Choban-Kule - ruins of a castle on a picturesque cape near Sudak. Choban-Kule - castle ruins on a picturesque cape near Sudak Crimea choban kale

On the way, in the navigator we saw the marked landmark - the Choban-Kule tower. We read that it offers gorgeous views, a kind of observation deck. We decided to personally verify this and hit the road.

Choban-Kule. Historical reference.

Choban-Kule is translated as "shepherd's tower". There is a variant of the name Choban-Kale, which means a shepherd's fortress. It is believed that the Choban-Kule tower belongs to the complex of towers left over from the Tasili fortress, which belonged to the Genoese feudal lords - the Guasco brothers. The tower was built from massive stones and pieces of rocks. The walls are up to three meters thick. The height today is about ten meters.

In the nineteenth century, a large pottery center was located near Choban-Kule. This is evidenced by the large amount of fragments of burnt clay and ceramics left near the furnaces. The dishes made were sold throughout Tavrika and beyond.

After the Tatar Khan recognized himself as a vassal of the Turkish Sultan, the Genoese right granted by Tokhtamysh, the Khan of the Golden Horde, ceased to be effective. The lands and wealth of the Genoese in the Crimea were declared the property of the Sultan. The Guasco brothers decided to fight, hoping for the height of the walls of their fortress, but after a long siege they were forced to surrender.

Choban-Kule. Overview.

On the way from the village of Morskoye, we turned onto a country road towards the sea. We drove past an abandoned well. We saw a small forest where people were standing with tents. They brought it into the navigator as a camping site. We drove a little further, parked the car in a quiet place and prepared for the ascent to Choban-Kul. A horse blocked our way:

Then they saw another one:

Here they are together:

After talking with the animals, we set off for the ascent. It leads to Choban-Kul and quite good road, the minus is that it makes the straight path longer. We decided to climb straight, the Choban-Kule tower itself was the landmark. I could barely see it from the bottom. The way was uphill, it's good that we had a rest the previous two days. Didn't forget to turn around in order to admire the views:

We mastered the path with one respite. Although the height is not very high, there was still joy from achieving the goal, that's Choban-Kule in all its glory:

According to Slavic custom, everyone wants to leave a memory of themselves and write their name or the name of the city on an ancient structure:

The views are truly amazing:

It's time to climb the tower itself:

Let's take a picture from a different angle:

An interesting moment, being near Choban-Kule, a shepherd's tower, we met a shepherd with a flock of sheep:

After research, we went downhill to the car.

Choban-Kule. Bottom line.

Our morning exercises in the form of an ascent to the Choban-Kule tower came to an end. The ascent will not be difficult and will not take time, but it will give you pleasure. Moreover, it is located next to the highway. We recommend to visit. And in the meantime we headed for, indescribable beauty awaited us Mountain Lake, surrounded by mountains and a hike along the gorge to the Arpat waterfalls, this will be the next issue! Thank you for your attention, see you! Do not forget to watch the video for a better presentation, and subscribe to channel if you haven't already:

Location:

5 km east of the village. Morskoe, at Cape "Bashenny".

Marine entered the host of popular Crimean resorts thanks to the good location and the presence of several attractions. The list of advantages of the location of this settlement begins with the nearby Sudak - only 17 km, and the close sea - Black, warm, suitable for thalassotherapy from May to October inclusive. The parade of local attractions is opened by the Morskoye state-owned enterprise belonging to the Massandra agricultural association and specializing in the production of fortified and dessert wines. The slopes of the Morskoy, free from sanatoriums, private hotels and vineyards, are occupied by tobacco plantations. The second famous landmark of the resort rises on Cape Bashenny - castle "Chaban-Kale".

This fortification enriched the "tourist package" of Morskoy in the 15th century. It was built by Genoese merchants from the diGuasco clan. All three brothers of Guasco - Teodoro, Demetrio and Andreolo were distinguished by their independent character and an extremely grumpy disposition. Having quarreled to smithereens with the consul of the near-by Soldaya, who was sitting in Genoese fortress on the territory of present-day Sudak, the brothers started building their own castle. Naturally, they did not have the base left to the Genoese by the Alans, Khazars and Byzantines, as well as the amount of funds that the Genoese Republic allocated for the creation of the Sudak fortress. Therefore, the castle in Morskoy came out much more modest. By the way, when his brothers were there he was called Tasili. And the Tatars who appeared later re-baptized the fort in "Chaban-Kale", that is, in the "shepherd's tower".

For their castle, the de Guasco brothers chose a rock overhanging the sea. Today it is known as the Tower Cape. A small stream oozes from under it - Chaban-Kale-Chokrak, which provided the garrison of the fortress fresh water... Due to the fact that the Chaban-Kale castle is located on a hill, all of its towers offer an excellent view. In clear weather, the watchmen could see not only what was going on at Cape Meganom or near Ayudag, but also the ships that sailed from the pier of the Soldai Genoese fortress.

Unfortunately, today only fragments of the fortified wall and two-thirds of the Donjon remain from the oppositional fortification composition of the de Guasco brothers. This is the dominant tower in the castle of the Italian feudal lords. Traditionally, it was built in the most inaccessible place of the fortress. In the event of a siege, she played the role of headquarters, warehouse and first-aid post. The Donjon version a la Chaban-Kale is a picturesquely cut "cylinder" made of Crimean shell rock bricks. The entrance hole and small loopholes have been preserved.

A settlement adjoined the Chaban-Kale castle. The skeletons of houses and pottery kilns have been preserved. They were dug right into the body of the rock, and then lined with mud bricks. There were also found products of local potters - amphorae, flasks and pithos. Firstly, pottery from under Chaban-Kale was traded throughout the South Coast. Secondly, two-meter amphoras and pithos were containers in which most of the goods were transported in those days. Such findings suggest that the de Guasco brothers managed to take control of part of the flow of wine, grain and fat tail fat directed from the steppe and mountain Crimea to the Black Sea ports.

The current state of the tower and fortifications does not allow placing a museum here, as it was done in the Sudak fortress, but these Morskoye sights look extremely picturesque. Because of this, the Chaban-Kale castle is ideal place for a historical reconstruction of knightly battles or a romantic wedding photo session. More and more often, recreation in Crimea on the territory of Morskoye is chosen by history buffs, semi-professional photographers and newly formed families.

How to get there:

from Morskoye on your own or hired transport you need to drive 5.5 km east along the P-29 Sudak-Alushta highway to the Chaban-Kale camping site, then take a walk, which will not only strengthen your health, but also give you unforgettable experience from the surrounding landscapes.

History has preserved the original names of the owners of the castle, the date of construction and other moments. The correspondence of the Sudak consul with the metropolis has also survived. From this correspondence, we learn a lot of the history of these places, including the events associated with the owners of the castle, the Guasco brothers. These documents are kept in the museum, in the Marine.

According to some reports (also confirmed by local residents) there was a passage from the tower to the foot of the cape, which was blown up in the middle of the twentieth century.

It was also believed that a military facility was located here, as evidenced by the powerful cables near the cape. In fact, the buoy was fastened with these ropes, which at one time was torn off during a storm.

From Choban-Kule one can see Megan, Chekan-Kaya, Ai-Foka - on the left, and a ridge of beautiful mountain ranges, ending with Ayu-Dag - on the right. If you walk around the field at the foot of the cape, you can see the wine storage, built at the beginning of the century.

The Choban-Kule castle tower depicted on the coat of arms of the Morskoye village.

Surrounding area

Leaving the Alushta valley and moving further east, we are already leaving the "officially recognized" South coast of Crimea. The landscape is changing, the Demerdzhi and Tyrke mountain ranges, the vast gloomy highlands of the Karabi move to the north of the highway, giving way to low foothill ridges and ridges separated from each other by deep ravines - beds of drying up streams. Here, it is clearly not subtropics, vegetation is becoming scarce, evergreen Mediterranean species are disappearing. Settlements they are located much less often, between them there are several kilometers of completely pristine landscapes. Since ancient times, life here has been tied to the valleys of the small rivers Ulu-Uzen, Kuru-Uzen, Kanaki and others.

Circling the hills, now approaching the sea, then moving away, the road even manages to get bored. Half a hundred kilometers from Alushta, passing the turn to the village Privetnoe (former Uskut) and before reaching 5 kilometers to the village of Morskoe (former Kapsikhor), we overcome another low pass and turn back to seashore... From here, a view of the Bashny Cape, also known under the names of Agira and Choban-Kule, opens up. The ruins of an imposing circular tower at its eastern end are an immediate eye-catcher. This is Choban-Kule castle. Turning onto a dirt road leading to the sea, and then onto a path, it is not difficult to climb to the foot of the tower.

Description of the fortress

The fortification consisted of the castle itself - the tower-donjon and the walls surrounding it with corner towers and the adjoining lower courtyard stretched to the southeast, also surrounded by a massive wall, but not so thoroughly erected, on clay. The basement, the first and partly the second ground floors have survived from the monumental keep. Now the height of the tower reaches nine meters, presumably, it was at least three or four meters higher. In plan it is rather not round, but ovoid, even more surprising is the variable thickness of its walls - from less than two meters from the south to more than four from the northeast. The basement of the tower housed a water tank and a utility room covered with arches. The walls of the first floor are completely blank, apparently, the premises had a storage purpose. The remains of the entrance are visible only on the second floor; here, an embrasure and a fireplace have been preserved. Interfloor floors were made of wood, and the vault of the last floor, judging by materials from the 19th century, had a domed ceiling similar to the one preserved in the keep of the Cembalo fortress.

Donjon Choban-Kule was surrounded by the perimeter of the fortress walls. Excavations fifteen years ago uncovered the eastern curtain, two corner towers and partly the northern curtain of the walls. The round corner towers against the background of the keep do not give the impression of monumental buildings, their diameter did not even reach four meters. The defensive walls also did not differ much in power - a meter and a half. The corner turrets had loopholes for fighting with the possibility of shooting along the walls. In general, the castle is being reconstructed as a square fortification with four towers at the corners and a massive donjon in the center of the fortress courtyard. The castle - the lord's dwelling - was adjoined by the lower courtyard, where servants lived and outbuildings were located.

Fortress history

According to the successfully complementary evidence of the surviving documents and excavation materials, it is known that he was given a short century, a maximum between 1460 and 1475. But thanks to the same documents, we can tell something about its owners. In the XIV-XV centuries, the Choban-Kule district was part of the Genoese possessions and was western outskirts Sudak consulate. The old names of nearby villages are repeatedly mentioned in the medieval documents of Skuti - Uskut (now Privetnoe), Sili - Shelen (now Gromovka), Karpaty - Arpat (now Zelenogorye), Wally (now Voron). The settlement here was known as Tassili.

Often in the colonies from Genoa there were characters, on the one hand, of an active mode of action, and on the other, of a scandalous disposition. They continued to muddy the waters here as well. On the eve of the Turkish invasion, the Sudak consulate became the scene of a rather vulgar conflict. Its details are known from the surviving correspondence. A certain family of di Guasco entered into open confrontation with the consul himself. Note that the consul of Soldaya, venerable Cristoforo di Negro, judging by the documents, appears to be a model of the administrator's responsibility and the valor of a knight, albeit somewhat boring in his complaints. In general, he remains a very sympathetic character of that unsympathetic era.

Probably Antonio di Guasco Sr., founder of the señoria Tassili, showed up here in the late 1450s. In any case, by 1474, the locals offended by him still perfectly remembered the times when there was still no smell of a newly-made gentleman here. How he got control of the area remains a dark matter. He began to build the castle under the pretext of protecting against the increasing attacks of Turkish pirates. According to the authorities, the fortress was also designed to restrain the rulers of Theodoro in their appetites for the outskirts of the Sudak consulate. In 1474, Antonio di Guasco appears as the head of the family clan with three adult sons - Andreolo, Teodoro and Demetrio.

So, papa di Guasco with his three scumbags openly encroached on the powers of the consul, put together a gang of forty people, appropriated the right of judicial power, began to tear taxes and fines from the inhabitants of the surrounding villages in his favor, beat the guards sent to admonish him by the consul of Sudak. By the way, the attitude towards the villagers of di Guasco was not very gentle, and if they installed a gallows at the village of Skuti, then, presumably, it was not empty. It got to the point that di Guasco burned several sheepfolds of the mentioned Derbiberdi, the ruler of Alushta, a vassal of the Mangup princes, and this was already an interstate border incident with unpredictable consequences. More precisely, on the contrary, with very predictable: the victim hinted to the Genoese authorities that, of course, he would wait for compensation for damages, and not wait, so he would put it on the counter and figure it out.

Setting out on their predatory sorties, di Guasco did not even leave guards in the castle, about which the Sudak consul wrote to the Kaffa consul di Cabella, complaining that he could not restrain these scoundrels and always felt the danger that the castle would be captured either by the Theodorites, or, God save , Turks.

At the same time, the owners of the castle, naturally, did not want to feed the soldiers whom he could send as a permanent garrison. Somehow, the di Guasco took out a government bombard, so necessary in Sudak itself, to their castle, and were in no hurry to return it. Added to this were the repeatedly attested facts of giving bribes to Sudak and Kaffa officials and constant intrigues against the consul himself. In general, the episodes of the case were enough for all four of them for good terms with the confiscation of the castle. The most piquant thing is that the consul of Kaffa took the side of di Guasco and the consul of Sudak remained unfulfilled in his rights.

It is assumed that the professional engineer-fortifier Antonio de Bonino, sent from Genoa to inspect local fortifications, could participate in the construction of the castle in 1473, or at least give valuable recommendations that contributed to the improvement of its defensive qualities. Researchers believe that during the construction of Choban-Kule, resistance to artillery fire was already taken into account and the castle itself was already clearly adapted to the use of early models of firearms. This is evidenced by the very plan of the castle, which is very characteristic of the European fortress building of the 15th-16th centuries. The walls of the keep are significantly thickened in the direction of possible shelling. The corner towers were probably made squat, flush with the outer walls. The stability of the structures was facilitated by the rocky foundation of the fortress site. Its outer walls are almost a quarter of the height facing a rocky monolith. They tried to bring the battle course along the wall at the same level and achieve the safety of movement along the entire perimeter of the fortifications. The loopholes could have been used for firing from the Sarbatan, a primitive example of hand-held firearms. During the excavations, crossbow arrowheads, metal armor plates, stone balls for ballistae were found. The finding of several cannonballs, clearly not intended for throwing machines, makes one recall the episode with the Sudak bombard, known from the documents. But until the fateful summer of 1475, the castle in Tassili, apparently, was not fully completed. It was not for nothing that Cristoforo di Negro was worried about this, accusing the owners of the castle of stubbornness and laziness, who had not turned it into a full-fledged fortress, useful on the troubled western border of the consulate.

There is reason to believe that during the Turkish invasion, the di Guasco did not care too much about the defense of the fortification, which, however, in those circumstances was a completely hopeless business, and, without waiting for the enemy's approach, they left him.

There is no archaeological evidence of the total destruction of the fortress; the only tip of a Turkish arrow was found, which has sunk into the stone block of the combat parapet of the tower. After the Ottoman pogrom, one of the younger di Guasco survived, who managed to get out of the peninsula captured by the Turks. Later he appeared at the royal court in Poland and tried to enlist the support of Khan Mengli-Girey in order to start an anti-Turkish rebellion in the Crimea. The deliberate gamble did not find supporters, and on this traces of the last representative of the scandalous family are lost.

How to get there?

The Choban-Kule fortification is located on the Bashenny cape, between the turn to the Privetnoye village and the Morskoye village. You can get to it by regular bus Alushta - Sudak.

Beaches, crowds of cars, billions of tents, umbrellas and mattresses, and even more human bodies scattered on the beach ... Choban-Kule, near the village of Morskoye, Sudak City Council, became not a horror and a thriller, but a rest. And all this extravaganza of relaxation is crowned by a long-forgotten tower at Cape Agira. Choban-Kule her name, which means "Shepherd's Tower"... The appearance of this building is associated with the Goths and Byzantines.

The tower became famous thanks to the Genoese feudal lords - the di Guasco brothers, who owned the castle in the 1470s. The Guasco brothers (Andreotti, Dimitri and Teodoro) captured the villages of Privetnoye and Tasili (Gromovka), which belonged to the Soldai (Sudak) consulate, and established cruel order here. In Privetnoye for intimidation local residents the brothers set up a gallows, and a pillar of shame on the border of their possessions. All the consul's intentions to pacify the arbitrariness of the Guasco family ended in vain. The conflict ended on its own with the Turkish conquest of the site in July 1475.

The partially explored complex, consisting of a castle and a small settlement with a 15th century temple, is a rare historical and archaeological material. Thus, one can distinguish the donjon (the residence of the Guasco brothers), surrounded by the outer perimeter of walls and towers, as well as a courtyard tangent to it, protected by a massive stone wall made of clay.

Building fortifications skillfully used the defensive properties of the terrain, but the fortification features of the relief clearly fade into the background when building geometrically correct polygonal walls of the fortress. The upper part of the hill, occupied by fortifications, is hilly. One of the heights is occupied by the keep. The second peak is in the northwest. If you want to know everything about Crimea, I recommend the site Vkryma.com.

Such a dangerous neighborhood from the standpoint of strategic expediency as a determining factor in the placement of fortifications is completely illogical. It also remains incomprehensible and non-functional adaptation of the south-western loophole, which could control only a small space along the curtain. Perhaps this is just an incomplete esplanade, which could compensate for the negative properties of the relief.

The defensive properties of the fortress are clearly demonstrated by the loopholes of the battlements of the corner towers. They were located in the lower tier of the building and were intended to flank the space at the foot of the curtains. All three surviving loopholes are of the same type. Their characteristic feature is a device with a floor part of two holes located vertically on the same axis. Loopholes of this type in Crimean fortifications - unique phenomenon... Probably, if we draw a parallel between the barbican of the Sudak fortress, we can assume that these were gutters dating from the 17th century.

WITH west side the remains of the tower are still visible defensive walls... Not far from the tower, according to the testimony of archaeologists, there was a temple of the 15th century. The massive ruins are somewhat reminiscent of the building's platform.

At one time, Choban-Kule was investigated by scientists who carried out excavations. An interesting find was found when clearing the masonry of the curtain. A compact accumulation of objects was found between the stones, in a niche formed as a result of the collapse of the stone. Five plates and nine crossbow arrowheads were found here. The tips lay on plates without any specific system, with bushings and heads in different directions. The products were badly battered by corrosion, even traces of fabric were reflected on the surface of one of the plates.

Traces of an underground passage that led to the foot of the cape were also found. Unfortunately, it was blown up in the middle of the 20th century.

In the 8th-9th centuries, there was a large pottery center near Choban-Kule, as evidenced by the remains of pottery kilns and pottery heaps.

Perhaps it is wrong to think that tourists do not come here. The tower is simply teeming with those who wish, the bulk of them are vacationers under the castle cape. They have just trodden paths, Crimean paths to the magical world of the past.

The name of the castle and the surrounding area is unknown. Only the name in the Tatar language is known. Shepherd-Kale is translated from the Tatar language as "shepherd's fortress" or as Chaban-Kule "shepherd's tower".

Geography

Chaban-Kale is located near the village of Morskoye, near Sudak. In the same area there was a source of Chaban-Kale-Chokrak, from which the Chaban-Kale-Yozen stream went further.

Archeology

In the area of ​​the village of Morskoye (where also Chaban-Kale), potters of the 8th-9th centuries were discovered. The kilns were cut into a towering slope and built of mud bricks. They produced mainly round-bottomed egg-shaped amphoras, flat-bottomed vessels, round flat flasks and pithos for sale along the entire Crimean coast, where pottery was required.

From the castle of the XV century. Guasco brothers were left with only a round sentinel (donjon) and at its foot the remains of walls. In addition, parts of residential buildings were discovered that used to be a settlement at the castle.

Notes (edit)

Literature

• Andreev A.R. History of Crimea: Short description the past of the Crimean peninsula. - M .: Interregional Center for Industry Informatics of Gosatomnadzor of Russia, 1997. - 97 p.
• Köppen P. About antiquities south coast Crimea and Tauride mountains. - SPb .: Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1837 .-- 409 p.
• Myts V.L., Kirilko V.P., Lysenko A.V., Tatarintsev S.V., Teslenko I.B. Studies of the medieval fortification of Chaban-Kule // Archaeological research in the Crimea. 1994. - 1997. - No. 1. - S. 200-208.
• Shilik K.K. About magnetic prospecting of pottery kilns near Chaban-Kul // Brief messages Institute of Archeology. - 1974. - Issue. 140 .-- S. 115-120.
• Jacobson A. L. Medieval Crimea: Essays on the history and history of material culture. - M.-L .: Nauka, 1964 .-- 232 p.