Photo Gallery

Magnificient interior of the Church of Christ's Resurrection in Foros with the view from the middle of the church on the carved oak iconostasis (icon screen) with the gilded the Beautiful Gates (Holy Doors) in the center and shining church chandelier (Greek: Panikadilo) hanging from its cupola (dome). The walls of the church decorated with Byzantine ornamentation.

Photo #692 taken on May 05, 2017

The reception rooms and offices of Their Majesties are located on the second floor of Massandra Palace, as well as their bedchamber and bathrooms. Conventionally, the entire floor of the castle can be divided into two halves - male and female, and each of them has a spiral staircase at the left and right sides of the building.

On the picture is shown decorations of ceiling in reception room of Maria Fedorovna. The finest molding of the ceiling is painted that allows to examine its ornament. Artfully mounted in the ceiling lattices of ventilation system was made by the project of Professor Lukashevich. The interior of reception room supplemented with nice bronze chandelier.

Photo #126 taken on September 14, 2013

View from a second floor of the Massandra Palace on a part of the curved retaining wall with fountains decorated with colums and arches at the parade entrance gate into the Royal estate. The wall, columns and fountains were built when the estate belonged to Prince Vorontsov, the Governer of Novorossiya. The entrance gate was "guarded" by lions - sculptural castings (made in the workshops of the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg) from the work of the famous French animal sculptor A.L. Bari (1796-1875). The entire retaining wall was decorated with majolica plates, red irrigation tiles. Six fountains with satyr and naiad macarons were mounted in it (these masks were replaced with masks of lions in Stalin times). By its architectural and artistic decision, this retaining wall organically entered the general palace and park ensemble.

Photo #120 taken on August 13, 2019 during the tour of Massandra Palace with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky on the 3rd day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days”.

Interior view from the entrance of the Christian Orthodox Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Livadia with bright blue and red colors of the paintings on its vaults and attractively carved marble iconostasis with icons decorated with fresh flowers in the spring season. The church was constructed in 1864-66 by the project of Russian architect Ippolit Monighetti and connected with Livadia Palace, the former residence of Russian Tsars. It became a home church of Romanov family.

Photo #104 taken on May 05, 2017

View of a boat with tourists entering the Blue Bay (Golubaya Buhta) in Novy Svet (New World), where located the famous Tsar beach in Suzdak district in Crimea. The sharp teeth of the cliffs of the mount Karaul-Oba (Tatar: Qaravul Oba, Russian: Karaulnaya) are in the background of the picture. This ancient 341-meter-high coral reef of the Jurassic period (341 m.) has rather a complicated specific structure: plateau-like area with rock walls, crevices, ridges, stone labyrinths are replaced by deep long saddles. The rocky ledges of Karaul-Oba massif is a State complex natural monument and reckoned among many unique natural wonders of Sudak’s surroundings.

Photo #095 taken on May 01, 2017

Angle view of white-stone Livadia Palace decorated with colorful bright red, white, vinous and yellow tulips at fountain areas in the springtime. The palace is a beautiful pearl and architectural monument of the Southern coast of Crimea located not far from Yalta city. It was the summer home of the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, built in 1911 by Russian architect N.P. Krasnov. In Livadia Palace held Yalta Conference of “Bif Three” in February 1945.
Location: Suburb of Yalta, Crimea, Russia

Photo #065 taken on May 05, 2017

Light and airy crystal chandelier hanging on the ceiling of the Bedroom of Their Imperial Majesties.

Work on the decoration of the bedroom was performed by the Moscow furniture factory of K.V. Siebrecht.

Photo #200 taken on August 14, 2019 during tour of Livadia Palace and Park with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky on the 4th day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days”.

Amazing, picturesque mountain landscape of the central part of Crimea at Lake Devichye (Eng: Maiden; locals call it Lake Mangup) with a view of the village of Khoja-Sale located at the foot of Mangup Mountain. The ruins of Mangup-Kale, an ancient cave city, have been preserved not far from this place. The Devichye (Maiden) at the foot of Mount Mangup, surrounded by sheer cliffs, is very young. It was created by man 40 years ago. Mangup lake was formed thanks to the purposeful construction work that was carried out here in 1982-1984. The excavated pit was gradually filled with water coming from the springs that opened during excavation. So there was a reservoir, which began to exist independently and turned into a real natural object.

Photo #123 taken on August 17, 2019

View of a bird flying over the famous figured teeth at the peak the highest point of Ai-Petri mountain, the peak in the Crimean Mountains. The teeth of Ai-Petri consist of four large (60-80 m high) and a number of small ridges on the crest formed during the weathering of heterogeneous reef limestones at 1200 meters above sea level. Beautiful relict pine trees can be seen on the top and between the ridges that growing all around in the Crimean mountains.

Photo #193 taken on May 04, 2017

Beautiful Crimean landscape with the exceptional Stankevich pine growing on a slope of Sokol (Falcon) Mountain in Novy Svet (New World) in the background of the mountain range.

Such pine trees are very rare in nature, but they are endemic to the Sudak district on the southern coast of the Crimea peninsula. First described by the Russian botanist V.N. Stankevich, the pines were named in his honor by the academic V. N. Sukachev in 1906. They are also known as “Sudak Pines”- after the region in which the trees were found.

Photo #348 taken on August 31, 2015

Overview beautiful sunset over Crimean Mountains from the peak of Sokol (Falcon) mountain (about 470 meters from a sea level) at Novy Svet, few kilometers from Sudak, the Sothern shore of Crimean Peninsula.

Photo #208 taken on August 11, 2019 during hiking tour on the peak of Sokol mountain with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky (1st day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea within 6 Days”)

View of rocks at the edge of "Limen-Burun", the eastern spur of Cape Ai-Todor and a small rocky island called "Parus" (Sail), standing in front of it in the blue waters of the Black Sea. Limen (Liman) in Greek is a bay, a harbor cape. Here in the bay, there is a berth for pleasure boats and motor ships arriving to the famous castle "Swallow's Nest" in Gaspra. In the photo you can see in the distance the silhouette of the famous Au-Dag Mountain (Mountain Bear), where the Gurzuf resort and the Artek International Children's Camp are located.

Photo #382 taken on August 14, 2019 in Gaspra on the 4th day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days” with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky.

Golubaya Buhta (Blue Bay) is a captivating area of the Crimean coastline of Novy Svet (New World). On the steep slope of this rocky yet beautiful coastline grows a rare and solitary Stankevich pine tree that is endemic to Sudak (the south Crimean coast).

Also located in Golubaya Buhta (Blue Bay) is the famous Tsraskiy Plyazh (The Tsar’s Beach), so named because this was where Nicholas II enjoyed to swim during his visit to Novy Svet in 1912.

Photo #086 taken on September 02, 2015

Front view of the Church of Christ's Resurrection in Foros under the moonlight in spring twilight. The church was commissioned by Moscow merchant Alexander Kuznetsov, a Russian "tea king", in memory of the miraculous rescue of Emperor Alexander III and his family in 1888 train crash. It was built in 1892 in Rastrelliesque Baroque, Russian Revival, and Byzantine Revival styles by the project of Nikolai Chagin in on abrupt 400-meter (1312 ft) Red Cliff (Krasnaya Skala) near Baidarsky Pass with a spectacular view of the Black Sea.

Photo #800 taken on May 05, 2017

Angle view of the interior of the Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty in Massandra Palace made by the tradition of classicism. Molded elements with gilding are successfully implemented in the strict ceiling design (master M. A. Zhilkin). The useful area of the cabinet was increased due to a niche at the northern facade of the palace. Niche, doors, panels are made of walnut, in harmony with the fireplace, lined with gray marble (at the right). Items of furniture and arts and crafts are typical for palace interiors at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries.

A sculpture of the horse of the German master Slodenbek (Berlin, beginning of the XX century) is placed on a round table with a carved table stand (the work of Russian masters of the late XIX century) in the middle of the cabinet. Armchairs around the table by Russian masters of the first third of the 19th century in the Empire style are ornamented with gilded woodcarvings in the form of laurel wreaths, garlands, stylized military armor. In the depths of the niche is a marble bust of Emperor Alexander II (1818-1881), the sovereign reformer, made by an unknown sculptor in the early 60s of XIX century.

Photo #084 taken on August 13, 2019 during visiting Massandra Palace with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky on the 3rd day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days”.

View from the observation platform at Alupkinskoye highway on the decorative castle “Swallow Nest” rising on the Aurora Cliff in the background of the blue waters of the Black Sea. The small, neo-Gothic decorative castle was built in Gaspra (13 km from Yalta by car) in 1911-1912 closer in style to various German Gothic castle follies, such as Lichtenstein Castle, specifically to catch visitors' attention with its fairy tale appearance. It is the most famous landmark and symbol of Crimea.

Photo #432 taken on August 14, 2019 in Gaspra on the 4th day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days” with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky.

Interior of work cabinet of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov in his summer residence in Gurzuf. Here, in a very small secluded house at the beautiful South Coast of Crimea near Yalta city, he created his masterpieces “Three Sisters” and “ Cherry Orchard”. Bronze chandelier, wooden cabinet, table and chairs, and over items of the interior of the room are the real objects preserved in the house-museum “Dacha Chekhova”.

Photo #060 taken on September 10, 2013

Illuminated at nighttime the Church of Christ's Resurrection stands under moonlight on 400-metre (1312 ft) cliff near Baidarsky Pass in Foros settlement, the southernmost resort in the Crimea.

Photo #727 taken on September 12, 2013

View of Gurzuf bay framed by trees from an observation deck at the top of a hill on Gurzufskoye highway. The edge of Mount Au-Dag (Bear Mountain), twin-rocks Adalary, Skalny (Rocky) Hotel on the Genoese Rock with a peer of Chekhov’s Dacha at the bottom, old and modern buildings of Gurzuf you can see on this picture. Gurzuf is the popular resort-town (urban-type settlement) located in 11 km East from Yalta city.

Photo #021 taken on August 19, 2019

A small waterfall in the Grand Canyon filling the deep natural bath Kara-gol formed by Auzun-Uzen river (stream). The river flows at the bottom of the Canyon with multitude of blocks and boulders, forms over hundred of 2-3 meter deep erosive cauldrons and gullies that look like porcelain sinks. These are so called baths. Kara-gol is the largest natural font, located on the road from Yalta to the peak of Ai-Petri. Even in extreme heat, the water temperature in the font nicknamed “Bath of Youth” does not exceed 11-12 degrees. Kara-gol has an average diameter of about 5 meters, or rather, the bath is almost rectangular, 3 by 6 meters and a depth of 6 meters. From a ledge, 3 meters high, jets of a very pretty waterfall flow into it. The parameters of the "bath" completely allow those who wish to dive from a towering stone ledge without fear of injury. But the waterfall is just the appearance of filling the font. In fact, water enters the small mountain lake from a spring that does not dry during the hottest time, and is 150 meters higher from the ground.

Photo #693 taken on May 04, 2017

Flowering standard pink rose-tree at the picturesque antique patio near the eastern facade of Massandra Palace in the background of the curved stonewall with fountains.

Photo #051 taken on August 13, 2019 during tour of Livadia Palace and Park with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky on the 3rd day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days”.

Beautiful view from Baidarsky Pass on the Church of Christ's Resurrection in Foros, a settlement founded and named by medieval Greek merchants. Located almost in the middle between Yalta and Sevastopol, Foros was rediscovered in the late 19th century by Alexander Kuznetsov, Moscow merchant, a Russian "tea king" who had his palace built on the sea shore. Kuznetsov commissioned Nikolai Chagin, a celebrated architect from Wilno, to built the church of Christ's Resurrection in memory of the miraculous rescue of Emperor Alexander III and his family in 1888 train crash in the Borki, on the way to St. Petersburg.

The magnificent church that combines Rastrelliesque Baroque, Russian Revival, and Byzantine Revival styles was built by design of Nikolai Chagin in 1892 on abrupt 400-metre (1312 ft) Red Cliff (Krasnaya Skala) near Baidarsky Pass with spectacular view of the Black Sea. The temple is notable for its luxurious exterior and picturesque interior. The murals created by famous artists Makovsky and Korzukhin, mosaic work performed by Italian studio of Antonio Salvatti. In 1924, after Soviet revolution, Foros church was closed, crosses thrown down, murals painted over, a priest sent to Siberia. Until 1969 it was used as restaurant for tourists who were going to Baidarsky Pass. In Soviet times Foros settlement located on the southern point of Crimea, Ukraine, became popular place for dachas of Soviet generals and leaders (nearby located famous summer residence of Mikhail Gorbachev). The Resurrection cathedral overlooking the village of Foros is a popular tourist attraction and architectural monument of 19th century. It was returned to the Orthodox Church in 1990s after crash of USSR. It went through four restoration campaigns under the auspices of Leonid Kuchma, ex-president of Ukraine. In present days, the church became also a popular wedding location.

Photo #335 taken on September 10, 2013

View of Italian Courtyard with palms and fountain for walk and relation in Livadia Palace, the summer residence of Romanov family outskirts of Yalta, Crimea. Such patios for walks and relaxation were characteristic of Italian Renaissance architecture. It was created by the talent architect N.P. Krasnov in 1909-1911 and still attracts travelers from all over the world.
On February 9, 1945, the participants of the Crimean Conference took pictures in the center of the Italian courtyard. Here was made one of the most famous photographs of the "Big Three" - I.V. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill.

Photo #148 taken on August 14, 2019 during visiting Livadia Palace with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky on the 4th day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea within Six Days”.

View from Golitsyn trail at the rocky seashore near Novy Svet (New World) settlement on the Cape Kapchik that resembles a head with long neck of a huge dinosaur drinking water from the Black Sea, in the old times, called the Russian Sea.

Photo #162 taken on May 01, 2017

Overlooking the beach of settlement Novy Svet (New World) from Sokol Mountain at the height about 350 meters. The settlement is located about 6 km West from Sudak at picturesque Zelenaya Buhta (Green Bay). This tranquil bay with its crystal clear water is protected from wind on both sides by imposing mountains.

Photo #253 taken on August 31, 2015

The view details of the architecture of a neo-gothic castle "Swallow's Nest" (Russian: Lastochkino Gnezdo) in Gaspra from a back side. It looks like the decorative castle is sailing to the Black sea.

Swallow's Nest is the symbol of the south coast of Crimea located between Yalta and Alupka. The beautiful castle was constructed on a rock by design of the Russian architect Leonid Sherwood between 1911 and 1912 on money commissioned from the owner of this land, Baron von Steingel, a Baltic German noble who had made a fortune extracting oil in Baku, acquired the timber cottage and within a year had it replaced with the current building almost within a year.

In 2011, after 3 months of restoration work estimated to cost $150,000 USD, it was opened as museum. The Swallow's Nest is one of the most popular visitor attractions in the Crimea, becoming the symbol of the Crimea's southern coastline.

Photo #032 taken on September 12, 2013

Front view of a small secret house of Anton Chekhov framed by trees and plants. It is the former Tatar sakli, that the famous Russian writer purchased in 1899 in Gurzuf on the Black Sea coast to escape from the annoying attention of friends and fans.

Photo #044 taken on September 10, 2013

Decorative castle Swallow's Nest (Lastochkino Gnezdo) castle on a rock over the Black Sea in spring twilight. The small castle resembling a medieval knight's castle situated on the steep 40-metre (130 ft) high Aurora Cliff of Ai-Todor Cape in Gaspra near Great Yalta. The beautiful castle was constructed by design of the Russian architect Leonid Sherwood in Neo-Gothic style between 1911 and 1912. It became one of the most popular visitor attractions in Crimea and the symbol of Crimea's southern coastline.

Photo #731 taken on May 02, 2017

Angle view of the decorative Neo-Gothic castle "Swallow's Nest" (Russian: Lastochkino Gnezdo) at twilight. It is the symbol of the south coast of Crimea located in Gaspra, between Yalta and Alupka. The beautiful castle was constructed by design of the Russian architect Leonid Sherwood between 1911 and 1912 on money commissioned by the owner of this land, Baron von Steingel, a Baltic German noble who had made a fortune extracting oil in Baku, acquired the timber cottage and within a year had it replaced with the current building almost within a year.

In 2011, after 3 months of restoration work estimated to cost $150,000 USD, it was opened as a museum. The Swallow's Nest is one of the most popular visitor attractions in the Crimea, becoming the symbol of the Crimea's southern coastline.

Photo #714 taken on May 02, 2017

Walking between rocks along the famous trail Golitsyn to the cape Kapchik and the mount Karaul-Oba (Karaulnaya), the ancient 341-meter-high coral reef of the Jurassic period., located near Novy Svet (New World) settlement.
Novy Svet (New World) settlement is the well-known resort in Sudak district, the South-eastern part of the Crimean Peninsula, Black Sea, Russian Federation, that boasts its beautiful landscapes, mountains, beaches and factory of sparkling vines established by Prince Lev Golitsyn in 1878.

Photo #160 taken on May 01, 2017

The sign in Russian “Livadiysky Dvorets 1911-2019” (Eng: Livadia Palace 1911-2019) made from snow-white pebbles in amazing park with palms in front of the former summer residence of the last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II Romanov, in Crimea. The palace was built outskirts of Yalta city in 1911 by the project of Russian architect Nikolay Krasnov.

Photo #036 taken on August 14, 2019 during the tour of Livadia Palace and Park with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky on the 4th day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea within Six Days”.

View from the motorway in the southeast of the Crimean peninsula on the mountain landscape with vegetation, trees and vineyards, blue sky with clouds on a beautiful summer sunny day. It is the place between the villages of Morskoye and Privetnoye, not far from the Black Sea coast, between the two large cities of Sudak and Alushta.

Photo #027 taken on August 19, 2019

Beautiful landscape at the peak of Mount Ai-Petri (St. Peter) with the view of the Figured Teeth, the 60-80 m high ridges formed during the weathering of heterogeneous reef limestones, and the coast of Black sea where located resort settlements Koreiz (down at the left) and Alupka (down at the right).

Vorontsov Palace and Park, one of the oldest and largest palaces in Crimea, situated in Alupka, at the foot of Ai-Petri Mountain.

Photo #070 taken on May 04, 2017

Quick stop on a road between Koktebel and Shebetovka overlooking the beautiful Crimean landscapes near Karadag Nature Reserve.

Photo #030 taken on August 24, 2015

Old cast-iron 19th-century Russian naval cannon in the background of fortifications on the Fortress Mount Dzhenevez-Kaya (Crimean Tat. Cenevez Qaya). It is the gun from a sunken Russian frigate, which was shot down by two English battleships in 1854 during the Crimean War. The naval cannon was installed on the grounds of the Genoese fortress in Sudak on the site of the ruined "Cyril barracks" built by order of Prince Grigory Potemkin.

Photo #016 taken on August 11, 2019 during tour of Sudak Fortress with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky on the 1st day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days”.

Porcelain sculpture of the main characters from the novel of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov “Three Sisters” created by sculptor Brzezinskaya A.D. on display in the house-museum “Dacha Chekhova” in Gurzuf, Crimea.

Photo #062 taken on September 10, 2013

View from hotel Romantik on the ancient walls and towers built between 1371 and 1469 by Genoese as a stronghold of Soldayya (Sudak) colony. A silver dome of the Temple with Arcade can be seen behind the fortress walls.

Photo #113 taken on August 11, 2019 during hiking tour on the peak of Sokol mountain with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky (1st day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea within 6 Days”)

Crimean landscape on the road between Koktebel and Shebetovka in the background of the mountains of Karadag Nature Reserve.

Photo #304 taken on September 14, 2013

Crimean landscape with the view of a waving road in the South-West of the plateau leading to the highest point of Ai-Petri, the peak in the Crimean Mountains with the famous figured teeth. The teeth of Ai-Petri consist of four large (60-80 m high) and a number of small ridges on the crest formed during the weathering of heterogeneous reef limestones at 1200 meters above sea level. Ai-Petri is one of the windiest places in Crimea. The wind blows for 125 days a year, reaching a speed of 50 m/s (110 mph).

Photo #061 taken on May 04, 2017

The big Sudak pine on the slope of Sokol Mountain (Falcon Mountain) in Novy Svet in the background of the mountain range in Sudak district. The tree is used by people who climb on the mount as an object of wishes and offerings. This type of trees in Sudak was called Stankevich pine by the name of famous Russian botanist who found and described it in 1906.

Photo #384 taken on August 31, 2015