Traditionally, the most popular in Crimea is its southern coast. However, there is a lot of interesting things on the not-so-promoted east. The Kerch Peninsula has its own historical zest and unique natural phenomena. For example, one of the most ancient cities in the world is located here, there are mud volcanoes, pink starlings live and pink lakes are located.
Two seas, one strait and a ginger cat Mostik
The Kerch Peninsula is washed by two seas: the Azov and the Black. They are found in the Kerch Strait. On the opposite bank is the Taman Peninsula. Since May 2018, the banks have been connected by the longest in Russia, the Crimean Bridge, which has become a new attraction since the beginning of its construction. But it seems that the red cat Mostyk surpassed it in polarity. Once he was sheltered by local workers, and from a little kitten he turned into a favorite of the whole country, an unofficial symbol of the Crimean bridge and a very responsible "foreman".
The landscape of the Kerch Peninsula: bays, salty pink lakes, general's beaches, arrows, wild steppes and mud volcanoes
The Kerch Peninsula occupies just over 10% of the territory of Crimea. The landscape is generally fairly flat. In the southeast it is more hilly, and in the southwest it is flat with a slope towards the sea. There are wide bays along the sea coasts. Along the coast of the warm Sea of Azov, a chain of picturesque bays with clear water, called General's beaches, stretches for about 30 kilometers in length.
In the northern direction from the Kerch Peninsula, between the Sea of Azov and Lake Sevash, a narrow 100-kilometer Arbat Spit stretches almost as straight as an arrow. The shallow water near its coast warms up to +29 degrees in summer.
There are several salt lakes inside the land. For example Chokrak lake. Rapa (highly concentrated salt solution) and Chokrak mud are used to treat diseases associated with the musculoskeletal system, gynecology, urology and the nervous system. In this beautiful lake, the salt and water are pink in color. And this is not from the rays of the morning or setting sun. The pink color is given by halobacteria living in the lake.
Although crops such as wheat, corn, oats, and sometimes grapes are grown on the Kerch Peninsula, most of the territory is untouched wilderness. In some places there are virgin steppes, incredibly beautiful at the time of spring flowering.
There are no high mountains on the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea, but there are several dozen mud volcanoes. There are active ones among them. Some of them erupt periodically, and some constantly pour out streams of mud.
In a wide basin near the village of Bondarenkovo there is a whole group of volcanoes and volcanoes, which is called "Bulganak" or "Valley of Volcanoes". Regardless of their size, the volcanoes in this valley are constantly spewing mud.
Volcanic deposits of the largest Crimean mud volcano Dzhaur-Tepe occupy an area of about two square kilometers. The area adjacent to volcanoes looks lifeless. But on the other hand, the mud is used for medicinal purposes and in the production of expanded clay.
Climate, flora and fauna of the Kerch Peninsula: pink rooks and man-made forests
The climate here is arid, moderately hot, with warm winters and hot summers. There are no high mountains on the peninsula that would protect it from the cold northerly winds. Therefore, in the Kerch Strait, especially in winter, there are severe and prolonged sea storms.
It is interesting that in ancient times there were deep rivers on the territory of the Kerch Peninsula. Now, only the ramified system of beams reminds of their former existence.
The location of the Kerch Peninsula with its peculiar microclimate has created an amazing habitat for unique living creatures.
Thus, in the Opuksky nature reserve, pink rooks nest, which, among many other inhabitants of the peninsula, are included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. The colony of ethic rare birds numbers about 2 thousand individuals here.
The climate here is unfavorable for forests. And yet there are forest zones on the Kerch Peninsula. The man-made forest park stretches for 18 km along the coast of the Kazantip Bay. Crimean pines, pyramidal poplars, small-leaved elms and other trees and shrubs grow in the forest. Even mushrooms appear after heavy rains. Among the animals on the Kerch Peninsula, you can find foxes, wild boars, hares and rabbits.
Ancient and new sights of the Kerch Peninsula
At the very tip of the Kerch Peninsula along the coastline is the largest city in the eastern part of the Crimea - Kerch. But on the site of a modern settlement at the turn of the 7th-6th centuries BC. its antique predecessor already existed - the capital of the Bosphorus kingdom of Panticapaeum. Due to its favorable geographic location, it flourished because it was at the crossroads of trade routes between Europe, Central Asia, China and the Mediterranean.
Mount Mithridates rises right on the territory of the city. At its top there is a memorial to the memory of the Great Patriotic War. In 1973 Kerch was deservedly awarded the title of Hero City. The famous Great Mithridatskaya Staircase, the creation of the architect Alexander Digby, leads up the mountain. From the highest point of the city, there is a beautiful view of Kerch, the strip of the Tavrida highway under construction, the Kerch Strait and the bridge across it.
In 2017, a five-meter bench was installed on the observation deck of Mithridates in honor of the start of construction of the Crimean bridge with a back that repeats the outlines of its arch. The bench immediately became a popular attraction and a springboard for selfies. By the way, five of the same benches with the bridge logo were installed in 2018 in the recreation areas of residents and guests of Moscow.
Not only Kerch itself has the title of the most ancient (city of Russia). Here is one of the oldest Christian churches in our country - the Church of St. John the Baptist, the creation of which dates back to the 10-13th centuries.
On the shore of the Kerch Strait are the ruins of the Yeni-Kale fortress, erected by the Turks in 1699-1706, and in 1771 surrendered by them without resistance to the Russian army.
But, perhaps, the most amazing place to visit which you need to prepare mentally is the Adzhimushkay quarries. In May 1942, the Germans captured Kerch. The armies of the Crimean Front were evacuated to the Taman coast, but part of the troops that covered the retreat could not do this and took refuge in the Adzhimushkay quarries. Many local residents went with the military to the underground. There are about 13 thousand people in total. People held out for an endless 170 days. They not only held the defense, but also tried to counterattack. According to the researchers, only 48 people survived.
About the tragedy of Adzhimushkaya in 1986, a piercing film "Descended from Heaven" based on the story "Two out of twenty million" by Alexei Kapler was shot. The main characters, Sergei and Masha, were played by Alexander Abdulov and Vera Glagoleva.
