Hora Perchem, Mountain summit in Sudak, Russia
Hora Perchem is a mountain summit in the Sudak area with several rounded peaks running from northeast to southwest. The highest point stands at about 577 meters and overlooks the surrounding Crimean landscape.
A. Fomin found the ruins of a monastery church on the southern slope in 1927 during Yuri Gotye's expedition. The monastery itself dates from the 8th century and was abandoned in the 15th century, likely after the Turkish invasion of 1475. The two-apse church was rebuilt in the 13th–14th centuries following a fire, and a fresco with a painted frame was uncovered by the entrance in 1993.
Perchem is Crimean Tatar for "forelock": on the central summit a cluster of trees stands in the middle of a clearing, resembling a tuft of hair on a bald head. The name also appears as Perchem-Kaya and Perchem-Oba, where kaya means rock and oba hill.
The journey starts from Sudak bus station, with a trail leading through the Golaya Mountain gorge to reach the peak. Wear proper hiking shoes as the path goes uphill and the ground is uneven in places.
The monastery on the southern slope, excavated in 1993–1994, covered 215 square metres and held a two-apse church, a courtyard and a cell that doubled as a refectory. A fresco with a painted frame was found by the entrance, and its inscription names the church of the Great Martyr Panteleimon.
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