Crimean Legend - The ruins of Castle on the Krestovaya Mountain

Two tribes lived in the Crimea long ago. People, who inhabited the shore, were occupied with garden cultivation and catching fish in the sea. People, who lived in the forest, were busy with hunting and stock-breeding.

There was no agreement between the coastal and forest people. They were often at war with each other. But forest people were the winners more often than the coastal ones. Having been hardened in hunting, they were more brave, more lively and more enduring.The ruller of the forest people had a son - an heir, a brave and persistant youth. He had his tutor, a slave. He told the youth about the life of other people, that the ruller of the coastal people had a daughter of uncommon beauty.

The youth was burnt with enormous love to a girl, having heard a lot of stories about her beauty. The father was terribly angry with his son, when he had known all this, as the only mentioning of hateful neighbour made him livid.

In his son's love he saw the treachery to the father and the tribe, prohibited him even to think about the damned stranger. But the firm heart ofthe youth was not frightened with the threats of his father. He decided to escape from his native country...

He had made hard way in order to have a momentary look at a beautiful woman...

Many days, weeks, months had come before two living hearts opened one another. Their happiness was boundless, when the father of the girl gave his consent to the marriage. The father was also glad when Zekhra gave birth to a grandson with golden curls.

Meanwhile the ruller of the mountainous-forest country have got the rumour that a stranger married the daughter of the ruller. The old man wished the youth had been dead, than became the beloved of the daughter of the enemy. Unlimited fury seized the old man, when he had known everything.

The angry father decided to kill the son and put an end to all the coastal tribe. Seven years and seven winters lasted the war. The coastal inhabitants protected their land, huts, their wives and children courageousely.

The son-in-law of the ruller of the coastal country, like a lion, rushed forward, withdrawing the warriors behind him. But the warrior was killed with a stone, which his father had let out of sling.

The coastal inhabitants were occupied with horror. Some of them were turned into slaves, other were killed, towns and temples were destroyed.

The ruller of the coastal country defended himself for a long time in his palace, where Alupka is situated now. The enemies began to throw the enormous blocks down from the top of the Ai-Petri mountain, which were rolling down and destroyed the palace.

The old ruller together with his grandson and the daughter tried to escape through the underground passage in Krestovaya mountain. But to their horror they saw that it had been destroyed and blocked up with stone wreckage. The enemies couldn't find the fugitives but they also couldn't get out from the stone trap and died of hunger after the long torments.

The wreckage of the fortress have been risen in Krestovaya mountain since that time as the monument to people's cruelty and absurd enmity.