The Museum of the Genoese Fortress is in a building that is located on a hillside in the northern part of the fortress. Externally, the building looks like a mosque, although for several centuries it has been a temple of different religions. It is also called the Temple with an arcade, since an arcade is built on the side above the entrance. The Museum of the Genoese Fortress has been located here since 1926.
Presumably, the mosque was built here in 1222, when the khans of the Golden Horde owned Crimea. During the Byzantine kingdom of Feodoro, whose capital was located in the cave city of Mangup-Kale, the mosque was converted into an Orthodox church.
In the 14th century, the Genoese captured Sudak, pushing the principality of Feodoro from the coast deep into the Crimea. They turned the Orthodox church into a Catholic church. After the conquest of the Crimea by the Turkish army in 1475, the Padishah Jami Mosque was re-established here. In 1783, Crimea became part of the Russian Empire, and the mosque again became the Orthodox Church of St. Matthew.
The building of the Museum of the Genoese Fortress has the shape of a cube. The dimensions of the interior are 11 x 14 meters. The ceiling height is 4.5 meters, columns with arches have been preserved inside. The outer arcade was initially open, but then it was made closed. The dome is more traditional for a mosque than an Orthodox church.
Inside you can see the exposition of the Museum of the Genoese Fortress. There are many artifacts found during archaeological excavations in the Genoese fortress and in the vicinity of Sudak: pottery, coins, household items, weapons.
