In the ancient period in this area was the ancient Greek town of
Myrmekion and many ancient remains have been found. Yeni-Kale was built by
Ottoman Turks in 1699–1706 on the
Kerch peninsula that belonged to the
Crimean Khanate. The name
Yenikale means
New Castle in
Turkish (
yeni - new,
kale - castle). The fortress was built under the guidance of
Goloppo, who was an
Italian convert to
Islam. Several
French engineers also took part in the construction. Yeni-Kale was armed with powerful
cannons and took an important strategical place on the coast of
Kerch Strait. The fortress occupied area of 25,000 m2 and had two powder-magazines, arsenal, water reservoir, living houses,
bath-house and
mosque. About 800 Turkish and 300
Crimean Tatar soldiers were garrisoned in Yeni-Kale. The weak spot of the fortress was a lack of
drinking water in the area, so an underground water-pipe was made to bring water from a source located several kilometres away from the fortress. Yeni-Kale also served as a residence of the
pasha. During
the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 the Russian Army invaded
Crimea in the summer of 1771. Though reinforcements from the
Ottoman Empire had arrived beforehand, the Turks decided to abandon Yeni-Kale. Russian units under command of general
Nikolay Borzov entered the fortress on 21 June 1771. Abaza Muhammad Pasha who was a commandant of Yeni-Kale fled to
Sinop and the
sultan sentenced him to death for the number of military failures. After the
Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in 1774,
Kerch and the fortress of Yeni-Kale were ceded to Russia. The fortress became a part of the Kerch-Yenikale city municipality of the
Taurida Governorate. In the 19th century the fortress was used by Russians as a
military hospital. Since the 1880s Yeni-Kale was completely deserted. Today ruins of Yeni-Kale are often visited by tourists. The neighboring district of
Kerch also is named Yeni-Kale. == Gallery ==