Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SOUTHERN COAST
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Sevastopol to Yalta
The drive between Sevastopol and Yalta is one of the most scenic in Crimea. The road
twists and turns along a coastal escarpment, with the Black Sea far below and the sheer
cliffs of the Crimean Mountains rising behind. Vineyards and cypress trees line the route.
Thirty kilometres from Sevastopol is the small village of
Foros
, notable for three
things. First, this is where Gorbachev was held under house arrest during the 1991 coup
attempt in Moscow. Locals will happily point out his
dacha,
which has a terracotta roof.
Second, there's the small, gold-domed Resurrection Church, also known as the
Church
on the Rock
for its dramatic perch on a precipitous crag overlooking the sea. The 19th-
century tea tycoon Alexander Kuznetsov built the church in thanks for the survival of his
daughter, whose runaway horse stopped at the edge of the cliff.
Third, Foros is popular with rock climbers because of the left-hand face of Mt Mshat-
Kaya, the
Forosskiy Kant
, which rises above the village. The face lies above today's
Sevastopol-Yalta road, near the Baydarsky Vorota pass. For details, contact mountain
guide Sergey Sorokin (
Click here
)
.
