Subsequently, the caves of the monks, falling under the collapse, collapsed with the monastery

Now the monastery looks like three cave cells with remnants of steps, windows, benches. Crosses can be seen on the caves, and inside them you can see the vaulted ceilings and in some places the shelves for books

Opening of the cave monastery

Three cave caves found in 1920 . local historian Nikolai Lezin . Exploring them, carved on the wall of one of the caves, and the likeness of a bench carved right in the rock . In another cave he discovered a partially preserved front wall and a ceiling with a layer of paint . About the discovery the local historian informed the archaeological department of Glavnauka, who sent a group to Sudak researchers headed by professors A . Fomin . During the unfolded excavation work, the remains of the destroyed church were completely cleared up . Now it looks like three cave cells with remnants of steps, windows, benches . The crosses are clearly visible on the caves, and inside them you can see the vaulted ceilings and in some places the shelves for books .

By the way, the opening of the cave monastery near Sudak was the impetus for more extensive archaeological research in its vicinity. And they were not fruitless. During the excavation, the ruins of another cave temple located in the grotto of Shalyapin were discovered

How to get there

The cave monastery is located 4 km from Sudak on the Sudak-Novy Svet road, on the slopes of Mount Sokol . You can get to it both directly and from the Golitsyn trail . But immediately it is worth noting that in any case the road to the monastery is not so simple . First, you can get there only on foot, and secondly, the path winds and repeatedly then rises up the mountain slopes, then abruptly descends downwards . However it is necessary not to leave the goal is half-way, and certainly overcome these obstacles, because the result of your journey will be a charming panorama of Sudak and its environs, and nearby you can meet a spring of pure water hitting from the ground - the source of Anastasia .

For the excursion to the cave monastery is best Take a conductor with you who is well-versed in the terrain.