Arabatsky arrow in Crimea: features, where to stay and what to see?

Each person has a different concept of ideal relaxation - someone needs a five-star hotel in the most popular resort, and someone appreciates privacy. If you, in the company of friends, say that you rested on the Arabat Spit, do not be very surprised if you are asked again where it is. Perhaps the relatively small fame of this place is only to his advantage.

The peculiarity of most of the sights of Crimea is that they all have a very ancient history, going far into the depths of millennia - even in ancient times. The Arabat arrow, despite its considerable size, does not have such a story for a very unusual reason - it ... simply did not exist.

Modern scientists have come to the conclusion that even a thousand years ago the level of the Sea of ​​Azov and the Sivash Bay, which today are separated by the Arabat Spit, was slightly higher - so much so that no land was observed above the water. These reservoirs began to grind relatively recently, because the date of birth of the spit can be considered approximately XI-XII century. Moreover, the initial inconstancy of this formation is indicated by at least the fact that up to the middle of the 17th century there was no Arabat arrow on any map of this area.

Theoretically, of course, this spit can be attributed a little more history - for example, the Bosporus kingdom, which existed on the verge of our era, was interested in the possibility of creating fortifications where today the Arabat spit joins the Kerch Peninsula.

At the base of the Arabat spit, the remains of the Tatar-Turkish fortress are preserved, the exact date of the construction of which is unknown. Apparently, its appearance here was caused by the same reasons why the Arabat Spit began to appear on the maps - because the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, who were traditionally at war with the Tatars, managed to get into the very rear of the Crimean Khanate unnoticed on this narrow strip of land and direct their orders.

It’s impossible to say that the Arabat fortress successfully coped with the task - in 1668-1771, it was captured three times by the Slavs, and soon it, along with the entire peninsula, was annexed to the Russian Empire.

After that, the Arabatsky arrow has repeatedly figured in history. For example, during the Crimean War in the middle of the year before last, the aforementioned fortress, already owned by Russia, showed its best side - its garrison managed to repulse the attack of the Anglo-French landing and did not allow it to go along the scythe. After another 70 years, at the end of the Civil War, through the Arabat Spit and Sivash to the Crimea, which remained the last stronghold of Wrangel and the entire white movement, the Reds entered.

To find the Arabat Spit on the map, look for the Sea of ​​Azov on it and pay attention to its western coast. There, along the Crimea, you will see another reservoir of an elongated shape, separated from the rest of the water by a thin strip of land. This narrow and long braid is the Arabat arrow.

The uniqueness of this natural phenomenon lies in its shape, because with an impressive length of about 110 kilometers, its width fluctuates within a very modest 0.5-3 kilometers.

Lake Sivash, located west of the Arabat spit, has high salinity, because it’s practically completely devoid of any life, for which it is often called the Rotten Lake. As befits a place not so long ago the former seabed, it is composed mainly of sandstones.

Due to the fact that this narrow strip of land is surrounded on all sides by salt water, there have always been huge problems with drinking water, and therefore there have never been settlements here - a few are located only along the edges of the spit. At the same time, the abundance of salts led to the fact that a few centuries ago Ukrainian Chumaks arrived here for them, and today there are excellent conditions for the development of balneological tourism.

Outwardly, the spit looks like a sandy desert with a maximum height of no more than 10 meters above the level of surrounding water bodies. Throughout its length, the Arabat arrow has been overgrown with a thorn, which is also called the Arabat arrow. In the second half of summer, it dries up and forms a tumbleweed.

Along the entire length of the arrow, it’s not just the road, but only its semblance, which is commonly called the “washboard”. In fact, it is only the direction on the sandstone is indicated by low (5-8 centimeters in height) “sides” along the edges, although experienced tourists say that for the car this is a rather convenient way. Civilization is only in the north, where the village of Strelkovoye coastline is densely built up with camp sites and children's camps, there is a cobbled road and water supply.

Since 2014, the Arabat Spit is located simultaneously in two states. Before the well-known events, it completely belonged to Ukraine, after which its southern part, along with the Crimean peninsula, was annexed to Russia, while the slightly more developed northern part remained part of the Kherson region.

Despite the fact that the already mentioned road “ironing board” runs along the entire length of the spit, the border here is not represented by any checkpoint. Apparently, it is assumed that due to the huge distance between Strelkov in the north and Solyan in the south, hardly anyone is interested in crossing the border at this place. When entering the arrow through bridges from the side of Genichesk, Ukrainian border guards may be interested in the purpose of the visit, from the Crimean Salt there are no such restrictions.

Despite the fact that there seems to be no control over the border, its crossing at this point, without going through customs procedures, both parties will be regarded as an offense.

The Arabat arrow on both sides of the present border is actually two completely different worlds. About the part that adjoins directly to the Crimea, you can say literally a couple of sentences - there is practically no tourist infrastructure there, they go there just for the sake of a wild vacation with their own tent, but due to the fact that there are no shops or even fresh water anywhere, without a personal car this is a decent risk.

Recently, some actions have been periodically observed aimed at organizing campsites and the like on the south side of the spit, but not one of them has yet managed to earn the fame of a proven, and most importantly, permanent place where you can come at any time. As for organized recreation, it offers only recreation center "Safari" not far from the Arabat fortress, the rest of the structure is already located in Kamensky, that is, not directly on the spit.

The conditions in them, on the one hand, are similar, on the other, they are somewhat different, therefore each settlement should be considered separately.

The first when moving from the continent is located Genicheskaya Gorka is a small village with a population of about five hundred people. Because of its convenient position, it was historically the first resort on the spit, because many local recreation centers were built several decades ago.

The tourist should be careful as only some of them survived major repairs and global technology upgrades. Chasing low prices, you can run into classic Soviet "amenities." There are also several health centers. The cheapest housing can be found in the private sector, but it is usually not located on the first line. Despite the very modest size of the village, For tourists there is not so little infrastructure - there is a water park with a dolphinarium, an amusement park, and clubs, not to mention shops and pharmacies. This is the locality chosen by those who love a noisy and comfortable stay.

Further along the coastline goes Schastlivtsevo, which is three times the population of Genicheskaya Gorka (one and a half thousand people live here), but is considered a much more relaxed resort. People come here for the sake of treatment with mud, which are blue cosmetic and black medicinal.

There is no typical youth infrastructure here, as well as luxury hotels, but there are several recreation centers and children's health camps. As befits a village of this size, and even a resort, minimal infrastructure in the form of shops and cafes, as well as pharmacies and a market, is present here. In Schastlivtsevo you are still in the midst of civilization, but you are already noticeably closer to the savagery of the Arabat arrow.

One and a half thousand rifle located last - after him for about a hundred kilometers there will not be a single settlement up to the tiny Salt, located already at the entrance to the main part of Crimea.Given that getting deep into the Arabat Spit is quite difficult and expensive, Strelkovoye, located at the maximum distance from the "mainland", boasts calm and cleanliness.

Unlike the above villages and Genichesk himself, the sea bottom deepens more sharply, therefore it is well suited for lovers of swimming, and the local hot springs allow you to improve your health. Here, as nowhere else, it makes sense to turn to the private sector, since recreation centers and sanatoriums are still there, but there are already relatively few of them. But in these parts there are campsites for those who want a “wild” vacation, but with minimal amenities.

Given the peculiarities of the geological structure of the Arabat spit and the fact that it never really had full-fledged large settlements, it is quite difficult to expect any sights from this place in the generally accepted sense of the word. The main local attraction is the very specificity of this place - strips of desert, sandwiched between two sea shores.

Inside a narrow strip of land, there are often hot springs which makes the local nature even more unique - you must admit that something like this can not be seen everywhere. In addition, the local conditions are highly valued for the amazing privacy of these places, because just imagine: here you can drive so far that the nearest car is a few tens of kilometers away from you.

If, nevertheless, we talk about the sights as the creations of human hands, then they here may not impress the person who has seen much, but on the whole they can complement the original portrait of this place.

• The Arabat fortress, located in the south, near the village of Solyanoe, already mentioned above, and it can be considered the only real local attraction. Although the exact date of its construction is unknown, historical documents can determine that these picturesque ruins are already at least 350 years old. Of particular interest is the construction of the fortress - in order to further protect it from cannonballs, it was somewhat drowned in a specially dug ditch so that it did not rise much above the ground, but was not dug into it.

• In the middle part of the spit you can see traces of Soviet quarries, where at one time they tried to arrange the extraction of shell rock. Industrialists stopped on time, realizing that their activity is very likely to lead to the destruction of the entire Arabat spit and can provoke an ecological catastrophe in the Sea of ​​Azov. The remaining pits were decided not to be left idle - they organized a fish farm, which poured water there and began to breed fish there.

• Despite the fact that the Arabatsky arrow never interested people as a place for permanent residence, it was an important strategic point. Here and nowadays there are traces of past wars. In addition to the same fortress, it is worth mentioning the line of German bunkers from the Second World War. They are located on the side of Sivash.

• The village of Solyanoye, located at the southern tip of the spit, got its name for nothing - even today a salt production plant operates here, organized according to the principle that has been tested for centuries. Huge “plantations” of shallow containers are located here, where concentrated Sivash brine is poured. Next, the burning Crimean sun is taken up - under its rays, water evaporates, and salt remains.

• In the vicinity of the village of Strelkovoye in the northern part of the spit, you can see how natural gas is extracted from the bottom of the Sea of ​​Azov. Air bells are an unusual sight, and this is one of the few places where they can be seen from land.

• Near the beginning of the Arabat Gulf, the remains of several sunken ships can be seen from the water. It’s hard to say right away what times these remains are, but these days they are periodically used by the military as targets for practicing basic skills. You will hardly be allowed to observe the exercises directly, but even on any other day this spectacle seems rather interesting.

Given the scale of the Arabat spit and its isolated position, you can get to the spit itself only from the south, from the Crimean peninsula, or from the north, from the side of Genichesk through the bridges.

Both options are good in their own way, since the southern part is more wild and isolated, while the northern part is better organized in terms of infrastructure. At the same time, neither there, nor there, of course, there are neither airfields, nor a railway, although in the northern part it was partially in Soviet times. It turns out that you can get here either by personal transport or public - but only to the outskirts of the spit.

Getting to the Arabat Spit from the Crimean Peninsula is not so easy - in the immediate vicinity of it there are no large cities, and on it itself there is only the village of Solyanoye with a population of less than 100 people, which does not contribute to the development of public transport. From here (and in winter, probably only from neighboring Kamensky), a bus runs to Feodosia, which is 52 kilometers away. Getting to Feodosia itself is somewhat easier - for example, if you flew by plane to Simferopol Airport, you can get there either by direct flight from the airport terminal or by transfer in Simferopol itself.

An alternative, especially convenient for those who arrived in Crimea on the Crimean bridge in their own car, is to get to Solyany on their own. From Kerch, located at the exit from the bridge across the strait, to Solyany 98 kilometers, they can be overcome in 1.5-2 hours. If you would like to see the remote areas of the Arabat spit or just to find a truly secluded place to relax, this option seems optimal, since Recall that public transport does not go along the spit.

In the northern part of the spit there are four settlements at once (Genicheskaya Gorka, Priozernoye, Schastlivtsevo and Strelkovoye) and a huge amount of tourist infrastructure, because transport links are better developed here - to Strelkovoy, the last one, there is even a paved road lined with slabs from the dismantled airfield.

Buses from Kherson, a regional center located far on the continent, go there twice a day; they also go through the Genichesk district center, which has direct bus connections with settlements in other regions of Ukraine. In the summer, the number of flights from the district center increases many times. In addition, it is easy to get to Genichesk from the neighboring Novoalekseevka, which today is the terminal station for several passenger trains of the Ukrainian railways connecting the region with the rest of Ukraine.

About where to stop and what to see on the Arbat arrow in the Crimea, see the next video.