Photo Gallery

View from the observation area at the peak of Mount Ai-Petri on the Figured Teeth, the 60-80 m high ridges formed during the weathering of heterogeneous reef limestones, in the background of resort settlements Koreiz and Gaspra (far away) at 1200 meters above sea level. In a summer season, a rickety suspension bridge is set to the rock with a cross with the sign “Bless and Save”.

Photo #148 taken on May 04, 2017

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

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

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 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

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”.

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

ountain in background of production buildings with sign 1965 on the main square of the champagne factory “Novy Svet”.

Photo #284 taken on August 12, 2019 during Champaigne Factory tour in Novy Svet on the 2nd day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days” with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky.
©2019 GuideToCrimea.Ru by Arthur Lookyanov

Bust of Russian Emperor Alexander III (years of life 1845-1894) at the Massandra Palace in Crimea. During Alexander’s reign (1881-1894) the country was not involved in major wars, so that is why he was called by all people of Russia "The Peacemaker". He was a man of amazing fortitude, beauty, and harmony, courage and devotion to his Fatherland.

The grand opening ceremonial and consecration of the bust took place on the grounds of the former estate of Alexander III in Massandra on June 1st, 2017. The event was timed to such anniversaries as 175 years since the birth of the palace architect Maximilian Mesmacher, 135 years since the founding of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society and 25 years since the beginning of the work of the Massandra Palace as a museum.

Photo #027 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 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

My car Honda CR-V in the background of the village of Vesyoloye (Eng translation: Cheerful, Fun) located in the valley of the Kutlak River on the southeastern slope of the Main Ridge of the Crimean Mountains. A quick stop at an observation platform overlooking landscapes in 10 kilometers East from Sudak, even closer to the village of Novy Svet (New World).

Photo #425 taken on May 06, 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

The view on the edge of the ancient coral reef of the Jurassic period, the mount Karaul-Oba (Tatar: Qaravul Oba, Russian: Karaulnaya), from Cape Kapchik, located a few kilometers westwards from Novy Svet (New World) settlement, on the tourist path of Golitsyn. The Karaul-Oba massif with its mystic rocky ledges is the state complex natural monument. Almost from the very sea, sharp teeth of the cliffs are jutting out, that is a distinctive feature of the mountain. ‘Karaul-Oba’ means ‘Watch Mountain’ or ‘Guard Peak’ in Crimean Tatar. It is reckoned among many unique natural wonders of Sudak’s surroundings.

Photo #079 taken on May 01, 2017

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”)

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

Ancient stone steps to the upper level of the Genoese fortress of Sudak consisting of Consular castle and four neighboring towers connected by walls. The fortress situated on an ancient coral reef – a conical mountain called Kyz-Kulle-Burun was built between 1371 and 1469 by Genoeses as a stronghold of Soldayya (Sudak) colony, about 55 km from ancient Caffa(Feodosiya).

Photo #255 taken on April 30, 2017

View from a hill on a pleasure boat returning back to a peer in the Gurzuf bay and seagulls flying over the Black sea.

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

Direct bottom view of the light and airy crystal chandelier hanging on the ceiling of the Bedroom of Their Imperial Majesties in Livadia Palace.
Work on the decoration of the bedroom was performed by the Moscow furniture factory of K.V. Siebrecht.

Photo #203 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”.

View from the top of Aurora Cape on the Neo-Gothic castle “Swallow's Nest” (Russian: “Lastochkino Gnezdo”) under a blue sky with fluffy white clouds in the background of the water of the Black Sea and the bay of Yalta city in Autumn season. The castle is one of the most popular visitor attractions in the Crimea, becoming the symbol of the Crimea's southern coastline. It was constructed by the design of the Russian architect Leonid Sherwood between 1911 and 1912 on the money of Baron von Steingel.

Photo #068 taken on September 12, 2013

My picture on the shore of the Black Sea in urban settlement Kurortnoye (Eng: Resort) near Koktebel in the background of the foot of the mountain massif Kara Dag ("Black Mount"; the nature preserve) at sunset.

Photo #098 taken on August 30, 2015

Interior view of the Christian Orthodox Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Home Church of Romanovs in Livadia. The church constructed in 1864-66 by the project of Russian architect Ippolit Monighetti and connected with Livadia Palace is decorated with elegant marble pillars and beautiful vaults painted in bright blue and gold colors with icons.

Photo #110 taken on May 05, 2017

Overview mountains and large vineyards at the southern shore of Crimean Peninsula near a village Uskut, Alushta district.

Photo #087 taken on August 09, 2019

View on the “Bolshoy House” (Big House) of Golitsyn’s family in Novy Svet from the entrance doors into the grand winery cellar of the famous Russian winemaker. A wooden column balustrade above the cellar is located on the high level in front of the main entrance into the one story 200 square meter house constructed by project of Lev Golitsyn in 1880. Due to the difference in relief at the Mount Koba-Kaya (Orel / Eagle Mountain), the building stands on such a high basement.

Photo #208 taken on August 12, 2019 on the 2nd day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea within 6 Days”) with my Dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky.

Beautiful view on the church-lighthouse of St. Nicholas of Myra at Malorechenskoye village at sunset. The unique project located few kilometers from Alushta became a part of the Memorial Complex "In Memory of the Dead on the Waters" opened on May 7, 2009. A patron and sponsor of the project became the Russian businessmen Alexander Lebedev, who took a decision and invested funds in constructing here the new Crimean Wonder in 2004.

Photo #215 taken on May 01, 2017

Old wooden worktable, shelf with books, family pictures and the portrait of Lev Golitsyn hanging on the wall, in the living room of the house-museum of the famous Russian winemaker in Novy Svet.

Photo #232 taken on August 12, 2019 on the 2nd day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea within 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

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

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”.

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 Crimean landscape at sunset with a lonely standing tree on the mountain plateau of Burunchak near the Maryam-Dere (St. Maria) gully (not far from the Holy Dormition Cave Monastery) in Bakhchisaray.

Photo #925 taken on May 04, 2017

Walking along the famous trail Golitsyn to the cape Kapchik near Novy Svet (New World) settlement, the well-known resort in the South-eastern part of the Crimean Peninsula, Black Sea, Russian Federation.

Photo #040 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”.

Evening view from the observation platform at Staroye Svestopolskoye Shosse (Old Sevastopol Highway) on the Church of Christ's Resurrection rising on the high Red Cliff over covered with low clouds (fog) the Black Sea in the twilight. A car light trail on the curved mountain road to the church gives an additional touch to this landscape composition.

Photo #802 taken on May 05, 2017

Beautiful colorful red and yellow tulips in a flowerbed of a fountain area at Livadia Palace in the springtime.

Photo #063 taken on May 05, 2017

The view from a third-story window of Consular Castle of Genoese of fortification walls stretching along a mountain on the Black Sea coast. This 14th-century castle is located in the eastern part of the citadel of Genoese Soldaia, the former name of Sudak fortress given by the Venetians in the 13th century. The fortress was ceded to Genoese control by the Venetians in 1365. The Genoese Fortress and Consular Castle in Sudak (Soldaia) in the eastern part of Crimea (Crimean Peninsula) is a splendid example of Italian architecture.

Photo #314 taken on August 27, 2015 in Sudak Fortress, Travelling around Crimea.

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”.

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

Mind-blowing icon of Our Lady of Kazan from the church of St. Nicholas of Wonderworker of Myra in Malorechenskoye village (near Alushta) created by talented artist Vladimir Denshchikov using his own technique of “netting-macramé-collage”. Only linen is used in the process and each painstaking handwork takes for almost six months (and some even longer). Just imagine, the thickness of this is no more than 2 mm, and all the narrow parts are without tools and machines. Each of many great works of the master of the new type of iconography consists of more than 8 million knots.

View from a tourist path of Golitsyn on the Sokol (Falcon) Mountain framed by a pine tree and a rock at the bottom of Oryol (Eagle) Mountain at Novy Svet (New World) settlement after sunset, before it was get dark. The popular village-resort is located on the coast of the Zelenaya Buhta (Green Bay) between these mountains.

Photo #388 taken on April 30, 2017