Everything about Feodosiya totally explained
Feodosia ( ) is a
port and
resort city in
Crimea,
Ukraine, located on the
Black Sea coast. The name is often spelled as
Feodosiya and sometimes as
Theodosia (according to transliteration from ).
History
The city was founded under the name of
Theodosia (Θεοδοσία) by
Greek colonists from
Miletos in the
6th century BC. Noted for its rich agricultural lands, on which its trade depended, it was destroyed by the
Huns in the
4th century AD.
Theodosia remained a minor village for much of the next nine hundred years. It was at various times part of the
sphere of influence of the
Khazars (excavations have revealed Khazar artifacts dating back to the ninth century) and of the
Byzantine Empire.
Like the rest of
Crimea, it fell under the domination of the
Kipchaks and was conquered by the
Mongols in the 1230s.
Caffa
In 1204–1261 and 1296–1307 Kaffa was temporarily under Genoa's rival doge state's—Venetian—rule.
In the late
13th century, traders from
Genoa arrived and purchased the town from the ruling
Golden Horde. They established a flourishing trading settlement called
Caffa (or
Kaffa), which virtually monopolised trade in the Black Sea area and served as the chief port and administrative centre for the Genoese settlements around the Sea. It came to house one of Europe's biggest
slave markets.
Under Genoa since 1266, it was governed by a Genoese
consul, who since 1316 was in charge of all Genoese Black Sea colonies
It is believed that the devastating
pandemic the
Black Death entered Europe for the first time via Caffa in 1347, through the movements of the Golden Horde. After a protracted siege during which the Mongol army under
Janibeg was reportedly withering from the disease, they catapulted the infected corpses over the city walls, infecting the inhabitants. Fleeing inhabitants may have carried the disease back to Italy, causing its spread across Europe. However, the plague appears to have spread in a stepwise fashion, taking over a year to reach
Europe from
Crimea. Also, there were a number of Crimean ports under
Mongol control, so it's unlikely that Caffa was the only source of plague-infested ships heading to Europe. In addition, there were overland caravan routes from the East that would have been carrying the disease into Europe as well.
[1]
Kefe
Because the Genoese started intervening in the internal affairs of the
Crimean Khanate, a Turkish vassal, the
Ottoman commander
Gedik Ahmet Pasha seized the city in
1475. All the non muslim inhabitants of Caffa were deported to
Istanbul, where a
mosque still today remembers in its name (
Kefeli Mosque: in
Turkish "Mosque of the Caffariotes") the city.
Renamed
Kefe, Caffa became one of the most important Turkish ports on the Black Sea.
Later
Ottoman control ceased when the expanding
Russian Empire conquered the whole Crimea in
1783. It was renamed Feodosiya (Феодосия) in
1802, a Russian version of the ancient Greek name.
The city was captured twice by the forces of
Nazi Germany during
World War II, sustaining significant damage in the process. The jewish population numbering 3.248 before the German occupation was murdered by SD-
Einsatzgruppe D between November 16 and Dezember 15, 1941.
In
1954, it was transferred to the administrative control of the
Ukrainian SSR with the rest of Crimea.
The city today
Modern Feodosiya is a popular resort city with a population of about 85,000 people. It has beaches, mineral springs, and mud baths, and is renowned for its many sanatoria and rest homes. Apart from tourism, its economy rests on agriculture and fisheries, with local industries including
fishing,
brewing and
canning. As is the case in much of the rest of the Crimea, most of its population is ethnically
Russian and the
Ukrainian language is relatively little used there. In June 2006, Feodosiya made the news in connection with the
Crimean anti-NATO protests of 2006.
Feodosiya has a charm. It's not a big place. City is empty in the off-season time. Most of cafes and restaurants are closed. Season starts from approximately the second half of June. High season is July and August. This time city is overcrowded, but not too overcrowded. Most of tourists, like any other resort in Crimea are from former Soviet Union (Russia and Ukraine mostly).
Places to see: Charming embankment, Ayvazovsky picture Gallery (situated just on embankment, near a train station), Genoa fortress (if you stay on embankment towards a Black Sea, just turn to the right and walk a distance around 1 km.)
Miscellanea
- Feodosiya is known as the city where the seascape painter Ivan Aivazovsky lived and worked all his life.
- It is also the town where the general Pyotr Kotlyarevsky and the writer Alexander Grin spent the declining years of their lives.
- The town is well known as a birth place of the Russian Aviation, mountain "planernaya" is still being used for para-gliding.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Feodosiya'.
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