While visiting the cave cities, you can see a mountain of easily recognizable shape rising near Bakhchisarai. Contemporaries believe that its outline resembles a tent. But from the point of view of the Karaites, who inhabited these places many centuries ago, the mountain looks like an upside-down cradle. Its name, Beshik-Tau, is translated as “Cradle Mountain”.

This peak was considered sacred, and is associated with its origin beautiful legend. The Karaites who inhabited Crimea revered Jerusalem. Unfortunately, the road to it was blocked by robbers, pirates of the Black Sea and Bedouins. The path to the Holy Land was desirable, but extremely dangerous. The first pilgrim to Jerusalem was the elderly prince Musa. On the way back, he took with him a gift for his only grandson - a cradle made of Lebanese cedar, so that his successor would be as glorious as this tree. The Jerusalem clergyman was touched by such intentions and asked heaven that this cradle would become the first crib for the Savior, who would bring peace and grace to humanity.

Since those times, more than one generation has grown up, absorbing the goodness of Lebanese cedar from the cradle. All descendants were famous for their wisdom and courage. One of them - Prince Ilyahu - died a heroic death, defending his people from the Genoese troops. Many legends were written about his courage and honor. Locals They believed that the prince was famous because he spent his infancy in a cradle made of Lebanese cedar. And the very gift of the first pilgrim, at the moment when Ilyahu died, by an unknown force ascended the mountain and disappeared into its depths. This is how Beshik-Tau appeared. According to legend, one day it will open again. Then the cradle will rise again to descend into the house where the birth of the new Savior of the world will take place.

You can visit the sacred mountain while hiking in Crimea. It will be an easy walk - its height is 514 meters. From the top there are wonderful views of mountains, valleys and seemingly toy-like human settlements. People lived on Beshik-Tau itself in ancient times. Tools from ancient times, as well as fragments of ceramics, were found here.

With the emergence of cave cities, the surroundings of Cradle Mountain are experiencing a new flourishing of civilization, which does not affect it very well. Since the 16th century, for several centuries, the forest in this area was actively cut down and numerous herds of livestock were grazed. Human activity has led to major changes - vegetable world Beshik-Tau was on the verge of complete extinction. Later, they tried to compensate for this damage and now most of the slopes are occupied by artificially planted walnut and Crimean pine trees. But the bushes on the mountain have a natural origin: juniper, dogwood and rose hips were reborn on their own after people left these lands.

At the foot of Beshik-Tau there is another evidence of the flourishing of civilization - the Yusuf-Chokrak spring and its underground gallery. Nowadays you can only see a rectangular tank where the water collects, but once there was much more skillful capture. Water comes into it from the gallery, which is located 15 meters above. It is no longer possible to get into it - the passage is covered with earth. There, in the darkness, hides a 28-meter tunnel with a height of 1.7 meters. This gallery served to accumulate and transport water. Small grooves carved into the floor collected the flow and directed it into the main channel.

Mount Beshik-Tau will become an educational and picturesque stage in a walk along cave cities Crimea. Here you can take a break and enjoy a magnificent view of the surrounding area and the nature of the peninsula. Legends give the mountain a slightly mysterious atmosphere, which makes the peak good place for contemplation and reflection.

“Sacred” mountain... This concept exists among almost all peoples inhabiting Earth. (self-name “Karai”) are one of the most unique peoples on the planet. And the smallest: today there are only about two thousand of its representatives in the world. About 1,200 of them live in Ukraine, including 800 in Crimea, their historical homeland.

The Crimean Karaites also had a religious veneration of certain mountains. This is, first of all, the main shrine of the Karaites - as well as the mountains surrounding it: “Meydan-Dag, likened by the Karaites to Mariinsky Mount and Beshik-Dag, similar to the Mount of Olives in the vicinity of Jerusalem,” as V. Kh. Kondaraki writes in his work “ Universal description of Crimea".

There is a legend about Mount Beshik-Tau among the Karaites that explains the veneration of this place. The legend tells about the brave ruler of Chufut-Kale, Prince Musa. The prince was the first among the Karaites to make a pilgrimage to the holy land of Jerusalem, for which he was awarded the title of Hadji Musa.

From distant lands the prince was bringing a cradle carved from Lebanese cedar as a gift to his grandson. Before parting, the Jerusalem gazzan wished that the Savior of the World would grow up in this cradle, whose coming would bring happiness and goodness to earth. Since then, the cradle began to be passed from generation to generation as the ancestral blessing of the first Karai pilgrim. The descendants of Prince Hadji Musa were always revered by the inhabitants of Kyrk-Era (that was the name of Chufut-Kale). Prince Ilyahu also became famous. At the head of the defenders of Kyrk-Era, he bravely fought with the Genoese who surrounded the fortress, and died a hero’s death, driving away enemies from the walls hometown. The people still believe that Ilyahu received extraordinary courage, wisdom and strength from the cherished cradle of Hadji Musa, in which he grew up. And on the night of the prince’s death, the cradle was lifted by divine power to a neighboring mountain and disappeared into its depths.

Since then, the mountain, the guardian of the princely cradle, began to be called Beshik-Tau (Cradle-Mountain). “Just as the Mount of Olives in the vicinity of Jerusalem will open and reveal the Ark of the Covenant, hidden in it by the prophet Jeremiah, so Beshik-Tau will open up its bowels in due time, and the cradle of Hadji Musa will rise high and descend into the house where the voice of the newborn Savior of the World will be heard for the first time! » - this is what the folk Karaite legend says.

At the foot of the sacred Beshik-Tau mountain there is the Yusuf-Chokrak spring, which also enjoyed special veneration among the Karaites. The source is a unique monument of hydraulic engineering architecture. Just above the modern outlet of the source there is an entrance to an underground 30-meter gallery that goes deep into the mountain. It was intended for collecting and transporting water. This hydrotunnel was built by the Tatars sometime in the 18th-19th centuries.

Opens from Beshik-Tau panoramic view to Bakhchisarai and the Kachin Valley.

Photo

View of Beshik-Tau from the Kachin Valley View of Beshik-Tau from Bakhchisarai Tourist site Beshik-Tau
Source Yusuf-Chokrak Plateau Beshik-Tau View of Bakhchisarai
View of the rocks near Beshik-Tau View of Tepe-kermen View of the Kachin Valley
Mount Beshik-Tau Rocks under Beshik-Tau Ancient settlement near Beshik-Tau

A lot of diverse local history and scientific literature is devoted to the description of the Main Ridge massifs Crimean mountains, as well as some remains of the Foothills, mainly those on which any significant objects of nature or history are located (“cave cities”, sites of primitive man, original weathering figures, etc.). But at the same time, there is very little literary data about the small massifs of the Crimean Foothills, less stunning in appearance and findings, but no less interesting for a geographer, historian and local historian.
These include Mount Beshik-Tau, located 2.5 km southeast of Bakhchisaray. Knowledge of the physical and geographical features of this mountain will be very useful not only for Crimean nature lovers, local historians and geographers, but also for many instructors hiking, guides and amateur tourists, since it is located at the intersection of many tourist routes, leading from the Bakhchisarai t/b “Halt” to the “cave cities” and the Main ridge of the Crimean mountains. Beshik-Tau is the first mountain that tourists going there meet on their way, and it is from here that they begin to get acquainted with the nature of the Foothills.
Beshik-Tau is translated from Turkic as “cradle-mountain”, and, indeed, its silhouette to the inhabitants medieval Crimea could very well resemble a cradle turned upside down. To us, modern people, it seems that it is more like a small tent, which is the similarity between Beshik-Tau and Chatyr-Dag.
Beshik-Tau, which has an altitude of 514 m above sea level, is part of the Inner Range of the Crimean Mountains, the border of which south of Bakhchisarai runs through the city of Kazan-Kaya, the city of Kyz-Kermen, the city of Beshik-Tau, the city of Chufut-Kale and Kampalyk city. Beshik-Tau has a typical cuesta shape, characteristic of the entire ridge - the gentle northern slope turns into a flat, forested peak, which ends in the southeast with a 40-meter ledge cliff. Cradle Mountain is a typical erosional remnant, extending from SW to NE for approximately 650 m and from NW to SE for 450 m.
In the immediate vicinity of the city of Beshik-Tau there are many ravines and gullies, which in one way or another affect its orography. For example, an unnamed beam that has undermined its base approaches the western slope of the mountain and crashes into the slope of Beshik-Tau, which is why a collapse occurred here in the recent past. Its traces are a picturesque chaos of huge blocks of nummulitic limestone, clearly visible at the foot of the western and southwestern slopes of the mountain. 350 m southeast of the foot of the Cradle Mountain there is a deep ravine called Donuzlav-Dere, separating Kyz-Kermen from Tepe-Kermen. Many small ravines in lower Eocene clays are located throughout the northern slope of the mountain.
The geological structure of Beshik-Tau can be clearly traced along the path from the camp “Halt” to the foot of the northwestern slope of the mountain. Near the camp site, on the left side of the road, you can see a beam cut into the thickness of creamy, dense, highly recrystallized limestone, dated back to the Lower Paleocene. These limestones are overlain by a small layer of Upper Paleocene light gray marls, the outcrops of which are visible about 300 meters from the start of the path, on the right side of the road. Here you can collect a rich collection of samples of the Upper Paleocene fauna. The marl contains imprints and nuclei of gastropods (Turritella, Araedactylus, Natica, etc.), bivalves (Chlamys, Venus, etc.), brachiopods (Terebratula), and whole shells of oysters Criphaea antiqua. Sponges of the genus Ventriculites and Plocoscyphia are also numerous here, solitary corals and imprints of fish skeletons can be found.
The marls are overlain by a thick layer (up to 40 m) of Lower Eocene light brown clays, overlain by white, dense nummulitic limestones, replete with fossils of the genus Nummulites, Discocyclina, Operculina, Assilina, Chlamys, Gryphaea and other representatives of the Eocene fauna. It is these limestones that make up the top of Mount Beshik-Tau.
150 m northwest of the foot of Beshik-Tau, near the road, a small pit reveals colluvial loams associated with the third Sudak terrace level. In these continental deposits, reaching a thickness of 10 - 15 m, a number of horizons of buried soils are clearly visible, forming interlayers of darker color along the slope. Shells of continental gastropods Brephulopsis retowskii and Helicopsis biders are found in the loams.
As for climatic features, then Beshik-Tau, as well as the entire Foothills region, is characterized by a temperate continental, warm, fairly humid climate, with mild winters and hot summers. Average annual temperatures fluctuate here around +10°C. Absolute minimums can reach -30°C, and maximums reach +39°C. Precipitation falls from 450 to 600 mm per year and its maximum occurs in the first half of summer. The snow cover is extremely unstable and, therefore, most precipitation falls in the form of rain.
Atmospheric moisture, which did not evaporate and was not absorbed by vegetation, seeps through a system of cracks deep into the massif, reaching the earth's surface in the form of the only spring here, Yusuf-Chokrak, located at the foot of the northwestern slope of Beshik-Tau. This source is located at the fork in the roads leading to Chufut-Kale, Tepe-Kermen and Kyz-Kermen and has interesting feature, distinguishing it from other springs. The fact is that the Yusuf-Chokrak spring is, of its kind, the only monument of hydraulic engineering architecture in the Piedmont Crimea. 15 meters above the modern outlet of the source there is, now covered with earth, the entrance to the underground gallery. The gallery is a 30-meter tunnel going deep into the mountain, with a vault height of 1.5 m and a width of about 60 cm. The walls, vault and floor of the gallery are lined with hewn slabs, and the vault is made in the form of a pointed gable arch, and a groove is cut out in the middle of the floor slabs, through which spring water flows. The gallery performs not only the transportation of water, but also, which is very important, a drainage function. This is indicated by the presence of 9 side channels supplying water from various independent sources to the main gallery. A detailed description and survey of the hydraulic tunnel was carried out by an expedition of the Faculty of Geography of TNU under the leadership of Associate Professor V.P. Dushevsky. But despite this, the Yusuf-Chokrak spring is still waiting for its researchers, who must provide answers to many questions, the main one of which is the question of the time, reasons and method of constructing the spring gallery.
The vegetation of Beshik-Tau is quite sparse, which was affected by intensive human economic activity (grazing, deforestation), which was carried out in this area from the 16th century until recently. Therefore, most of the area is occupied by anthropogenic plantings of walnuts and Crimean pine, growing along the slopes and on the top of Beshik-Tau. The birch grove on the eastern slope of the mountain is also of anthropogenic origin. Shrub communities are of natural origin, represented by thickets of prickly juniper, dogwood, blackberry, rose hip, red pyracantha, as well as single trees of downy oak and hornbeam. All plant communities of Beshik-Tau grow on soddy-carbonate soils formed on eluvium and colluvium of nummulitic limestones and clays. Among the animals you can find here are the hare, weasel, stone marten, hamster, and vole. Of the birds, quail, partridge, lark, magpie, jackdaw, eastern nightingale, etc. are often found. Due to the widespread economic activity of humans, animal world The foothills have been severely destroyed and, therefore, the chance of meeting any of the representatives of the local fauna is becoming less and less.
Since ancient times, people have lived in the Beshik-Tau region. This is evidenced by the finds both on the mountain itself and in its surroundings of numerous flint implements: both finished tools and production waste. In the western part of the Beshik-Tau plateau, there are fragments of molded ceramics, made from local material - Lower Eocene clay, since the ceramics contain small nummulites. IN ancient times a few kilometers north of Cradle Mountain there was an open settlement, as evidenced by the large concentration of Late Scythian ceramics at the northern foot. Approximately from the 6th to the 12th centuries. AD In the Bakhchisaray region, an active growth of human economic activity begins, associated with the emergence of four medieval settlements here - Chufut-Kale, Kyz-Kermen, Tepe-Kermen and Kachi-Kalyon. By the 16th century The capital of the Crimean Khanate was moved to Bakhchisarai, which left a huge imprint on the economic development of the region. From this time on, active grazing and deforestation began, which led to a huge change in the area: in the Bakhchisarai area the vegetation cover was almost completely destroyed. Traces of this time are numerous in the Beshik-Tau district and are represented mainly by fragments of Tatar ceramics. The construction of the drainage gallery of the Yusuf-Chokrak spring most likely dates back to the same time.
From the top of Beshik-Tau there are beautiful views of the Crimean nature. From the western cliffs of the mountain, against the backdrop of the majestic colossi of the Main Range of the Crimean Mountains, you can see the table-shaped peak of Tepe-Kermen, one of the most interesting “cave cities”. In the south, the deep Kaya-Arasa ravine approaches the mountain, the left side of which forms the picturesque Kyz-Kermen peninsula, hanging over the valley of the river. Kachi. North of Beshik-Tau, in a narrow ravine of the river. Churuk-su, nestled in Bakhchisarai, whose brick roofs and minarets seem from here to be the toy houses of fairy-tale Lilliputians. The same association arises when looking at the gloomy ruins of Chufut-Kale, silently lying north of Beshik-Tau.
Like anyone else natural object Crimea, Beshik-Tau is a wonderful place for complex geographical and archaeological research, which is necessary for a detailed study of this small but interesting massif of the Crimean Foothills.