Sevastopol : Fortress "Kalamita"

        Is near Sevastopol, in "Belokamesk" city (late "Incerman"). Highly above a road, on a plateau of Monastic rock, the rests ancient fortifications, and in the bottom part of a rock the rests of christian cave monastery are well visible. It is branch historical - archeological reserve Khersonesus a "Kalamita Fortress".

        Kalamita - one of interesting monuments of a Crimean middle ages. From the south and west the fortress is protected by breakages, from north and east - Cut in a rock рвом and wall consisting from three towers with five two-storeyed rectangular half-tower and one round tower with a travel gate. The area protected by fortress walls, makes 1500 m2.

        The occurrence Kalamita concerns to VI in. Probably, the fortress was build for protection of trade ways, which order from a steppe part of Crimea in Khersonesus. Later, with heyday in southwest Tavrika feudal principality Feodoro (in XV in. in Russian and west european sources it named Mangupskoe), in a mouth Black river has become to develop a trade port Avlita. For its protection Mangup prince Aleksey in 1427 has reconstructed a fortress.

        In 1475 principality Feodoro to fall a victim under impacts turkish. Aspiring to strengthen the positions at coast of the Black and Azov seas, turkish conquerors erected here new fortresses, reconstructed old. They have reconstructed and Kalamita, by adapting it to use of fire-arms. They owned Kalamita up to the conclusion Kuchuk - Kainardzhiyskiy peace contract (1774). Turkish have renamed a fortress, by naming it Incerman, that means "cave fortress". The name it is not casual: the rock, on which the strenghtening is constructed, is cut up numerous caves. One of them had military meaning, others were used as economic, cult and even inhabited premises.

        In Kalamita territory in different time the excavation was carried out, but the monument still waits for the researchers.

        In the bottom part of a Monastic rock and near it the rests of structures were kept. Assume, what still in VIII - IX in. Here there was a christian monastery. With breaks it existed more than thousand years.

        Occurrence of a monastery in these places connect with so-called by stuggle against icons movement in Byzantium, when the Byzantian emperors aspired to break economic power of church. Persecute by authorities, icon esteemer ran in the remote areas of empire. They also have based the cave monasteries.

        At the end of XVIII in. Inkerman's monastery has come in desolation, but in middle XIX in. was restored. In this period on its territory there were build some churches. The monastery has stopped the existence in 1926, but now it activity begins recommence.

        About our days two were kept cave churches cut in a rock. One of them had the form basilica of a early christian temple. Fragments fresco concerning, however here are visible, to middle XIX in. The second church - name st. Martin - is cut down near. In 1867 the church was restored. In it floor and walls were kept burial-vaults. The abrupt ladder in a rock conducted from a monastery on a fortress territory.

        Within Great Domestic war here, on ancient ground, went severe fights with fascists. In premises of a monastery the staff 25-th shooting division. The memorial board and monument on brotherly grave of division soldiers reminds of it.