The Assumption cave monastery

The Assumption cave monastery stands in the cliffs of Mariam-Dere, the valley below Bakhchisarai, on the way to Chufut-Kale. The churches are cut into the limestone, about twenty metres above the valley floor, and stairs lead up to them.

Tradition says a shepherd saw an icon of the Mother of God on the cliff, lit by a candle. A prince ordered it carried to his palace, and in the morning the icon was back on the rock. The same thing happened a second time, and a cave chapel was built on the spot. Another story tells of a serpent that took cattle and people. Greeks and Genoese prayed to the Mother of God. At night a candle burned on the cliff above the image, and beside it lay the dead serpent. Both stories explain why the shrine was left in the rock, not in the valley.

Monastic life here is older than these stories. The valley has Christian burials of the 6th century, and monks are mentioned from the 8th and 9th centuries. Greeks settled the valley first, and later the Genoese were here. The monastery kept working under the Crimean Khanate. Russian captives in Chufut-Kale were sometimes allowed to come down for the service and to meet an envoy.

In 1921 the monastery was closed. In 1993 it was returned to the faithful and restoration began.

By the entrance there is a painting of Saint George.

The icons on the bare rock were painted in the 19th century. In Soviet times they faded. They were restored high on the wall, where the stories place the appearance of the image.

Wind and water have cut the slopes around Bakhchisarai into caves. People and animals lived in them. Chufut-Kale, higher up the valley, is one of these cave towns.

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