BALAKLAVA: HARBOR AND RUINS OF ITALIAN MEDIEVAL FORTRESS
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19.07.2010, 11:19
Balaclava is a small town (in Turkish meaning Fish`s Nest - Balykly-Yuve), is located on the shore of a curved spectacular bay, resembling a fiord. This area is associated with Odysseus` jorney, with legendary Temple of Diana and other events. Balaclava marced its 2,500th anniversary. The ancient Greek, later on Byzantine historians mentioned the Balaclava Harbor as Symbolon-Limne - the Harbour of Symbols (omens). The fact was referred to by Strabo, Pliny the Elder, Polyen, Ptolemy, Flavius. Myths and old legends, testimonials of ancient travelers, historians and poets overcome everyone who gets into contact with the ancient history of this place. Ruins of the medieval Genoese fortress Chembalo are located on a high rocky promontory in the southern outskirts of Balaclava.
In the period of the Crimean War of 1853-1856 during the siege of Sevastopol, Balaclava was the base of the British Army. The British army approached Balaclava harbor, and captured it without bloodshed on the 26th of September 1854. The British took Balaclava as their supply base and left it in 1856. The unique S-shaped harbor was an ideal shelter for ships. Having fortified it with the double row of redoubts and artillery batteries, the British built in the town an embankment, hotels, and even the first in the Crimea railway that connected their base with the front-line positions near Sevastopol. Nevertheless, it was under Balaclava that the British lost much of their fleet in storm. A lot of sights in Balaclava are connected with the Crimean War of 1853-1856 years. Many legends refer to the "PRINCE", a British frigate, which allegedly carried countless treasure and which sank at the shores of Balaclava on her first voyage. This is why the vessel was named "BLACK PRINCE".
Crimean War period (1853-1856) pictures can see here: http://sevdig.sevastopol.ws/gal/gal_war1/gal_war1.htm
During the Second World War (1941-1945), Balaklava defended Sevastopol to the last soldier.
Tuthful pictures of Sevastopol and the Crimea during the Second World War (1941-1945, Soviet Union war period) you can see here: http://sevdig.sevastopol.ws/gal/gal_ww2/gal_ww2_1.html http://sevdig.sevastopol.ws/gal/gal_ww2/gal_ww2_2.html http://sevdig.sevastopol.ws/gal/gal_ww2/gal_ww2_3.html http://sevdig.sevastopol.ws/gal/gal_ww2/gal_ww2_4.html http://sevdig.sevastopol.ws/gal/gal_ww2/gal_ww2_5.html http://sevdig.sevastopol.ws/gal/gal_ww2/gal_ww2_6.html
