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 ruler of the forest people had a son - an heir, a brave and persistent youth. He had his tutor, a slave. He told the youth about the life of other people, that the ruler 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 learned 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 of the 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 to one another. Their happiness was boundless, when the father of the girl gave his consent to the marriage. The father was also glad when Zehra gave birth to a grandson with golden curls.

Meanwhile the ruler of the mountainous-forest country had got the rumour that a stranger married the daughter of the ruler. The old man would rather the youth had died than become the beloved of the daughter of the enemy. Unlimited fury seized the old man, when he had learned 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 courageously.

The son-in-law of the ruler of the coastal country, like a lion, rushed forward, leading 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 ruler of the coastal country defended himself for a long time in his palace on the site of present-day Alupka. 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 ruler 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.

Since that time the wreckage of the fortress has stood on Krestovaya mountain as a monument to people's cruelty and absurd enmity.

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