Do you want everyone to see them this close to the walls of coarse gray limestone , passed through the gates , protected by two powerful towers, looked around the deserted hillside, still hiding underground ruins of the once flourishing merchant and artisan of the city, went to the castle to the Consular and then - by a steep path - even higherto the very top of Mount Castle , standing on a seven winds lonely watchtower ,
No incomparable impression leaves the castle - a traditional stronghold , a fortress within a fortress.Gloomy courtyard, battlements , arranged so that got shot at anyone who approached , the remnants of change-over bridges, battlement of the castle to St George's Tower and wide open to the sea stony ground , protected by the wall.
unwavering persistence and desperation - this is the image of the citadel, which became a refuge for a handful of the elect, those who preferred death to captivity and slavery.
On the local castle back in 1312 an ancient chronicler melancholy and simply wrote : So, they say, since it was built to date, 1,100 years elapsed .Only ! Silly and it seems indecent to this background, any fussiness.
Surozh, Soldadiya , Soldaiya , Sugdeya, Sugdak , Pike - different names for the same - the city -fortress.Now it is hardly believable that there was a time when the very Black Sea was called the Sea of Sourozh that for the possession of this city and the port of death beat Alans, Khazars , Polovtsy, Greek , Russian , Italians, Turks and Tatars .
The city , formerly a mixture of all nations and all faiths, has supplied the world of merchants (trading firm Marco Polo was in Soldadii ), soldiers ( in Russian epic tales of heroes known Sourozh ), farmers ( famous for excellent wines Sourozh ) , construction , travelers, and even saints.
Sometimes also a need - to return again and again to some places, remember polutysyacheletney old history, to determine their relationship to them, read and reread the transcripts of Latin inscriptions on these carved from sandstone and decorated with coats of arms of Genoa plates, admire ponderous grace towersmarvel at the courage and the art of the people who built them for centuries at the edge of the cliff, sorry about the loss ( often in our time ) made with tempera paintings,The reflection of this peak was so strong that in the XVIII century, after the annexation of Crimea to Russia, here originally intended to move the capital of Tauris . Soon , though, forget about it , the stones of ancient buildings have gone to the construction of barracks for the soldiers. Edge went into decline . Overseas trade has stopped.
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