Ayu-Dag ( crh, Ayuv Dağ, uk, Аю-Даг, russian: Аю-Даг, gr, Αγια (''Aya'' - "Holy")) is a summit of

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. It is also known under the Russified name ''Medved'-gora (Bear mountain)'' ( uk, Ведмідь-гора, russian: Медведь-гора). The summit is located 16 km north-east from

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Cri ...

between the towns of

Gurzuf Gurzuf or Hurzuf ( uk, link=no, Гурзуф, russian: Гурзу́ф, crh, Gurzuf, gr, link=no, Γορζουβίται) is a resort-town (urban-type settlement) in Yalta Municipality of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a territory recognized b ...

and

Partenit Partenit (, , , ) is a seaside urban-type settlement under the administrative jurisdiction of the town of regional significance of Alushta in the southern part of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a territory recognized by a majority of countries ...

. Its

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

name was Κριοῦ μέτωπον (Kriou Metopon), meaning ''Ram's Head''.Strabo, Geography, Book VII.4.3, X.4.2,5. The Slavic language variants of the

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

's name are translations from the Crimean Tatar name and mean ''Bear Mountain'' ("bear"- ''ведмідь'' in Ukrainian, ''медведь'' in Russian, ''ayuv'' in Crimean Tatar; "mountain"-''гора'' in Ukrainian and Russian, ''dağ'' in Crimean Tatar). The mountain is a

laccolith A laccolith is a body of intrusive rock with a dome-shaped upper surface and a level base, fed by a conduit from below. A laccolith forms when magma (molten rock) rising through the Earth's crust begins to spread out horizontally, prying apar ...

. Today its territory is a

Nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

(5.5 km²). There is a pioneer children's camp Artek near Ayu-Dag which is well known internationally. The eastern slopes of Ayu-Dag lead to an ancient settlement

. Remains of an early-medieval settlement and a number of churches were discovered here. In the 9th-10th centuries it was a well-known seaport, bound with cities of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. The western slopes lead to Artek.

References

Crimean Mountains Gurzuf {{Crimea-geo-stub