Gelendzhik is a popular resort on the Black Sea coast of the
Caucasus, 25 km southeast of Novorossiysk, stretched along the
Gelendzhik Bay between Tonkiy and Tolsty capes. This is a typical,
even archetypal Black Sea resort offering a whole range of simple
resort entertainment.
Gelendzhik has a long, but not very
eventful history. A convenient bay has always attracted navigators:
Greek, Byzantine and Genoese colonies stood on its shore. When
Circassia was part of the sphere of influence of the Ottoman Empire,
there was a large slave market, which, according to one version,
gave the modern name to the city (from the Turkish “white bride”).
In the 19th century, Gelendzhik, along with the rest of the
Black Sea region, became part of Russia. In 1831, the Gelendzhik
fortification was built here as part of the Black Sea coastal
defense line, but with the outbreak of the Crimean War, the
fortification had to be blown up. Already from the end of the 19th
century, the Gelendzhik area was considered a resort area, in 1903
the first hotel was built here - now it is the building of the city
administration. Nevertheless, the main enterprise of the city was a
cement plant, Gelendzhik was not popular with vacationers, and one
of the few people who built a dacha in these places was the writer
Vladimir Korolenko (see Surroundings).
The Great Patriotic
War bypassed Gelendzhik, although dramatic events developed very
close: it was from Gelendzhik that Caesar Kunikov led his heroic
landing to Malaya Zemlya. In Gelendzhik, Kunikov died after being
wounded on Malaya Zemlya; a monument was erected to him in front of
the city museum of local lore.
The glory of the all-Union
resort comes to Gelendzhik relatively late, in the 1970s, and
remains to this day: thanks to the warmer and calmer sea inside the
bay, Gelendzhik has become the most popular resort between Anapa and
Greater Sochi, and besides, the only city on this segment, having
its own airport.
There are no significant cultural and
historical sights in Gelendzhik, but this is not what people come
here for. With all the abundance of vacationers in the city, there
are quiet places where the hectic resort life does not interfere
with admiring the sea, and when you get tired of it, there are
several curious natural objects in the surrounding mountains.
Embankment of Gelendzhik. The embankment, enveloping the horseshoe
Gelendzhik Bay, is the main attraction and pride of the city, the focus
of its resort life. Its length is 8.8 km, you can often find statements
that this is the longest embankment in Russia, although the residents of
Samara are ready to argue with this. The advantageous difference of the
Gelendzhik embankment from many others on the coast is the presence of
small groves that create valuable coolness on a hot day, moreover, pine
groves on Tolsty Cape, and oak groves in the western part of the
embankment. There is a bike path along the entire embankment, and there
are bike rental shops. The best view of the sea is at sunset from the
tip of Cape Tolstoy.
Monument to the heroes of the Civil War
(fighters for Soviet power in the Gelendzhik region in 1918-1920),
Lermontovsky Boulevard. The monument, popularly called nothing more than
a monument to wrestlers, is very unusual both in composition and design.
It was opened on May 1, 1923 - this is one of the first Soviet monuments
in the South of Russia, and it was erected by direct participants in the
events. On a high pedestal in the form of a truncated pyramid, a sailor,
a worker and a colorful peasant peer into the distance. On the faces of
the pyramid are carved the names of the dead Bolsheviks and a dedication
in telegraph style: “We have carried out your last testament to drive
away the tyrants and establish Soviet power, labor will be the ruler of
the world” - this was written only at the dawn of Soviet power. Even
more curious were the inscriptions in the niches at the foot of the
pyramid - for example, "On March 18, 1920, the red-green detachments
finally occupied Gelendzhik"; these inscriptions were destroyed in the
1930s, when it was no longer allowed to mention non-red units.
Monument to Lermontov, at the beginning of Lermontovsky Boulevard.
Another recognizable Gelendzhik monument is Lermontov. Most likely, the
poet has never even been here, but his lyrical hero (“the hero of our
time”) ended up in Taman on his way to Gelendzhik, which was already in
the 1950s. prompted the city to erect a rather crude monument. The
current, more metropolitan version was cast in the 1990s.
Gelendzhik
Gate Lighthouse, Primorsky Boulevard. One of the oldest lighthouses on
the coast of the Caucasus was founded in 1897, opened in 1906 and has
been operating smoothly since that time - only in 1927 the gas lamp was
replaced with an electric one. The lighthouse has an unusual design and
does not look like a traditional tower, but rather a modern cottage. On
the balcony of the second floor there is a box with lanterns, the light
of which is closed on one side by shutters: if the ship is to the right
of the fairway of the Gelendzhik Bay, a green light will be visible, and
if to the left, a red one. On the embankment next to the lighthouse
there is a touching monument to the lighthouse that meets the ships.
Ascension Cathedral, st. Pervomayskaya, 4a. Gelendzhik's main cathedral
is an unremarkable eclectic temple built in 1909.
Church of the
Transfiguration of the Savior, st. Gornaya, 17. The cemetery church,
built a few years before the revolution, is architecturally ordinary,
but it attracts attention with a combination of white and red colors
that is not quite familiar to Russian churches.
Markotkh Ridge. The
highest point of Gelendzhik is almost 650 m above sea level. From here
you can see both the city and a significant part of the coast: from
Novorossiysk in the west to Divnomorskoye in the east. You can climb the
ridge from the Gelendzhik side only by chairlift - either in the Safari
Park or in the Olympus Park: the first is a little longer, but the view
from the Safari Park is worse, and the ticket there is more expensive.
Both cable cars move smoothly and slowly: the journey of 1200 meters
takes 15 minutes, allowing you to fully enjoy the views of the
mountains, the city and the Gelendzhik Bay.
Sea walks. At the central pier on the embankment, barkers invite you
to take a boat ride. In addition to the usual walks around the bay,
there are also four-hour excursions to the Parus rock, Kabardinka and
Dzhankhot - this is the most pleasant, albeit expensive, way to explore
the immediate surroundings.
Aquapark "Golden Bay", st. Tourist, 23. ✉
☎ +7 (86141) 29-0-29. 9:00–19:00. for vacationers taller than 145 cm -
1400 rubles; for everyone whose height is from 106 to 145 cm - 650
rubles; children under 106 cm tall are free. The largest water park in
Russia: more than 50 slides and slopes, 8 pools, including a
hydromassage one. Due to the large number of water attractions, the
developed recreational area and the remoteness from the center, it is
probably worth allocating a separate day to visit the Golden Bay.
Museum of History and Local Lore, st. Ostrovsky, 1. ☎ +7 (8241) 2-1361,
+7 (8241) 2-1361. 9:00-18:00. 150 rubles, children 75 rubles.
Collections of antique coins, memorial objects of the families of the
writer V.G. Korolenko and sculptor S.D. Erzya, photographs and negatives
by Gelendzhik photographer B.K. Pongovsky, as well as the grave goods of
ancient burial grounds - in general, the standard set of a provincial
museum. The cutest thing here is the chic rose garden in the backyard.
Safari Park. 9:00–20:00. Entrance to the park 1200 rubles + ride on the
cable car 600 rubles. And apparently, you won’t be able to pay only for
the cable car. The park positions itself as a rehabilitation center for
wild animals, where you can allegedly see them in conditions close to
natural. In fact, the entire Safari Park complex is an unsystematic set
of entertainment offered in addition to the cable car ride, for which
you are most likely to come here. In addition to enclosures with tigers
and bears, there is a terrarium, a collection of coins, a mineralogical
collection and a maritime museum on the territory - all at a very
amateur level, although the reviews of visitors with children are
positive. There is a barbecue and three dining rooms overlooking the
Gelendzhik Bay.
How to get there: free minibuses from the Central
stop and from the bus station every hour.
Olymp Park. Cable car 10:00
- 24:00, petting zoo and exotarium 10:00 - 20:00, Ferris wheel until
23:00. 900 rubles, the ticket includes a ride on the Ferris wheel and
the TopGun attraction, a visit to the Call of the Jungle petting zoo and
the exotarium. This amusement park was created later than the "Safari
Park" and with a clear eye on it: in addition to the cable car, it
offers not museums, but several simple attractions - swings, carousels
and a very appropriate Ferris wheel at an altitude of 640 meters,
although without an exhibition of exotic fish didn't work out either.
There is a restaurant on the mountain and a restaurant at the trout pond
at the lower cable car station, the prices are high. If desired, in 15
minutes you can walk to the new attraction of Gelendzhik - a 44-meter
cross 5, installed in the style of a la Rio de Janeiro on the edge of
the mountain.
How to get there: free minibuses from the Central stop.
Gelendzhik winery, st. Solnechnaya, 2. ☎ +7 (86141) 2-81-48. excursion -
500 rubles, advance registration is recommended. The Gelendzhik winery
is not among the well-known all-Russian, although it is one of the first
wineries in the Kuban. It was founded in 1869 by Countess Firsova, who
successfully competed with Massandra and Abrau-Durso, supplied her
products to the imperial court and received the nickname "Russian Madame
Clicquot". Now the plant specializes in dessert wines. As part of the
tour, it is proposed to visit modern workshops and an old distillery of
the 19th century, after the tour a tasting is held. There is a company
store at the factory.
Oceanarium "Ocean Park", st. Revolutionary, 11
(embankment). ☎ +7 (86141) 33-523, +7 (918) 672-18-21. June–September
10:00–24:00, October–May 10:00–18:00. Adult 350 rubles, children (from 5
to 12 years old inclusive) - 250 rubles. Photo and video filming - 100
rubles. Two dozen small aquariums and a tortured monkey collect
consistently negative reviews.
Gelendzhik Dolphinarium, st.
Lunacharskogo, 130. The price depends on the time of the session: an
adult from 600 rubles, a child 400 rubles.
Gidroaviasalon. In
even-numbered years, in September, a unique exhibition, the
Hydroaviasalon, takes place on Tonky Cape in Gelendzhik. The most
interesting thing about it is not the exposition of aircraft at the
airport, but demonstration performances of seaplanes, helicopters and
fighters: only here you can see how seaplanes land in the sea and take
off from the water, and fire helicopters put out a simulated fire. The
air show ends with fireworks right in the waters of the Gelendzhik Bay.
Performances can be watched for free directly from the beach, but this
is inconvenient: try to book a seat in one of the cafes on the
waterfront in the Thin Cape area.
Most of the beaches of Gelendzhik are pebbly, free of charge and crowded with vacationers during the season. If silence and low population are important to you, look for beaches on the western outskirts of the city, in the areas of Thin Cape and Blue Bay. In the city center, the unequivocal favorite is the Krasnaya Talka beach (entrance - 400 rubles, individual bungalow - 2500 rubles), very clean and with all the necessary beach infrastructure.
By plane
Gelendzhik Airport operates mainly in the summer, taking
resort flights. At the peak of the season, there are 7-8 daily flights
from Moscow and 1-2 from St. Petersburg, the Volga region, the Urals. At
least one flight to Moscow is operated year-round. Several more flights
to Anapa airport, which is 100 km and 1.5 hours away by car; transfer
costs about 2000 ₽.
Gelendzhik Airport (IATA: GDZ) , st.
Solntsedarskaya, 10. ☎ +7 (86141) 9-90-09. In the spring of 2022, it is
planned to open a new terminal. Until that time, the old one is working
- cramped and uncomfortable. There are 2 bank branches and baggage
wrapping in the check-in hall (around the clock, 350 rubles). Also in
the departure hall you can find the pizzeria "Bella Napoli" (8:30 -
20:30, traditional Italian cuisine) and the cafe "Region 123" (8:30 -
20:30, soft drinks, ice cream, chocolate). Free WiFi.
How to get
there: the airport is located on the western outskirts of the city, 7 km
from the center. You can get there by bus number 5 or minibus number 16,
they run every 15-20 minutes, 6:00–23:00. Taxi costs from 300 ₽.
By train
The nearest railway station is Novorossiysk Station.
Theoretically, you can leave the station by bus number 646 Novorossiysk
- Gelendzhik - Dzhanhot, but it runs on schedule every few hours and is
of little use in practice. Spirited travelers can get to the bus station
of Novorossiysk and then travel by regular buses, but the only
reasonable alternative is a taxi from the railway station to Gelendzhik,
which will cost you 1300-1500 rubles or a little cheaper if you do not
take a car in Novorossiysk, but order from Gelendzhik.
By bus
There are two bus stations in Gelendzhik: a new (upper) and an old
(lower) one, or more officially - a bus station and a bus station. The
new bus station is located on the northern outskirts of the city near
the bypass road and receives long-distance flights, and their geography
is very extensive - from Novorossiysk to Chisinau. The old bus station,
also known as the bus station, is located in the city center and serves
suburban routes - from Kabardinka to Arkhipo-Osipovka.
From
Novorossiysk and Krasnodar there are several direct buses and about 15
passing a day - on average, once every half an hour. An hour's journey
to Novorossiysk, 4 hours to Krasnodar.
Bus station, st. Bypass,
3. ☎ +7 (86141) 3-27-93. 5:00–23:00. The station is spacious and not
crowded. There is a left-luggage office, a snack bar and a couple of
kiosks with pies. The center is less than 2 km away, you will pass them
on foot faster than waiting for the city bus number 2.
Bus station,
st. Sadovaya, 36. ☎ +7 (86141) 3-27-59.
By car
The federal
highway M4 Moscow-Novorossiysk and the highway M27 Novorossiysk-Adler
run along the northern outskirts of Gelendzhik along the Markotkhsky
ridge. The track is slowly being reconstructed, the old narrow
serpentine is being widened and straightened. From Novorossiysk the road
will take 40 minutes without traffic jams, from Dzhubga - an hour and a
half.
Going to Gelendzhik from Krasnodar, think about traffic
jams on the M4 highway: if traffic from Goryachiy Klyuch to Dzhubga is
difficult, feel free to turn to Abinsk, Krymsk and Novorossiysk: this
road is 20 km longer, but almost always empty.
On the ship
The
nearest major port is in Novorossiysk. In summer, "Comets" of the
"Vodokhod Express" company run along the Novorossiysk-Sochi route with
an intermediate stop in Gelendzhik. There is a cash desk in the port.
Tickets usually sell out long before departure.
Port of
Gelendzhik. ☎ +7 (86141) 2-00-89.
There are about a dozen city bus routes in Gelendzhik. You may need
bus No. 2 to the bus station (once every half an hour), No. 5 Thick Cape
- Thin Cape (every 20 minutes), No. 5/16 to the airport (every 20
minutes) - they all pass through the Central Stop ( it is the stop
"Market").
Taxi "Yandex": +7 (861) 20-500-20
Shopping center "Gelendzhik", st. Lenina, 1. A large (on the scale of Gelendzhik) shopping center on the main square: ATMs, a communication salon and a 24-hour supermarket /
Like everything else in the city, Gelendzhik's catering is aimed at
holidaymakers and gravitates towards the embankment. Compared to the
Sochi coast, there are fewer canteens and more full-length restaurants.
Be aware that most establishments play extremely loud music in the
evenings, usually performed by local artists. There are few exceptions,
but they do exist: in the descriptions below, the words “quiet music”
mean that you can talk and hear the interlocutor in the room.
1
McDonald's, st. Lenina, 10. 7:00–24:00. McDonald's without McCafe is not
the prettiest place, but the only place in Gelendzhik where you can have
a bite to eat in the early morning hours.
2 Lyubo-coffee, st.
Lenina, 1. 9:00–23:00. Chain Krasnodar coffee house that reached the
Black Sea coast. As is usually the case in Russia, here the menu
includes not only coffee, but also a full set of hot dishes. There is a
wide terrace overlooking the sea. Quiet music, Wi-Fi.
3 Russian
oven, st. Revolutionary, 5. Establishments of this level can usually be
found only in megacities: this is an excellent restaurant of Russian
cuisine, which stands out noticeably against the background of
unremarkable "resort food". According to the staff, they use
scientifically restored recipes, primarily using languishing in the main
Russian oven. Try to try Orlov beef. Quiet music, fast service.
4
Restaurant "Merry Kuma", st. Revolutionary, 13. 11:00–24:00. Another
restaurant of either Ukrainian or Cossack cuisine is a little less
pretentious than the Ukrainian Yard.
5 Ukrainian Yard Restaurant ,
Lermontovsky Blvd. (corner of Schmidt street). ☎ +7 (918) 123-00-00.
9:00–1:00. Hot: 400-500 rubles. Not a bad stylization for rural Ukraine.
Prices are slightly above average, quiet music. From this restaurant
from morning until lunch there is a tray with pies on the embankment.
These are the most delicious pies in Gelendzhik, and they scatter in
full accordance with the well-known saying. For pies, you can take
vodka, which is poured from a colorful bottle stuffed with pickles.
6 Dining room "USSR", st. Griboyedova, 2. The name is a little
disingenuous: in the Soviet canteens there was no Greek salad and
plastic utensils. Otherwise, the usual dining room: cheap food of
acceptable quality.
Sanatoriums and boarding houses
1 Friendship, st. Mira, 23. ☎
+7(86141)3-32-80.
2 Red talka. One of the best and most expensive
resorts in the city.
3 Sunny Beach, st. Lunacharsky, 129. ☎
+7(86141)3-33-81, 3-32-99.
4 Friendly coast, st. Lunacharsky, 133. ☎
3-41-75, 2-15-82.
Hotels
5 Hotel "Kiparis" ***, st. Soviet,
52a. Excellent conditions for a reasonable price in the city center.
Free year-round pool with heated water, in-room kettle, dishes, stable
Wi-Fi. Good breakfasts.
6 Hotel "Babylon", st. Shevchenko, 96.
Location in a quiet center. Good reviews, guests especially note the
hospitality of the staff.
7 "Lime" hotel, st. Landing, 54. Located on
the Tonky Cape, 300 meters from the beach. A good option for those who
appreciate silence over a central location.
8 Hotel "Favorit", st.
Leselidze, 9. Located on the Cape Tolstoy. Great reviews, especially the
breakfast buffet.
9 Hotel "Noy" st. Lunacharskogo, 266. ✉ ☎ +7 989
768 06 70. 1000-3500 rub. New hotel built in 2014 in the resort area of
Gelendzhik. Air-conditioned rooms with Wi-Fi.
10 Teremok Hotel, st.
Ulyanovsk, 23. ☎ +7(928)408-00-28. 3000 rub. Quiet location south of the
city center. To the sea - 5-7 minutes walk. The rooms are clean. The
hosts are very tactful.
11 "Cozy Beach" (On the territory of the
former boarding house "Stroitel"), st. Tourist, 25. ☎ +7 9182971389 from
May to October.
It is better to stay away from the "Sail" and "Northern" areas at night. The embankment and the city center are quite safe, well lit and equipped with a video surveillance system.
The Black Sea coast of the Caucasus has been inhabited since ancient
times. The tribes of the Bronze Age, who lived here 5 thousand years
ago, immortalized themselves with burial structures made of stone slabs
- dolmens.
In the VI century BC. e. the Greek colony of Torik
(Old Greek Τορικός) was founded on the eastern coast of Thin Cape.
In
63 BC. e. Roman port of Pagra founded.
From 45-66 AD. e. Torik became
part of the Bosporan kingdom.
In the 3rd century A.D. e. many
colonies of the Bosporan kingdom perish as a result of the raids of the
Goths.
In the 4th century, the Bosporus kingdom was destroyed after
the invasion of the Huns.
In the VI century, Byzantium's positions
were strengthened in the northeastern part of the Black Sea. According
to early medieval authors, during this period in the Gelendzhik Bay
there was a Byzantine harbor of Eptal.
In 965-968, the Tmutarakan
principality was founded by Kievan Rus on the Taman Peninsula. During
this period, the Adyghes (Circassians), who are the indigenous
population of the region, first appear in Russian chronicles under the
name Kasogi; so, for example, in the "Tale of Igor's Campaign" Rededya
is mentioned - the prince of Kasozh.
Later, due to the strengthening
of the Polovtsy and the claims of Byzantium, at the end of the 11th
century, the Tmutarakan principality came under the rule of the
Byzantine emperors (until 1204).
In the Middle Ages, Genoese colonies
were founded in the Crimea and on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus,
which were engaged in trade (including the slave trade) with local
peoples (zikhs). On the site of Gelendzhik, the Genoese founded the
commercial port of Mavrolako.
At the end of the 15th century, the
Genoese colonies fell into decline, with the strengthening of the
Ottoman Empire. Gelendzhik Bay was occupied by the Ottomans.
In the
18th - early 19th centuries, a slave market was located in the Ottoman
fortress of Gelendzhik. Until the 19th century, slaves were delivered to
Turkey through Gelendzhik. The slave trade came to naught only after the
Russian conquest.
On September 2, 1829, the eastern coast of the
Black Sea from the mouth of the Kuban to the port of St. Nicholas (north
of Batumi) departs to Russia under the Adrianople Peace Treaty. However,
the local Circassian population, who did not recognize the authority of
both the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, began active resistance
to the arriving tsarist troops.
1831 - General E. A. Berkhman founded
the Gelendzhik fortification as part of the Black Sea fortified
coastline.
1854 - During the Crimean War, the Russians are forced to
blow up and leave the fortification. The territory was occupied until
the end of the war by the troops of the Ottoman Empire approaching from
the south.
1857 - Russian troops again entered the ruined fortress.
1864, after the end of the Caucasian War and the eviction of the
Circassians within the Ottoman Empire, the village of Gelendzhikskaya
was founded, as part of the Shapsug coastal battalion (regiment).
1870 - after the abolition of the Shapsug battalion, the village was
transformed into the village of Gelendzhik as part of the Novorossiysk
department of the Black Sea district.
1896 - the village of
Gelendzhik.
1900 - The first private sanatorium opens.
1907 - the
coast of the Gelendzhik Bay officially became a resort.
1913 - a
sanatorium for children with bone tuberculosis was opened. Currently, it
is called GBUZ "Children's sanatorium for the treatment of patients with
disorders of the musculoskeletal system named after. October
revolution". The old name is DKTS (children's bone-tuberculosis
sanatorium).
1915 - Gelendzhik received the status of a city.
1920
- Soviet power is established in Gelendzhik, the Revolutionary Committee
is formed.
In 1923-1963 Gelendzhik was the center of the Gelendzhik
region.
During the Great Patriotic War, Gelendzhik served as a rear
hospital center. From here, in February 1943, Kunikov's detachment went
to Malaya Zemlya. The city was badly damaged by enemy air raids.
After the war, the city was rebuilt. Since then, the resort base of the
city has been actively developing.
On February 1, 1963, the city of
Gelendzhik was classified as a city of regional subordination, and the
city Council of Workers' Deputies was transferred to the Krasnodar
Regional Council of Workers' Deputies.
In 1970, Gelendzhik became a
resort of all-Union significance.
March 23, 2001 the city was given
the status of a resort of federal significance
The poet Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, as a punishment for his poem
"The Death of a Poet", was transferred from the Life Guards (where he
served as a cornet) to the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon Regiment of the army.
According to one version, in September 1837, by sea from Taman, the poet
arrived in Gelendzhik, where the headquarters of General Velyaminov was
then located. One of his literary characters, Grigory Pechorin, made the
same path in the novel A Hero of Our Time.
In Gelendzhik, in
memory of these circumstances, not far from the shore of the Gelendzhik
Bay, a monument to Lermontov was erected, on the pedestal of which a
facsimile of Lermontov's signature was placed. The pedestrian
embankment, originating in this place and continuing further to the
north-west along the bay, was named Lermontovsky Boulevard.
On
the issue of Lermontov's visit to Gelendzhik in September 1837, there is
no unanimity among his biographers. Irakli Andronikov believed this
circumstance to be reliable.
M. G. Mineev disputed Andronikov's
ideas that the poet went to the Olginskoe fortification through Taman,
and considered the route to Tiflis mentioned by Andronikov from
Stavropol and Pyatigorsk through Taman to be excessively circular;
instead, referring to P. A. Viskovatov, Mineev believed that during the
period of the expedition (May - September 1837) there was regular sea
communication between Gelendzhik and the fortifications under
construction (Novotroitsky at the mouth of the Pshada River, and
Mikhailovsky at the mouth of the Vulan River), and because Lermontov,
having received leave "for rest and treatment", could easily and quickly
get to Gelendzhik, Anapa or Taman. But Pyotr Tkachenko in the book “On
the Olginsky cordon” mentions that Lermontov, having left Pyatigorsk for
the detachment in September, actually arrived in Taman from
Ekaterinodar, having spent the night in the village of Ivanovskaya.
G.V. Morozova, in her work “Lermontov’s Meetings with the
Decembrists in the Caucasus,” claims that Lermontov went through Taman
to Anapa, where on September 23, 1837, the emperor arrived from
Gelendzhik.
Yuri Belichenko in the publication “Lermontov. A
novel of documentary search”, comparing the memoirs of the emperor and
Lermontov himself, comes to the conclusion that the poet arrived in
Gelendzhik from Taman, either on the day of the royal review, which took
place in bad weather, or immediately after it. And then, having passed
through the mountains, together with the marching column of the
detachment, accompanied by rare mountain shots, he arrived at the
Olginsky fortification. V. A. Zakharov (senior researcher at the MGIMO
Center for Caucasian Studies, author of the book “Chronicle of
Lermontov’s Life and Works”) in an interview with Radio Russia said that
(in his opinion) Lermontov was in Taman, but could not get from Taman to
Gelendzhik on way to the Olginsky redoubt.
The city is located off the coast of the Black Sea
around Gelendzhik Bay, at the foot of the western part of the
Markoth mountain range. The entrance to the bay, the width of which
is approximately equal to a nautical mile, is located between two
capes: the northern one is called Thin Cape, the southern one -
Tolstoy, since the southern promontory has a high and steep coast.
The city is located 25 kilometers southeast of Novorossiysk, 180
km southwest of Krasnodar and 250 km northwest of Sochi (by road).
The northern part of the Black Sea coast from Anapa
to Tuapse has much in common with the southern coast of Crimea. The
climate here, as in the South Crimea, is subtropical dry and is a
combination of sea and mountain. There is no climatic winter at all
or is no more than 5-7 days a year. The mild and even climate of
Gelendzhik in November and December can be disturbed by strong
northeasterns, which bring a sharp change in weather. There is a lot
of sun in Gelendzhik, with the greatest number of sunny days
occurring in the period from March to October. Light frosts and
heavy rains are observed from the second half of January to half of
March. In the rest of the year, such winds are not frequent here,
since the mountains, coming close to the coast, protect Gelendzhik
well from the northeast. For the same reason, the northeast in
Gelendzhik is much weaker than in Novorossiysk.
Influence of
the Black Sea on climate
In the depths of the Black Sea, the
temperature never drops below +7 ° C. In winter, warm water from the
depths rises upward and replaces the water cooled on the surface,
which goes down. Thus, in the winter months from the depths of the
sea, heat is constantly supplied to the surface, and the eastern
coastal monsoons prevailing at this time of the year drive away the
waters that have cooled down from the coast of the Caucasus, instead
of which the current coming from the shores of Asia Minor brings
warmer waters. Due to the described phenomena, in the eastern part
of the Black Sea, winter temperature, on average, is 6 ° C higher
than in the western half of it at the same latitude. In the summer
months, the opposite phenomenon occurs: the surface layers, which
are heated more than deep ones, are driven away from the Caucasian
coast by night breezes and are replaced by colder lower layers of
water. This lowers the temperature during the hot hours of the day,
when the breeze blows from the sea to the shore instead of the night
coastal wind.