Crimean Legend - Stones in the valley of Kacha

There lived a girl in a village; her name was Zuleika. She had everything: she was beautiful, kind-hearted, and clear-minded. Zuleika lived with her mother, a poor widow. In the valley not far from Zuleika lived the fearsome Topal-bey. But nothing about the bey was as terrible as his two sons. They were lazy, greedy and evil. Everyone around trembled with fear. The brothers prowled the villages during dark nights, burst into settlers' houses, took everything expensive with them, and carried off the girls. And none of the girls came out of Topal-bey's castle alive.

When the brothers were returning from hunting through Zuleika's village, they saw her, and each decided: she would be mine. The brothers got furious and rushed at each other, but stopped in time. And one said to the other: whoever catches her first, she will belong to him.

And both came to the girl's village. They came to Zuleika's hut. There were no men who could defend the girl. Zuleika heard someone climbing in through the window. She called her mother and ran out the door. She ran along the road, with her mother behind her. The brothers were close, right behind her; they caught her at once, dragging and tearing at the girl from both sides. She cried out:

- I don't want to fall into the hands of an evil man. Let me lie like a stone on the road. And you, damned ones, turn to stone to your own harm!

The girl's word was strong. She began to sink into the ground, turning into stone. And the two brothers lay beside her as fragments of cliffs.

The mother ran up, saw Zuleika and the beast-brothers clothing themselves in stone, and said:

- I want to look at this stone all my life, to see my daughter.

And the mother's word was so strong that as soon as she fell to the ground, she also turned to stone.

And since that time they have stood in the valley of the Kacha River, not far from Bakhchisarai.

Topal-bey - a limping bey.

Bey - a prince, a member of the nobility.

Crimea is temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation. For now it is not a place for tourism.