- Type
- Fortress
- Origins
- 17th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Coordinates
- 45.2958°, 35.4783°
History
The fortress was built by the Ottoman Turks and their vassals, the Crimean khans, around the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries at the southern root of the Arabat Spit. It blocked the road that ran down the narrow strip of land from the north to the Kerch Peninsula and into the heart of Crimea. The stronghold was a bastioned polygon surrounded by a ditch and earthen ramparts faced with stone. It came under attack several times during the Russo-Turkish wars and was taken by Russian troops in 1771. After Crimea was annexed by Russia in 1783 it lost its military role and fell into ruin during the 19th century.
What to see
What survives is the outline of the bastioned ramparts, a deep ditch and remnants of stone walls, clearly visible in the flat steppe landscape. The site is open ground, and from the ramparts you can see the Sea of Azov on one side and the salt shallows of the Syvash on the other. To the north stretches the Arabat Spit, more than 100 kilometres long.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q4068363
Popularity: articles about this site in 17 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).