Anapa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anapa (Russian: Ана́па) is a seaport town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. Population: 53,493 (2002 Census). It boasts a number of sanatoria and hotels; along with Sochi and several other cities along the Russian coast of the Black Sea, it has enjoyed a substantial increase in popularity since the fall of the Soviet Union, which left traditional Soviet resort cities in Crimea and the breakaway republic of Abkhazia in Georgia on the other side of a national border. Anapa is served by Vityazevo Airport (AAQ).
Anapa, like the other Black Sea coast resorts, has a superb sunny summer climate. Anapa shows beautiful (and mostly sandy) beaches. However, Anapa seldom attracts vacation-goers from outside Russia due to its modest infrastructure and its inconvenient accessibility from Western Europe via Moscow or Krasnodar. Anapa remains an attractive and inexpensive option for Russians who prefer traditional Russian resorts to more expensive destinations such as Antalya on Turkey's Mediterranean coast or Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, both noted for their popularity among Russians. Although home to many hospitals specializing in rehabilitation, Anapa and other cities along the Black Sea coast have not become havens for retirees, primarily because Russian pensions are very small, rarely exceeding 100 dollars a month.
[edit] History
The area around Anapa was settled in antiquity. It was at first a major port (Sinda) and then the capital of Sindica. The colony of Gorgippia was built on the site of Sinda in the sixth century BCE by Pontic Greeks, who named it after a king of the Cimmerian Bosporus. In the 2nd and 3th centuries BC, Gorgippia flourished, as did its guild of shipowners, which controlled maritime trade in the eastern part of the Black Sea. A fine statue of Neokles (a local potentate, son of Herodoros) was unearthed by Russian archaeologists and is now on exhibit at the Russian Museum. Gorgippia was inhabited until the third century CE, when it was overrun by nomadic tribes. These tribes, thought to be of Circassian or Adyghean origin, gave Anapa its modern name. The city was later conquered by Ottoman Turks, who completed a fortress in 1791. The fortress was repeatedly attacked by the Russian Empire and was all but destroyed during its last siege in 1829.
[edit] External links
- (Russian) Official website of Anapa
- (Russian) Information site of Anapa
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Cities and towns in Krasnodar Krai |  |
| Administrative center: Krasnodar Abinsk | Anapa | Apsheronsk | Armavir | Belorechensk | Gelendzhik | Goryachy Klyuch | Gulkevichi | Khadyzhensk | Korenovsk | Kropotkin | Krymsk | Kurganinsk | Labinsk | Novokubansk | Novorossiysk | Primorsko-Akhtarsk | Slavyansk-na-Kubani | Sochi | Temryuk | Tikhoretsk | Timashyovsk | Tuapse | Ust-Labinsk | Yeysk |
| North Pontic Greek colonies |
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|---|---|
| Tyras • Olbia • Borysthenes • Eupatoria • Chersonesos • Charax • Theodosia Kimmerikon • Nymphaion • Tyritake • Panticapaeum • Myrmekion Kepoi • Phanagoria • Hermonassa • Gorgippia • Pitiunt • Dioscurias • Tanais |
