Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Zalesnoye in Russian), 2km before Khadzhi-Sala (coming from Bakhchysaray), has
more transport options.
In Khadzhi-Sala, there is a booth selling tickets (20uah) and useful Russian-language
maps of the cave city. A trail leading up the plateau between two fingers of land begins
about 100m to your right. At the top of the ridge follow the trail to the furthest finger of
land until you see a large stone gateway and a long wall. Beyond are carved-out cham-
bers and caves. The most impressive is the final cave room, carved out of the very tip of
the cliff with stairs leading down the west side to a burial chamber.
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Sevastopol
0692 / POP 330,000
It is easy to understand why the Russians are lamenting the loss of Sevastopol more than
any other chunk of their vast empire. Orderly and clean as the deck of a ship, with white-
washed neoclassical buildings surrounding a cerulean bay, it has everything most Russi-
an cities badly lack.
Not that the loss is complete - an agreement hastily signed by President Yanukovych
stipulates that Sevastopol will remain the base of the Russian Black Sea fleet for another
25 years. Most locals are linked to the navy in one way or another and maintain a strong
allegiance to Russia. This results in a peculiar cultural microclimate, similar to Gibraltar.
A favourite playground for military history fans, Sevastopol is also attractive to those
with no interest in weapons and uniforms. Simply put, it is the most pleasant Crimean
city - civilised, easy-going, but largely bypassed by the recreational mayhem of Crimea's
southern and eastern coasts.
History
Sevastopol has much to say about the irony of fate. Purpose-built as an impregnable sea
fortress to shelter the imperial fleet, it fell three times after being attacked from land.
Anglo-French-Turkish allies were the first to lay siege and capture it during the Crimean
War. In 1920 the city became the last stronghold of the retreating White Russian army. It
saw steamships carrying away the cream of Russian society into a lifelong exile before
surrendering to the Bolsheviks.
History repeated itself in 1942, when the Germans captured Sevastopol after a devast-
ating 250-day siege. There was hardly a building left standing when they entered. But
