The following legend about the Simeiz rocks has been preserved in people's memory:

“A hermit settled in these places, having committed many sins in the past. A merciless and cruel warrior, for many years he devastated many countries with fire and sword, ravaged cities, burned villages, littering his path with dozens of corpses of defenseless old men, children and women. There were especially many girls on his conscience: he captured them both for his own pleasure and for sale into captivity. Terrible visions tormented this man for a long time. The victims of his atrocities rushed in front of him in a row, crying out for retribution. This villain decided to atone for his guilt towards his victims. He found a cave in the rocks of Simeiz and settled in it, ate only wild fruits, and only sometimes allowed himself to eat a little fish that he caught in the sea. He hoped to exhaust himself with fasting so that he would not even have the strength to remember.

Years have passed. Eventually people forgot the hermit's past. The new generation knew him as a man of pure life. He was known among the people as wise. To the shepherds who sometimes met the hermit, it seemed that there was a radiance around his head, and they considered this a sign of the man’s extraordinary righteousness. People rarely approached the hermit's cave. He did not like people: they reminded him of the past. Over the long years of loneliness, the old man finally forgot much of his past life. He forgot and began to believe that he had always lived the way he lived in the cave. I have never committed any crimes, I should not feel any remorse before people. He was imbued with great pride and increasingly looked at people as inferior, vicious creatures, no equal to him, the righteous man.

The devil and the evil spirit could not calmly take such an undeserved glory of the old man. After all, he was akin to them - a robber and murderer. They felt offended. They are no worse than him, but how they despise them and how they praise him! They began to look for some old inclination in the old man. They couldn’t find it: he had hidden his former greed, cruelty, and depravity far away. We thought for a long time about how to approach his soul. And they came up with it. The devil turned into a cat. On a stormy night, he began to scratch at the door of the hermit’s cave and meow pitifully. The old man took pity and let the cat into the warmth. And the cat took root in the cave. She slept during the day, hunted at night, and in the evenings she purred her songs by the fire. These songs painted pictures of a quiet life by the fireside, surrounded by children and loved ones, for the hermit. The old man became furious. His hardened heart had never before had room for such human joys, and even now they were hateful to him. The old man grabbed the cat by the tail and threw it out of the cave...

The devil and the evil spirit laughed with pleasure: they forced the hermit to show his true soul. It was the evil spirit's turn. He turned into a beautiful girl. And when one day the old man threw a net into the sea to catch fish, an evil spirit slipped into it. The hermit pulled the net ashore, and in it was not a fish, but a girl, barely covered with the remains of her clothes. Lying with her eyes closed, fresh, seductive. The old man was amazed at such a wonder, rushed to the girl, and began to bring her to her senses.

The beauty sighed, opened her eyes slightly, and looked tenderly at the hermit. He smiled at the girl and sat down next to her. I wanted to ask who she was and how she got into the network. And the girl threw her hands on his shoulders and kissed him hard on the lips. The past woke up in the hermit. He greedily attracted the beauty to him...

The devil and the evil spirit laughed with pleasure, which once again forced the hermit to show his true soul. Their malicious laughter rang out like thunder.

But the good forces of the world could not tolerate the desecration of what is sacred to the human race: the family hearth and pure love. They could no longer endure the deception that the hermit sowed. And as punishment they turned all three into stone...

And from that time on, the Diva rock stands by the sea, the Monk rock does not take its eyes off it, and behind them, as if guarding them, is Mount Cat.”

Not inferior to other Crimean villages.

Rock Diva is its main attraction. Its height is 51 meters, and the picturesque landscape opening from the top is rarely seen in other similar places. Like the village itself, Diva has a certain flavor that needs to be felt.

I first climbed it while on vacation at a children's camp when I was 12 years old. At this age, probably like all children, I paid little attention to the beauty around me, but it was this moment that became decisive - I have been returning to this place year after year for more than 8 years.

A little history

Like many natural attractions, the appearance of the Diva rock is surrounded by many legends and stories, but local residents liked one of them more than the rest.

A love that lasts forever

A long time ago, when Crimea was covered with dense forests, and there were no more than a dozen people on the peninsula, a hermit appeared by the sea. He was quiet and unsociable. But behind this mask was a truly cruel killer. The rumor about his terrible deeds spread far beyond the peninsula. But a man with such sins could not live long, and in order to atone for them, he decided to settle in Simeiz. He never spoke to anyone, and people no longer remembered where the old man came from. And they simply called him Monk. But the evil forces remembered him. And they decided to find the hermit’s weak point and show him that he would not change. For a long time they searched for anger and greed in the Monk’s soul, but there was nothing left... Angry, the devil turned into a black cat and came to the Monk's cave in the rain, asking for shelter. The old man took pity and let the cat live with him. This is weakness, the evil forces thought. The cat lived with the Monk for a long time, until one night she heard the former robber calling some girl in his sleep...

And the evil spirits realized that the old man’s main weakness was love and family. And they decided to tempt him. In the morning, when he was fishing, the evil spirit turned into the body of a beautiful girl and swam into the net to the Monk. He pulled his catch ashore and saw that the matter was lifeless. “Diva,” said the killer, captivated by her beauty. The monk leaned over and kissed the girl. Finally, they managed to tempt the Monk, and the evil forces rejoiced. But not everything in the world is injustice. The good forces stood up for love and sent their anger to all three. The evil spirit in the girl, trying to escape, ran to the sea and froze like a stone. The monk remained standing in his place. And behind them, that same black cat froze forever. Since then, “Diva” has been standing on the water, “Monk” is looking at her, and “Cat” is guarding them all.

How to get there

Any tourist can visit the Diva rock, it is absolutely free. In order to get there, first of all you need to get to the Simeiz bus station.

You can only get to Simeiz by bus:

• from Simferopol. WITH railway station Buses depart every 40 minutes to. Travel time is about 3 hours, and the fare varies from 200 to 300 rubles. The bus arrives at the Simeiz Bus Station;
• from Yalta. By regular bus or minibus. Travel time - 1 hour. The fare is 30-60 rubles;
• from Sevastopol. Also by regular bus, which runs every 2-3 hours. The fare is 100-200 rubles, travel time is 1.5 hours;
• from anywhere in Crimea by taxi. The price will vary from 500 to 3000 rubles.

You can choose any of these methods, but you will only get to the Simeiz bus station. There is no public transport in the village itself, and you can get around either by personal car or on foot.

From the bus station, go down the main road, after 400 meters you will see an alley, and in the center there is a cafe-bar "Jerzy". Immediately behind it there are two paths: one to the left, the other to the right.

One leads you to the descent to the beach - it goes to the left, to the right - a path leading down to the Diva rock. We go straight, the main city beach will be visible from below, a cypress alley on the right, and a beautiful rock ahead. When the path leads you to a small patch, this will be the next starting point. Now we will move down the steps in the rock.

The steep climb

I advise you to be very careful. The steps are made of gabrodiabase and are always very slippery. If it is possible to go down barefoot, then it is better to do so. Having gone down the steps, we begin to make our way between the huge boulders that lie near the Diva rock. This is a great place for swimming when there is no storm. There is a lot of algae on the rocks, and you can often see dolphins around early in the morning. When we go around the stones, we will see a flimsy iron bridge. Be careful, this structure is many years old and is quite rusty. Having crossed the bridge, we will come across a steep, high staircase. This is the climb to Diva.

To the top

You will have to be patient, as there are a lot of tourists in the summer, and you will probably have to move very slowly. Separating two people on the stairs is quite difficult, so you may be missing a lot of people. The ascent will take on average 10-15 minutes, but if you have poor physical fitness, it may take a little longer, since the slope of the stairs is almost 70 degrees. But there is no need to scare you, because the panorama that opens from the top is truly unforgettable.

We overcome the last step and see a small balcony fenced with an iron fence with a bunch of colored ribbons and wedding locks on it. And all around is the endless Black Sea and a beautiful peninsula. Cypress parks of Simeiz, Monk rock and Mount Cat. You can see the Blue Bay water park and the famous Simeiz Observatory, as well as an abandoned gas rig in the sea.

If you love nature as much as I do, then you will understand exactly why I consider Diva Rock one of most beautiful places in Crimea.

Things to do

If you are afraid of a high climb, then believe me, not a single person has ever regretted climbing to the top. Well, a good bonus for extreme sports enthusiasts will be:

• trolls right in the sea (500 rubles per person);
• bungee jumping (700-900 rubles per jump).

These services can be purchased directly at the top.

If that's not enough and I haven't convinced you to go up, then rent a catamaran on the beach or just sail around Diva. The chance to see dolphins and seabird nests is worth it.

DIVA WONDERFUL

(Skala Diva, Simeiz village)

The town of Simeiz is located 15 km west of Yalta. The name "Simeiz" comes from the Greek word "simazi, simeyuto, simeion" - "sign, omen", that is, an easily recognizable place. The picturesque Simeiz rocks Kosh-Kaya, Panea, Diva, Swan Wing are really hard to miss. There was once a mountain collapse here. Part of the limestone edge broke away from the general massif of the yayla and slid towards the sea, covering its path with fragments of rocks. A long process of weathering, lasting thousands of years, gave these giant blocks a bizarre appearance. This is how these rocks were formed.

In the programs of esoteric excursions, one of the Simeiz rocks is listed as “the point of projection onto the DNA matrix of Humanity.” Wow! We are talking about the Diva rock (Jiva-Kaya, Dziva, Chiva).

It rises with a pointed 53-meter peak at the edge of the sea surf. In the Middle Ages, there was a guard fortification on the rock - an observation point; now there is a viewing platform there. In order to climb it, you will have to overcome 260 stone steps. The ascent with elements of mild extreme sports: steep steps polished to a shine by the feet of thousands of tourists, iron handrails missing in places. But as a reward, a magnificent panorama of the coast will open before you, Blue Mountains and endless sea space!

The gray sides of the Diva are decorated with “palms” of gills and resins. Herring gulls, not paying attention to the climbing people, rest on warm stone ledges.

The jump from Diva was captured in the film "Amphibian Man". Local residents claim that Diva was favorable to the daredevil: for many years the stuntman came to Crimea and made fantastic jumps, delighting vacationers.

Behind the Diva, at the very edge of the surf, is the little that remains of the stone Monk. An image of the rock can be seen in old lithographs and photographs. The pillar-shaped block strikingly resembled a human figure in a long robe with a hood on his head. Winds and waves have been eroding this rock for a long time; the earthquake of 1927 pierced it with deep cracks, after which the Monk had to be “belted” with a metal cable. The severe January storm of 1931 was fatal for Monk. With a terrible noise, the monolith fell apart into several pieces, forming a blocky chaos among the coastal waters. Today, instead of the Monk, there are huge boulders resembling a stone flower.

There are legends about the picturesque group of Simeiz rocks - the Diva, the Cat and the Monk. The main character is a repentant sinner who lived for many years as a hermit in these parts (his sins were obviously serious, since such a severe punishment befell him: to be turned into stone, but this is not enough - to be torn to pieces by the stone). The legend has a historical basis: there actually was a monastery at Monk Rock. The monks settled on the Panea cliff (from the Greek “Panaia” - “Most Holy” (Virgin Mary)), which rises opposite the Diva rock. Excavations have shown that in the Middle Ages there was a fortified monastery here. Successively, temples on Mount Panea were built by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. The Genoese, having captured these regions in the 13th century and owned them until the 15th century, rebuilt the monastery into their fortress; the remains of the fortress walls can still be seen today.

in the section

Rock Diva is one of the natural attractions of Crimea, located in Simeiz, near the sea pier, right in front of the mountain. These picturesque Crimea owe their origin to a mountain collapse that occurred several thousand years ago. Apparently then, part of the yayla slid down to the sea, and the weathering process over a long period of time completed the picture and gave these Crimean rocks a bizarre appearance.

In the Middle Ages, there was a guard fortification on the rock - an observation point; now there is a viewing platform there. In order to climb it, you will have to overcome 260 stone steps. The ascent with elements of mild extreme sports: steep steps polished to a shine by the feet of thousands of tourists, iron handrails missing in places. But as a reward, you will see a magnificent panorama of the coast, blue and endless sea expanses! The staircase was depicted in the film “Ten Little Indians”. It was precisely along it that the film’s heroes climbed upon their arrival on the island, which became the last haven for some of them (according to the plot, of course).

Its name rock Diva received for her resemblance, when viewed from the beach, to a slender female bust with long flowing hair. There are also beautiful legend, which tells how an evil spirit turned into a beautiful girl, but good forces turned her into a stone statue.

Drunk driving is one of the main causes of accidents on the road, therefore all companies that have service vehicles for transportation are required to organize a pre-trip inspection of car drivers. The purpose of conducting a pre-trip examination of the driver is to detect health problems among drivers, the use of alcohol or other drugs, and fatigue. If these problems are present, the driver is prohibited from driving the vehicle.

Previously, between the Diva rock and the shore there was the Monk rock. An image of the rock can be seen in old lithographs and photographs. The pillar-shaped block strikingly resembled a human figure in a long robe with a hood on his head. Winds and waves have been eroding this rock for a long time; the earthquake of 1927 pierced it with deep cracks, after which the Monk had to be “belted” with a metal cable. The strongest January 1931 became fatal for Monk. With a terrible noise, the monolith fell apart into several pieces, forming a blocky chaos among the coastal waters. Today, instead of the Monk, there are huge boulders resembling a stone flower.

On the shore just above Diva there is the 80-meter cliff of Panea, at the foot of which are preserved the remains of the medieval fortified monastery of Panea-Isar in the 8th-15th centuries, used by the Genoese as a fortress. The remains of a 10th-century basilica with a mosaic floor and a stone crypt with thirty Byzantine burials from the 8th-10th centuries have been discovered.

Reading time: 4 minutes

The coat of arms of the Crimean village of Simeiz is marked with the image of two unusual relief forms - Mount Koshki and the Diva rock. Rock formations on Black Sea coast famous for their picturesque views. In their silhouettes, people were able to distinguish the features of various characters. Off the coast of Simeiz, the beautiful maiden Diva lowered her hair into the water, and behind her lurked a giant Cat.

Geographical position

Rock Diva is located in the southwestern part South Coast Crimea, in the waters of the village of Simeiz. Its coordinates according to the GPS navigator:
N- 44.400785
E - 34.001045
This corresponds to approximately 44 N latitude. and 34th century. d.
Measurements showed that the height of the rock is 51 meters above sea level.

origin of name

The rock has two official names - Diva (in Russian) and Jiva - kaya (in Crimean Tatar). Etymologists put forward several versions about the origin of the name.

1. Diva from the word “virgin” is a beautiful girl, a young girl.
2. Diva/Jiva from the Indo-Aryan word diva - “god, divine” or jiva - “living, soul”.
3. Jiva from the Crimean Tatar word civa - mercury.

History of appearance

The group of Simeiz rocks - Cat, Diva, Panea, Monk - are a breakaway part of the general massif of the Crimean Mountains. They are made of malleable limestone rocks. During one of the earthquakes, the outermost section of the mountainous Crimea was torn away from the main ridge and slid towards the sea. On the way forward, smaller rock formations separated from it.

They were exposed to external factors, primarily water and wind. As a result of weathering, the rocks acquired a picturesque appearance, and the outlines of familiar objects began to appear in their silhouettes. The upper part of the Diva rock resembles a woman's bust with flowing hair.
The uniqueness of the rock is also in the fact that it still continues its slow movement, gradually moving away from the shore deeper into the Black Sea.

Legends of the Rock

According to legend, in ancient times a gloomy hermit settled in caves by the sea. He tried in solitude to atone for his enormous sins. Being a stern warrior, he repeatedly raided foreign lands, robbed, killed, and raped. He took beautiful girls captive and sold them into slavery.
The old man had to live alone for many years before the past was gradually erased from his memory. People also forgot about his past deeds. They began to treat him with respect, as if he were a righteous man. And the monk was overwhelmed by pride. He boasted of his sinlessness and incurred the wrath of higher powers.

The devil decided to play a cruel joke on the monk in order to show the true appearance of the arrogant man. First, Satan turned into a cat, which, with its gentle purring, reminded the hermit of everything that he had destroyed and destroyed in his youth. And then the tempter appeared before the monk in the guise of an innocent girl. The monk could not resist the temptation and chased the maiden. Here the wrath of God overtook him: he was petrified a few steps from the fugitive. But the maiden and the cat were also turned to stone.

The famous comedian Ostap Vishnya heard this story during his stay in Crimea. Based on the legend, he came up with his own version of “The Virgin and the Monk,” which was published in the collection of short stories “Under a Lonely Sail.”

Unfortunately, the Monk rock has not been preserved to this day. It collapsed into a pile of boulders (6–7), occupying the space halfway between Jiva-kaya and Kosh-kaya. The path from the shore to the beginning of the stairs leading to the top of Diva is trodden along these stones. In the past, there was a lookout point here, from where sentries surveyed the surroundings in order to notice the approach of strangers in time.

Now at an altitude of 45 meters there is an observation deck from which visitors can admire the opening panorama. Going up is not difficult. To do this, it is enough to overcome 260 steps of the stairs. The ascent takes approximately half an hour. For the convenience of tourists, several recreation areas have been created.

The peak of Jiva-kaya and its slopes attracted the attention of filmmakers. Spectacular scenes from the popular Soviet films “Amphibian Man” (1961), “New Adventures of the Elusive” (1968), “Ten Little Indians” (1987) were filmed here. The jumps performed by stuntmen in films still inspire cliff diving enthusiasts. Sometimes attempts to dive from a cliff into the water end tragically.

Observation deck It is surrounded on 3 sides by fencing. There are many scarves tied to it. Visitors believe that a person who leaves his scarf on the rock will return to this wonderful place again.

Nearby attractions

View of the mountain "Cat"

In addition to Diva, tourists are advised to explore other Simeiz rocks - Panea, Cat, Swan's Wing.
Panea cliff (height 80 m) is located opposite Jiva-kaya. From its top, the beauty of the neighboring Diva is fully revealed. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a monastery that existed on the cliff in the Middle Ages. The Genoese, who came to power in the 13th century, rebuilt it for defense needs. The ruins of the fortress are still visible.

Clumps of boulders between Diva and the beach are all that remains of Monk Rock. From a distance, the 48-meter stone monolith resembled the outline of a man in a monk’s hood. In 1927, the rock cracked under the impacts of a strong earthquake, and the storm of 1931 completed the destruction.

Simeiz perched under the side of Mount Koshki (from the Turkic Koshkaya - “sheep”). Its height is 250 meters. The hill is interesting for its picturesque stone chaos. More than 10 species of relict trees listed in the Red Book grow on it. The ancient Tauris considered the mountain sacred.
Near the face of the stone cat one can see a rock formation in the form of a raised wing of a bird - “Swan Wing” (height 95m). Both mountains are natural monuments.

How to get there

From the Yalta bus station you can get to Simeiz minibuses No. 26 and 36. From the Simeiz bus station you need to walk west to the alley of cypress trees and along it to the “Ezhi” cafe. At the columns, turn south and walk without turning towards the Panea rock. From the cliff there is a path to Diva. Or you can first go down to the village beach and walk along it to the stairs.