Mount Cat - a famous natural monument of Crimea

For many decades, the most favorite vacation spot for residents of different countries is the Crimean peninsula. This area is famous not only for its unique climate, unusual plants, clean and healing air, the azure sea and comfortable beaches, but also for its unique landscape.

Nature in an amazing way has gathered in one region a huge number of unique monuments, whose age reaches millions of years. In order to see all the sights, tourists for many years return to the Crimea and enthusiastically listen to bewitching and mysterious legends and legends. One of the most memorable and popular monuments is Mount Cat.

Mount Cat - a unique natural monument that arose as a result of seismic vibrations of the earth’s surface and is located at a distance of 19 km from Yalta near the small village of Simeiz. The territory of the picturesque village is located on the Black Sea coast and is an adornment of the southern part of the Crimean peninsula. The main attraction of the village for many years is the mountain range, which is located on the western border of Simeiz. The mountain range extends from west to south and goes straight into the sea.

The name of the natural object comes from the ancient Tatar name Kosh-Kai, which means a double rock. The mountain consists of the following parts:

• head with ears;
• curved back;
• tail.

Mount Koshka is a moving limestone massif that, a million years ago, disconnected from the main ridge of the Crimean Mountains and began to move along the southern slope of the peninsula. The age of limestone deposits is not more than 150 million years.

A relatively young relief is in constant dynamic motion, during which cracks, voids, stone and mudflows occur, as well as mountain formations with pointed peaks. The inner part of the mountain consists of karst caves, the length of which can reach 100 meters, and their outer part is hidden on dense thickets of trees.

The height of the highest point of the mountain is 250 meters, and the height of the tail does not exceed 210 meters. The total area of ​​this territory is 50 hectares. The massif consists of two elongated parallel hills - western and eastern, between which there is a plain. This area has impregnable and constantly crumbling cliffs.

The south side, despite its complex terrain, is more attractive for tourists who can get to a flat plain through a small gorge. It is best to climb the mountain from the north side, where a narrow road is located.

Tour guides recommend paying attention to the objects surrounding the mountain:

• rock diva;

• the remains of the cliff Monk;

• Mount Panea

• Swan wing

Mount Cat is not only a beautiful natural site, but also a historical heritage of the ancient and medieval period. The result of a long and painstaking work of researchers and archaeologists were the remains of settlements of early and middle bronze.

At the highest point of the cliff, evidence was found of the presence of a Tavrian village and burials in these places. Later in the 7th century, Greeks lived in this territory, who fled from Constantinople, but already in the 14th century the territory was occupied by the Genoese. The invaders to strengthen the line of defense built the fortress of Panea. In the middle of 1400, the Turks took possession of the territory and built a haven for pirates and slave traders on it.

Historians claim that the initial appearance of this array was significantly different from the modern one. In ancient times, the mountain was connected to the plain of Islay, and all the lowlands were barricaded by huge stones. This building was a reliable barrier that protected the southern side from the invasion of enemies. Today, tourists can see only the remains of the fence with a length of not more than 100 meters, a width of about 2.5 meters and a height of not more than 3 meters.

The initial history of the appearance of the village and the surrounding mountain sculptures is covered in secrets and legends. According to one of them, many centuries ago, ancient people built a small village in which after a while an unusual person appeared. The wanderer chose a mountain cave as his home and lived away from people. Many residents of Simeiz turned to the hermit for help in solving life problems and health difficulties.

A humble, calm and unsociable person refused no one and helped everyone. His main tool in healing the sick has always been prayer. Since then, he acquired the status of a saint, but behind the mask of the savior was a robber and a con man who wanted to atone for his evil deeds.

The monk’s life has long been watched by evil spirits who by all means wanted to return him to their ranks. To realize his plan, the dark forces turned into a cat, who came to the house of a monk. The priest felt sorry for the animal and sheltered in his home. The insidious animal did its best to harm a person and provoke him to do bad things. The hermit did not like the behavior of the furry beast, and he drove the beast out of the house.

The idea of ​​provocation did not leave the dark forces, and after a short time during fishing, they sent a beautiful girl to the monk.As soon as the hermit saw the beauty, all the images of women to which he had harmed surfaced in his memory.

All the events were closely watched by light forces, and when the priest remembered all the evil he had created, piercing light illuminated the sky, and under his rays all the characters in these events turned into stone rocks. Huge and silent mountain sculptures have survived in the form of Cats, Monks and Divas.

The tourist attraction of the natural site lies not only in the geological and landscape features, but also in the botanical one. Scientists and ordinary tourists from many countries of the world come to admire the nature of this corner, on the territory of which you can see the following plants of the sub-Mediterranean woodlands:

• fluffy oak;
• juniper high;
• blunt pistachio;
• Crimean cistus;
• Pontic needle;
• bushy jasmine;
• fuman thyme;
• small-fruited strawberries.

Astronomers and lovers of the starry sky will be interested in visiting the Simeiz Astrophysical Observatory, located on top of the mountain. This scientific center is equipped with a huge radio telescope, whose diameter is 22 meters.

In mid-1960, the center was the first in Europe to capture the back of the lunar surface. Guides tell visitors to the Crimea about dolmens - ancient tombs, which consisted of four plates and were covered with a fifth plate. The weight of one plate is about 1 ton. Most of the structures are in the ground, and some are completely covered by soil and vegetation, and adventurers can explore the coast and discover the secret and uncharted sides of the mountain.

The road to the monument will not cause difficulties even for novice travelers. Regular bus services run towards Simeiz, and private carriers will take travelers to the very bottom of the attraction, but you will have to go the distance from the tail to the head yourself. Before you go to enjoy the natural beauty, you need to buy comfortable clothes and shoes, as well as make the necessary supply of water and food.

If there is no self-confidence or desire to overcome the difficulties of climbing, experts recommend abandoning the planned event and enjoy the beauties of the mountain from the adjacent village. In contact with the beauty of the Crimea, we must remember that this region is a nature reserve and it is necessary to relate to its nature carefully and carefully, being careful not to harm it.

Climbing to the very top of the ridge, you can see the vast expanses of the sea, mountains and the territory of Simeiz. Even professional travelers, these landscapes are indescribable delight, and the pictures taken will be a vivid reminder of the journey for many decades. Guides draw the attention of tourists to the possible disappearance of a mountain sculpture in connection with its constant movement towards the sea.

Of course, this process will continue for several hundred years, but nature is full of mysteries, the answer to which even scientists do not know. In order to have time to enjoy the miraculous beauty of nature, do not delay the trip to the picturesque and amazing Crimea.Indeed, for this it is not necessary to go to distant countries and spend huge financial resources. Scientists recommend first exploring the nearby beauty and commemorative signs that will give no less pleasure and no less bright palette of sensations.

About the legends that Mountain Cat keeps in Crimea, see the next video.