Crimea Travel Guide
Trips to Crimea became popular in the XIX century
The Crimea peninsula is one of the most beautiful and effective health-improving places on earth. “If you, my reader, in our ordinary and prosaic century, would like to plunge into a living spring of genuine beauty and genuine poetry, you wouldn’t have to go to Italia or Andalusia, for you will find everything you strive for on the Crimean shore”. These words belong to an adept and connoisseur of Crimea, writer and traveler of the XIX century E. Markov, as he was highlighting the beauty and curative climate of the Crimean coast. I.M. Muraviev-Apostol also highlighted the favorable climate of Crimea. “And here… what warm and blessed fragrance! How pure and cloudless the sky is! The moon has risen, its rays are sparkling in the ripples of waves, the rocks, mountains, groves have lighted up, so the endless ether is glowing”. “How I envy your wonderful Crimean climate”, so A.S. Pushkin expressed his delight in the last letter to Crimea addressed to count N.B. Golitsyn (1836).
Resting in Crimea – Development of Spa Medicine
Way back in the 5th century B.C.E. an ancient Greek scholar Herodotus wrote about peloid used in Taurida (Crimea) for treating people. Pliny the elder in his Natural History also wrote about Taurida where they use dirt to heal any wounds. The healing properties of the climate and the beauty of Crimea boosted development of balneotherapeutics. The sun rising relatively high above the earth, a large number of sunny days, the clarity of air all year round, healing plants and the sea make Crimea a huge natural inhalatorium. Thanks to peloids in the lakes of Tobechik, Chokrak, Churbash the Crimean spas laid the foundation for development of the Russian academic pelotherapy school. In 1828 the first mud cure resort was opened in Saki, invested out of regional budget. The modern history of Crimean resorts starts from the middle of the XIX century, when on advice of a distinguished doctor S.P. Botkin the Southern Coast of Crimea turned into a place of treatment and cure of Empress Maria Alexandrovna.
There are 73 resorts in the Southern Coast of Crimea open for rest and treatment. Twenty two antituberculous resorts are situated prevalently in Alupka and Simeiz. The remaining resorts are specialized in treatment of patients with non-specific disorders of the respiratory system, cardiovascular and central nervous system. Besides climatic factors, the treatment and rehabilitation complex of almost all resorts of the Southern Coast of Crimea include physical therapy methods, dosed physical exercise, massage, medical baths. For patients with respiratory system disorders therapeutic bronchi sanation is available using inhalations o medicines, bronchoscopy, intratracheal instillations, special therapeutic physical training methods. Drug therapy is used if required.
Resting in the Southern Coast of Crimea - Climate
The Southern Coast of Crimea is characterized by Mediterranean , i.e. subtropical, arid, hot, but not sultry climate. It is the key factor in treatment of numerous diseases of the respiratory, cardiovascular system, functional nervous system disorders. Fir trees of Crimea produce phytoncides that have rejuvenizing effects. The sea saturates the air with its beneficial salt ions and calms the nervous system with a low whisper of its waves. There is no winter season as such. It rather resembles the autumn of the temperate climate of the European part of Russia, which is caused by the influence of warm, never freezing Black Sea and a mountain range protecting the coast from the north, preventing cold air from coming to that part of peninsula. February is the coldest month in this part of Crimea, however the mean temperature is above zero: +3.8 to +4.3 degrees centigrade. Therefore at that period Crimea has all the opportunities for climate therapy. The warm season lasts from April to October. In spring the coast is wallowed in greenery of parks and forests, in blossoming gardens. This season is characterized by a lot of sun, unstable winds, scant precipitation. The summer is sunny, dry, hot, but the summer heat is softened by summer breezes. The hot period is optimal for climate therapy. The mean temperature of air at this season is +23 to +25 degrees centigrade. Comfortable air and water temperature, low humidity, rare rainy and windy days make resorts of the South Coast of Crimea the best in the Black Sea and Mediterranean region. A comparative study of climate conditions of the Southern Coast of Crimea and international resorts of the Black and Mediterranean Seas has shown that healing potential of the Southern Coast of Crimea is higher than in most international resorts. At the resorts of the eastern and southern coasts of the Black Sea (Caucasian resorts) the air humidity is too high in summer which in combination with high temperature leads to frequent stuffy days.
Taken together, the climatic features of the Southern Coast of Crimea make it similar to classic resorts of Riviera and Cote d’-Azur. But the foreign sea resorts developed as recreational, not as therapeutic. The treatment and resort infrastructure of the Southern Coast of Crimea has no equals.
Resting in Crimea – Greater Alushta
A famous doctor S. Botkin who studied the climate and climate therapy in Crimea said that “Alushta is healthier than Yalta, because during the summer heat the air in Alushta is continuously refreshed through mountain passages”. Guests of Alushta even without taking any special climate procedures get a course of aero-helio-thalassotherapy.
Sightseeing in Crimea
Crimea has many faces, it is diverse. Healthy air, sea, peloids and mineral waters invigorate and heal. Beautiful nature, picturesque landscapes, rich history and cultural monuments will make your rest informative and interesting. Crimea has unique and diverse natural treasures. The waterfalls of Uchan-Su, Dzhur-Dzhur, Silver Jets fall from the mountain shoulders. Fantastic statues of Karadag and Demerdzhi will strike your imagination with mystic lines. The depth of Chatir-Dag disguise a special and wonderful world – the realm of karstic caves. Here you will find everything: waterfalls petrified in their fall, flowers of unearthly beauty, slim columns, intricate draperies, animals, monsters and fairy tale heroes – all made of stone! Nikitsky botanic garden will make you wonder at the wealth of plants collected here. The beauty of picturesque mountains and bays of the Southern Coast of Crimea is fascinating.
Historical monuments are none the less interesting. On the flat peaks of the internal range of the Crimean mountains there are remains of ancient cave cities. Chufut-Kale, Eski-Kermen, Mangup were ancient centers of trade and crafts, they were densely populated and busy. Majestic ruins of ancient Chersonesos, Genoese fortresses in Feodosia and Sudak, Balaklava, the Tzar Kurgan in Kerch cannot leave you indifferent. Wonderful palaces: Vorontsov, Livadia, Lastochkino Gnezdo are scattered along the southern coast like a pearl necklace, The legendary Sebastopol is considered to be a museum in the open air. Malakhov Kurgan, Sapun-Gora, Historic Boulevard and numerous monuments hold sacred the memory of its heroic past.
--Tourist Attractions in Crimea
Yalta Sights and Attractions
--Massandra Winery and the Tasting Complex
Alushta Sights and Attractions