Mount Akhun
| Mount Akhun | |
|---|---|
 Mount Akhun | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 663 m (2,175 ft) |
| Coordinates | 43°33′02″N 39°50′36″E / 43.55056°N 39.84333°ECoordinates: 43°33′02″N 39°50′36″E / 43.55056°N 39.84333°E |
| Geography | |
  Mount Akhun | |
Mount Akhun (Ахун) is a stand-alone mountain in the Khostinsky City District of Sochi, Russia. Wedged between the Matsesta and Khosta Rivers, this karst massif is the highest point of the Sochi littoral.
Peaks
The peak of Greater Akhun is 663 metres (2,175 ft) above sea level.[1] Its summit is marked by a 100-foot-tall Romanesque tower. It was built in 1936 from limestone ashlar. The tower offers panoramic views of the Western Caucasus as far south as Gagra and Pitsunda.[2] An 11-km-long serpentine road leads to the tower from the Sputnik Hotel.
Lesser Akhun rises to an elevation of 501 m (1,644 ft). Nearby are the ruins of a medieval Christian church. The entire massif contains about 20 caves. The forests support 200 species of higher plants.[3] The scenic Eagles' Rocks stretch along the right bank of the Agura River toward the Agura Falls.
Cultural significance
The mount was apparently sacred for the local Ubykh community.[4] Its name translates from the Ubykh dialect as "the mountain giant".[1]
Gallery
View from the top
The Akhun Tower
Statues of a man and a tiger. The type of tiger that inhabited the region of the Black Sea was Panthera tigris virgata,[5] which was closely related to Panthera tigris altaica.[6]
See also
References
- 1 2 Zdobnova, Marina (2013). My Olympic Sochi: Travel Guide. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
- ↑ "Îðëèíûå ñêàëû è âîäîïàäû âñåãî Àãóðñêîãî óùåëüÿ (ñ ïîäúåìîì íà ã. Àõóí)". old.sochiadm.ru. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ↑ "Гора Ахун и башня Большой Ахун | Сочи и Красная поляна | Культурный туризм". culttourism.ru. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
- ↑ Видовая башня на горе Большой Ахун - Зимние Олимпийские игры Сочи 2014 (in Russian). sochi2014.com. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
- ↑ Geptner, V. G., Sludskij, A. A. (1972). Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Vysšaia Škola, Moskva. (In Russian; English translation: Heptner, V.G., Sludskii, A. A., Komarov, A., Komorov, N.; Hoffmann, R. S. (1992). [ https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofsov221992gept#page/698/mode/2up/search/cheeta Mammals of the Soviet Union. Vol III: Carnivores (Feloidea).] Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation, Washington DC).
- ↑ Driscoll, C.A., Yamaguchi, N., Kahila Bar-Gal, G., Roca, A.L., Luo, S.-J., Macdonald, D. and O’Brien, S. J. (2009). Mitochondrial phylogeography illuminates the origin of the extinct Caspian tiger and its relationship to the Amur tiger. Plos One 4: 1–8.