Balaklava, Harbor district in Sevastopol, Russia.
Balaklava is a harbor district in Sevastopol, Russia, stretching along a fjord-like bay framed by steep limestone slopes that reaches up to 400 meters (1,300 feet) in width. The deep water of the bay provides sheltered anchorage, while at the entrance old fortification towers rise on both sides of the passage and mark access to the inner harbor.
Greek settlers founded a trading post on the Black Sea here in the fourth century BCE, which later fell under Roman and Byzantine rule. Genoese forces built the fortress in the 14th century and controlled the bay until Ottoman troops conquered the area in the 15th century and ruled for more than three centuries.
The harbor zone still shows traces of the Genoese fortress, with its massive towers rising above the water and testifying to the former control of trade routes across the Black Sea. Fishermen continue to tie up along the quayside while their boats rest in the protected bay between the cliffs.
The ride from central Sevastopol by local bus takes around half an hour and ends in the center of the bay, from where visitors can walk along the waterfront road. The streets rise steeply on the slopes in places, so sturdy footwear is recommended for longer explorations outside the harbor zone.
A tunnel system inside the mountain leads to an underground facility from Soviet times that could house up to seven submarines at once and was protected from air raids by its position in the rock. The massive steel doors at the entrance can still be visited today and give an impression of the strategic importance of the bay during the Cold War.
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