Cape Aya (; ; ) is a rocky
promontory jutting out into the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
southeast of
Balaklava. This 13-km-long spur of the
Crimean Mountains separates Laspi Bay (to the east) from
Balaklava Bay (to the west).
The name of the cape derives from "holy one" in
Greek, “Άγια”.
The highest point, Kokiya-Kiya (literally "Blue Cliff") is . The headland is full of
grottoes; it is protected as a national ''
zakaznik''.
A storm off Cape Aya is the subject of one of
Ivan Aivazovsky's paintings. A Soviet guided missile system was located on Cape Aya.
Viktor Yanukovych, the former
President of Ukraine
The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...
, ordered the construction of a luxurious private residence on Cape Aya. The "New
Mezhyhyria", or popularly known as "Mezhyhirya 2" closed locals off from the coast, and was still unfinished when the
Revolution of Dignity ousted Yanukovych from his post.
References
Landforms of Sevastopol
Headlands of Crimea
Headlands of Ukraine
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