On the southern coast of the Black Sea between two big cities - Alushta and Yalta - Mount Ayu-Dag, or otherwise it is called Bear Mountain, is located on the southern coast of the Black Sea between two large cities - Alushta and Yalta. The height of the mountain above level of the Black Sea is 577 metres. The area of this mountain is more than four square kilometres. In 1974, it was declared a state wildlife preserve.
There are several legends about the name of the mountain. The most beautiful and slightly romantic legend tells of a beautiful girl. She lived on the southern coast of the Black Sea, amidst a large population of big bears. No-one knows how she got there, but what was known was that she'd been living with bears since since childhood. The bears loved and nurtured her, taking care of her. She had a beautiful voice and she sang well, and the bears loved to listen to her. One day, when none of the when none of the predators were home, a boat came to the seashore. In the boat was a wounded boy. She took him in her arms, and hid him in her little house. Into this the bears never entered. She began to treat the young man and hid his chuln and hid it far away from her home. And the day came when the young man grew strong and invited her to run away with him, in his chuln.
Frustrated and enraged the bears ran to the sea and roared furiously. They plunged their angry faces into the sea and began to drink the water greedily. Seeing the furious the girl began to sing. The bears took their heads out of the water and listened to her to her enchanting song. Only the old leader dipped his big head even deeper into the water. head into the water, trying to drink it all up. But not long afterwards. the lovers were gone, and he's been standing on the shore ever since, hoping to bring back the beautiful girl. After a while, he stopped moving altogether and petrified. His flanks turned into terrible rocks, his fur into a very thick forest, and and his back formed the top of a mountain.
If we take the Greco-Tatar language as a basis, Ayya Dag translated as the Holy mountain. Long ago, in the distant Middle Ages, this place was one of the many centres of of Christianity. A monastery with several churches was built on the mountain, and there were also there were several settlements. Ayu-Dag was also called Büyük-Kastel, and that translates as Big Fortress. Indeed, at the top of the mountain. of this mountain there are ruins of a very old fortification, which were built by the Taurians.
Bear Mountain has an advanced age - it is more than 150 million years old. The mountain was formed in the Middle Jurassic era. It's made up of igneous rocks, which called gabbro-diabase. Ayu-Dag was formed by lava pouring down to the surface.
On this mountain grows 577 species of various plants, 44 of them are listed in the Red Book. Red Book. Foxes, badgers, squirrels and martens are most often found on Ayu-Dag. Large cormorants and swift seagulls are frequent guests on the coast of the mountain, and in other places one can see owls, woodpeckers and gulls. owl, woodpecker, chirping sparrow and small tit. On the mountain the mountain is home to lizards and snakes. There are 16 species of different animals listed in the Red Book, that live on the territory of Bear Mountain.
