The Rock of the Holy Apparition is located on Cape Fiolent, 120 meters from the Jasper Beach. It rises 30 meters above the water. In 1891, a marble Orthodox Cross of Worship was installed on its top. This cross can be reached by steps carved into the rock.
The Rock of the Holy Apparition with a cross is one of the most revered Orthodox shrines in Crimea. The legend of the shipwreck of the Byzantine fishermen in 891 is connected with it. Their ship was caught in a severe storm. The sailors were in distress and began to pray to St. George the Victorious. On a rock near the shore, Saint George appeared to them, with his hands raised to the sky. After that, the storm subsided. The surviving sailors climbed the rock and found an icon of St. George on it.
On the high bank above the Rock of the Holy Apparition, they founded the St. George Monastery. The first cells of the monastery were carved in caves, but later stone churches appeared here. At the beginning of the 19th century, they became dilapidated and were replaced by buildings in the classical style. They have survived to the present day.
Pilgrims come to St. George`s Monastery and to the Rock of the Holy Apparition. In 1820, these places were visited by Alexander Pushkin, who traveled to the Crimea with the family of General Rayevsky. In the 19th century, all Russian tsars visited the monastery on pilgrimage trips.
For many years there was a wooden cross on the top of the rock. Storm waves often broke it, so in 1891, to celebrate the millennium of the foundation of the monastery, a marble cross was installed on top of the Rock of the Holy Apparition.
