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Chufut-Kale “cave town” in Ukraine
Approximately 4 km from Bakhchisarai lie the ruins of the medieval town of Chufut-Kale . This fortified town was erected on a steep mountain plateau during the 5 th and 6 th centuries. Seen from the valley below, its houses and ramparts seem to stick to the bare cliffs.
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You can`t drive straight up to Chufut-Kale. From the lot where motor vehicles are parked, you have to walk up a picturesque old road to the fortress. Along the way you can stop to have a look at the Uspensky Monastery, which was founded at the turn of the 8 th and 9 th centuries and was the residence of the Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church during the Crimean Khanate.
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The ancient cave church of the monastery and the monk`s cell are hewn in the rock, just as all household premises were in medieval Crimean cities.
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On account of its great number of artificial caves, Chufut-Kale is sometimes called a “cave town”. It is said that one of the caves in Chufut-Kale served as a dungeon for the Khan`s particularly important prisoners.
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It is known that the Russian veyevoda (medieval army commander) Sheremetyev languished here for twenty years, from 1660 to 1680, and that the Russian prince Andrey Romodanovsky and Polish hetman Potocky were also help captive in Chufut-Kale, at the end and in the middle of the 17 th century respectively.
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