The male Annunciation Monastery is located on the southern slope of Baba-Dag Mountain, where the cave settlement of Mangup-Kale was located in the Middle Ages. Sometimes the monastery is called the Southern Monastery, as it is built on the southern slope of the mountain. The churches are located in a natural grotto of a steep slope, and some of the monastic cells are hollowed out in caves.
The cave settlement of Mangup-Kale is located on the mountain plateau of Baba-Dag Mountain, 20 kilometers south of Bakhchisarai. The height of the mountain plateau reaches 583 meters above sea level. The nearest village, which can be reached by car, is called Khoja Sala. A trail begins from there. You have to go 2.5 kilometers, with a climb of 400 meters. You have to be ready for a long climb. For children, it can be tedious.
Down in the village of Khoja Sala, SUV drivers offer services for climbing the mountain plateau by car. This road leads directly to the Annunciation Monastery. If you decide to go up to Mangup-Kale on foot, then from the top of the plateau you need to go down to the monastery by an iron ladder. You will see the arch of this ladder near the stone Byzantine wall.
The time of the foundation of the Mangup Annunciation Monastery is unknown, but most likely it dates back to the 14th century, when all the cave settlements in the Bakhchisarai area were united under the rule of the Byzantine principality of Feodoro. The Crimean Khans then owned the steppe lands of the Crimea, and the coastal cities from Feodosia to Balaklava were under the rule of the Genoese.
The capital of the principality of Feodoro was located in Mangup-Kale, then the city was called Doros. The oldest Assumption Monastery of Crimea is located 27 kilometers from Mangup-Kale, so there appeared another monastery in the immediate vicinity of the main buildings of the capital. People only needed to go down the iron ladder down the slope.
To this day, about 20 caves have been preserved in the Mangup Annunciation Monastery, as well as several large natural grottoes. The churches, monks` cells and a small necropolis are located there. Several monks now live in the monastery. From the southern slope there is a very beautiful view of the surrounding valleys.
