Bakhchysarai, Former Crimean Khanate capital in Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine
Bakhchysarai is a town on the Crimean Peninsula that sits along valleys between limestone hills. Multistory residential buildings climb the slopes while gardens and fruit trees dot the spaces between structures.
The settlement was established in the early 16th century as a residence for khans and served as a seat of government until the late 18th century. After integration into the Russian Empire, it transformed into a regional administrative center.
The name comes from the Persian word for palace garden and shows in the small courtyards scattered between old town houses. Many street signs carry bilingual inscriptions in Cyrillic and Latin script.
Visitors walking from the railway station to the center follow the main road uphill for about 20 minutes. Most shops and markets concentrate along this axis and in the side streets branching from it.
Hundreds of cave dwellings carved into the rocks above town served as homes through medieval times. Some of them still hold prayer rooms and graves from that period.
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