Description of the attraction
Among the interesting sights of Evpatoria are the ruins of Kerkinitida. Only insignificant fragments of the ruins are visible to man. One accessible fragment is located in front of the fence of a sanatorium belonging to the Ministry of Defense, in a dead-end section of the Gorky embankment. Another is covered with a glass roof and is decorated in the form of a pyramid. Its address is next to the Museum of Local Lore, Duvanovskaya Street, next to the fence of the same sanatorium. These are the foundations of the walls of some rectangular structures, most likely warehouses.
Why are they at the fence of the sanatorium? The explanation is simple: it was on the territory of the modern health resort that Kerkinitida was located. Most of the finds came from this site. It is regrettable that the main excavation work began when the sanatorium was already erected. Naturally, all work was stopped. When the excavations were completed, the walls were filled up again, so you won't even see much in the sanatorium. The found exhibits were transferred to the Museum of Local Lore, and some are kept by the residents of the city who helped during the excavations.
Greek settlers came to these places and founded the city. At that time, a lot of ships with colonists sailed from Greece. They were looking for unknown, new territories suitable for life. There is an opinion that Kerkinitida is the name of the leader of one of such expeditions. Legend tells that Hercules was one of the first settlers. The city of Kerkinitida was independent, conducted a large trade and created its own banknotes. Later he became dependent on Chersonesos, but even despite this, the well-being of the city's inhabitants remained at a high level.
The idyll ended when the Scythians arrived. Mithridates VI, emperor of Pontus, helped Kerkinitida to defeat the Scythians, but the luck was short-lived. Kerkinitida could not rise to the previous level, and the raids of nomadic tribes soon ended the Greek history of these places.
In the fifteenth century, another name for the city arose - Gezlev. In the Crimean dialect used by the Tatars, it was pronounced as "Kezlev". This explains the fact that in the annals the city was called a word similar in sound to "Kozlov". The convenient location made the city one of the most important in the Crimean Khanate. Trade ties developed. The city had a large port, serious defensive structures, and sources of clean drinking water. There was a slave market, hotels for merchants and travelers. A huge share in the trade was occupied by high quality salt mined here. She gave serious income to the city treasury. Good houses, baths, drinking establishments were built in the city. When the city was annexed to Russia by the decree of Catherine the Second (1784), it was renamed Evpatoria ("gracious" - translated from Greek).
Now, inside the pyramid, you can see the remains of the western defensive wall of Kerkinitis, living quarters, a round tower with a slab pavement and an altar. Every year in the summer, various exhibitions of archeological items from the museum's collection are organized inside the pyramid.
