Two collapsible candlesticks, 3 pounds of candles, some the Finnish knifes, some field-glasses, a long strip of felt, a box od powder (means from fleas), for ladies — 3 steams of black stocking, two top skirts, two pairs wide trousers… It is only small part of that set which hundred years ago advised to take to the tourists going to Crimean mountains.

Shish kebab on Chatyrdag

Visiting of the Crimean mountains in the XX-th century beginning became rather fashionable. The most popular and the route on Ai-Petri was demanded. The excursion season usually began in March-April and came to an end in October. The majority of tourists came from St.-Petersburg and Moscow, basically they were scientists, teachers and students, doctors, officials and military men. In a role of guides active workers of the Crimean mountain club (the first tourist organization of the Russian empire) first acted, them began to prepare from among school teachers.

Excursions were usually spent in horse crews horses for which rented at local peasants. For those who went to mountains on foot, tracks, and on Chatyrdag, between caves of Tysjachegolovaja and Holodnaya have been laid, in 1893 have constructed the first tourist shelter — «a stone shed with an iron roof and the simple center». It contained 10 persons, and usually in it those who was going to visit caves stopped. From May till October in a shelter there was a watchman. The original duty regulations said that the watchman of a shelter «on request of visitors should put a samovar, give ware or put tea or coffee glasses, a tax, whenever possible, milk, eggs to fry a shish kebab (if the traveler extracts a ram from the next shepherds). He is obliged to spend in caves, to give, how much will demand, candles. In case of a cold spending the night can demand, that it has spread out in a fireplace fire». The payment for a shelter made 20 copecks per night.

The Tatar philanderers

On Southern coast horse walks in mountains with porters in which role young Tatars acted have been rather extended. The glory about the best porters was passed from group to group, tourists photographed them often. These daring handsome men used special popularity at arrived to have a rest from the husbands of women of fashion. Ladies left on single horse walks accompanied by the equestrian-porter. Also paid accompanying not only for services of the guide. Advocates of morals were indignant that porters have made the whole trade unions in the Crimean cities and earn not so much direct duties, how much man’s prostitution, tempting women. Though especially to tempt anybody and it was not necessary — ladies ran after local philanderers. And in newspapers continually there were scandal stories. For example, how a widows from Moscow without being content with summer flirtation with porters, have decided to have them constantly near and have for this purpose written out from Yalta to Moscow. Or how the young Muscovite has turned a head to the porters entertaining before his arrival of other health-resort visitors. The embittered ladies have bribed one of porters which has got the beauty in mountains where it was waited already by the conspirators. Cruelly having beaten the competitor, ladies have taken away from it a dress and have forced to return back naked. In one of newspaper articles of porters named cocottes of a male. Also have received in the answer the indignant letter from the reader: «It is not at all» cocottes of a male «, but men with soul and temperament about what our Russian men have no idea!»

For raw materials for machine tools

The Soviet power has tried to place tourism in the service to a national economy, so to say, to combine business with pleasure. In 1932 the Society of proletarian tourism and excursions (SPTE) has organized an all-Union research campaign «For raw materials for five-years period machine tools». Tourists should search for the rubber-bearing plants meeting in territory of the USSR. Those who went to Crimea, should collect seeds of the Crimean dandelion (they were potential raw materials for manufacture of natural rubber). The basic searches have concentrated near Sevastopol, but this campaign hasn’t given essential results — on hunting behind dandelions there were only 25 tourists, and the recommended 10 tons (!) Seeds it to collect, of course, it was not possible. The invention from a sowing campaign in 1933 has failed also. It was planned that in Crimea will be directed on kolkhoz fields of 20 000 proletarian tourists which will take part in sowing and will help peasants under repair agricultural machinery. Instead of 20 thousand on fields there were some tens which it seems have helped sowers not so much, how much have prevented.

The mountain has ah-petri saved the status of the main tourist object of Crimea and after revolution. In 1930 here began to rise not only for the sake of a magnificent kind but also to look at the project of the first in the USSR power stations. The project has been presented at the exhibition which has opened at the Ajpetrinsky camp site.

By the way

Novels of capital ladies were discussed with the Crimean porters not only on pages of newspapers, this plot and in the literature was beaten. Chekhov has a story «the Long tongue», which heroine, having returned from the south, shares with the husband impressions about mountain walks and the porter Sulejman. «The Petersburg newspaper» in 1909 notified readers that Kuprin writes the new story from the Crimean life in which the main character is the Tatar-conductor. Affirmed that to this story the author had been composed the following epigraph:

I would like to be a porter

In mountains to skip in fun the wild

Cards with the Crimean porters, beginning ХХ century

It was easy to distinguish porters on appearance — they put on in short velvet coats, the breasts embroidered in all width a gold or silver thread, and carried the high varnished boots. The city authorities of Yalta, struggling for morals, tried to turn out porters from quay where those usually crowded, and to forbid them to carry evident suits.

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