Eski Yurt (; ; ) is a historical settlement in South West

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, presently a historical quarter in the western part of

Bakhchysarai Bakhchysarai is a city in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Bakhchysarai Raion (district), as well as the former capital of the Crimean Khanate. Its main landmark is Hansaray, the only extant ...

. Its name derives from the

Crimean Tatar language Crimean Tatar (), also called Crimean (), is a Turkic languages, Turkic language spoken in Crimea and the Crimean Tatar diasporas of Uzbekistan, Turkey and Bulgaria, as well as small communities in the United States and Canada. It should not ...

terms for "old settlement" or "old headquarter" and "felt tent". EskiYurt

History

In the times of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

Eski Yurt was a large, possibly urban settlement lying on an ancient trade route connecting the seaports of

Chersonesus Chersonesus, contracted in medieval Greek to Cherson (), was an Greeks in pre-Roman Crimea, ancient Greek Greek colonization, colony founded approximately 2,500 years ago in the southwestern part of the Crimean Peninsula. Settlers from He ...

and Kalamita with the interiors of the

Crimean Peninsula Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...

. The large size of the settlement may be proved by the size of its main cemetery Qırq Azizler (14th–15th centuries; now completely destroyed) which was the oldest and the largest one of all Muslim cemeteries known in the western half of the Crimea. Eski Yurt retained its significance after the rise of the

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate, self-defined as the Throne of Crimea and Desht-i Kipchak, and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary, was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the longest-lived of th ...

, which achieved independence from the

in 1441. Along with a fortified mountain stronghold named Qırq Yer and laying a mile to the east Eski Yurt might be used as the main residence of the first Crimean khans after they moved their court from Solkhat in the eastern part of the

to the South West, where Eski Yurt is situated. Eventually, after the new Crimean capital

had been founded in 1532, Eski Yurt lost its economic and administrative status (and apparently received its later name of "Old Settlement"; the original name remains unknown). Nevertheless, up to the beginning of the 20th century Eski Yurt was still considered by the

Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...

as one of the most important Muslim religious centers in the Crimea due to the sanctuary of Malik Ashtar which existed there.

Aziz of Malik Ashtar in Eski Yurt

The Aziz ("sanctuary") of Malik Ashtar was located in the central part of Eski Yurt. It was a large Muslim cemetery whose main object was the "

maqam Maqam, makam, maqaam or maqām (plural maqāmāt) may refer to: Musical structures * Arabic maqam, melodic modes in traditional Arabic music ** Iraqi maqam, a genre of Arabic maqam music found in Iraq * Persian maqam, a notion in Persian clas ...

" (symbolical tomb) of Malik al-Ashtar en-Nahai (618-658), a companion of khalif

Ali Ibn Abi Talib Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until Assassination of Ali, his assassination in 661, as well as the first imamate in Shia doctrine, Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muha ...

(618-657), actually buried in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Similar "maqam" attributed to Malik Ashtar is situated also in

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The Crimean Tatar tales portray Malik Ashtar as a dragon fighter and the brave warrior, who was the first to spread

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. According to the legends, he was wounded to the death in a battle with giants and died in Eski Yurt. Long time after, the legends say, his grave was discovered in a miraculous way by

dervishes Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

of the

Nakshbandi Naqshbandi (Persian: نقشبندیه) is a major Sufi order within Sunni Islam, named after its 14th-century founder, Baha' al-Din Naqshband. Practitioners, known as Naqshbandis, trace their spiritual lineage (silsila) directly to the Prophet ...

(or

Mevlevi The Mevlevi Order or Mawlawiyya (; ) is a Sufi order that originated in Konya, Turkey (formerly capital of the Sultanate of Rum) and which was founded by the followers of Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet, Sufi ...

) order, who established the shrine of his name. The

believed that those bitten by snakes may obtain healing visiting the Aziz of Malik Ashtar and praying there.http://www.eskiyurt.org.ua/chr_gasprali.html И. Г-ий (Гаспринский Исмаил), "Крымские азизы", //Восточный сборник Общества русских ориенталистов. 1913. (in Russian) The shrine was surrounded by a large Muslim cemetery with hundreds of engravements arranged in common graves, underground stone vaults and in mausoleums. As narrative sources state, the cemetery was a place to bury noble people including some of the Crimean Tatar rulers from the Giray dynasty. The mosque at Aziz, besides being a common prayer house, was also used as a "tekiye" for the

dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

es who practiced their mystical rituals and prayer dances inside it. The Muslim religious center in Eski Yurt attracted a lot of visitors and existed till the 1920s when the Soviet regime closed it along with many other shrines and temples of different faiths.

Current condition

In 1948, after the Deportation of Crimean Tatars, Eski Yurt village (along with practically all other Crimean towns and villages bearing non-Russian names) was renamed to "Podgorodnyeye" (). Eventually Podgorodnyeye was incorporated into the urban area of

. The area of the old settlement hides underground the ruins of the medieval town, covered with cottages, while the central square of the Aziz shrine was used as a market. After the

repatriation Repatriation is the return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as the return of mi ...

of the

had started in the late 1980s many Crimean Tatar activists and organizations demanded the removal of the market from the holy place. In 2004 a project to establish a museum at the site of Aziz had been worked out by the Bakhchysarai Historical and Cultural Reserve. In 2006 the market had been finally moved to a new place, opening the way to the Bakhchysarai Historical and Cultural Reserve to run their project of creating the new museum.

Remaining historical buildings

* Mausoleum of Bey Yude Sultan, the mother of Muhammed Şah Bey (14th-15th centuries). * Mausoleum of Ahmed Bey (a building of the 14th or 15th century, called after the name from a gravestone found by its walls). * Mausoleum of Mehmed Bey (16th century). * Mausoleum of Mehmed II Giray - a family shrine of the Crimean Tatar ruling dynasty. According to narrative sources, three Crimean khans were buried inside it: Mehmed II Giray (died 1584),

Saadet II Giray Saadet II Giray Crimean Tatar, Ottoman Turkish and (reigned 1584) was nominally a khan of the Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate, self-defined as the Throne of Crimea and Desht-i Kipchak, and in old European historiography and geography kno ...

(died 1588), Mehmed III Giray (died 1629). * A smaller

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

, often mistakenly called a

minbar A minbar (; sometimes romanized as ''mimber'') is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam (leader of prayers) stands to deliver sermons (, ''khutbah''). It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and le ...

(15th-17th centuries).

Gallery

File:Mausoleum of Bivede Sultan.jpg, Dürbe of Bey Yude Sultan File:Дюрбе (Кубовидне).jpg, Dürbe of Ahmed Bey File:Дюрбе Мехмед-бея в Ескі-Юрті.JPG, Dürbe of Mehmed Bey File:Дюрбе в Бахчисарае, 2022, 03.jpg, Dürbe of Mehmed II Giray File:Мимбер.jpg, Minaret

References

External links

{{commons category, Eski Yurt
O. Haiworonski, "An Overview of the Mediaeval Crimean Tatar Settlement of Eski Yurt", EJOS, VII (2005), No. 1, 1-11

Website by Oleksa Haiworonski on the Vanished Town of Eski Yurt
- in Russian; including the full library of carcesources' mentions on Eski Yurt. Crimean Tatars Crimean Khanate History of Crimea Former municipalities Bakhchysarai