The small town of Belogorsk is located in the central part of the Crimea, at a considerable distance from the seashore and all major resorts. There is no mass tourism here, but if you want to see the landscapes of the American prairies and Monument Valley, then this is the best place in Crimea. There are equestrian clubs that can organize horseback rides among these stunning landscapes.
The main attraction of Belogorsk is the White Rock, which rises above the city and is visible from all its districts. At its foot flows the river Biyuk-Karasu (Black water). There are many chalk mountains in the surrounding area, where hiking and horseback riding routes are laid out. Suvorov oak grows next to the White Rock. Its age is 750 years old, and it witnessed many historical events that took place in the Crimea several centuries ago.
Every year in August, a balloon festival takes place in Belogorsk. The experience of the organizers of the balloon festival in Cappadocia, Turkey, helped in holding this festival. Balloons over the chalk cliffs of Belogorsk also look beautiful, so they were called "Crimean Cappadocia".
One of the most interesting sights of the Crimea is the Lion Taigan Park. It occupies an area of 30 hectares near the city of Belogorsk. The park was founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Oleg Zubkov, who previously created the Yalta Zoo. More than 60 lions and tigers from different continents live in this safari park. Here you can see rare white lions from South Africa, Bengal tigers, Amur tigers.
The landscape of the steppe Crimea is very similar to the African savanna, so the habitat conditions of African lions in the Taigan Park look quite natural. Taigan Park is so popular that excursions are organized here not only from all resorts of the Crimea, but even from Anapa.
The Suvorov Oak is located near the White Rock in the city of Belogorsk. It is a unique botanical monument of the Crimea. The oak was a witness to many historical events that took place on the territory of the Crimea. It remembers not only the commander Suvorov, but also the events of the era of Byzantium and the Golden Horde. Suvorov oak has a trunk diameter of 10 meters, and the size of the crown reaches 40 meters. Such trunk sizes are normal for American sequoia or African baobab, but for oak these sizes are really outstanding.
History of Belogorsk
The city of Belogorsk was founded by Tatars in the 13th century at the intersection of trade routes in the steppe Crimea. The road from Kerch (former Bosporus) to Sevastopol (former Tauric Chersonesos) and Yevpatoria passes through the city. Near Belogorsk there is a turn of the road to Sudak, which in the 14th-15th century was the main military base of the Genoese.
However, people settled at the foot of the White Rock several millennia ago. During archaeological excavations in the caves and grottos of Belogorsk, about 20 sites of ancient people of the Paleolithic era were discovered. Of particular interest are the ruins of the Ak-Kaya fortress to the north of the White Rock. This fortress appeared in the 4th century BC, when the Scythians owned the steppe Crimea. There have been no full-fledged excavations in the Ak-Kaya fortress, so it is difficult to talk about its significance. However, judging by the size of the Ak-Kaya fortress, it could be a more important settlement of the Scythians than the Scythian Naples in Simferopol.
From the 13th century until 1944, the city of Belogorsk was called Karasubazar, which means a Bazaar near the Biyuk-Karasu River. When the power of the Crimean Khanate was established over Crimea, with its capital in Bakhchisarai, Karasubazar became one of the largest slave markets of the steppe Crimea. Executions of prisoners who could not collect ransom and were not bought as slaves were carried out on the White Rock. Kiev Hetman Bogdan Khmelnitsky in 1620, while being held captive by local merchants, saw prisoners being thrown off a cliff.
During the wars of Russia and Turkey for the Crimea, in 1777, a military corps under the command of Alexander Suvorov was sent here. He set up a military camp near the White Rock, and his headquarters was located near the Suvorov oak. Here he negotiated with the envoy of the Turkish Sultan. A few years later, on the top of the White Rock on July 10, 1783, the Crimean nobility took the oath of allegiance to the Russian Empress Catherine II, during the entry of Crimea into Russia. Prince Grigory Potemkin took the oath from Russia.
