3 km from the village of Ternovka, Chelter-Kaya mountain rises above the Shul and Kara-Kobinsk valleys. Its southern side, densely riddled with caves and grottoes, in the 12th century became a refuge for monks who founded a large cave monastery here with the wonderful name Chelter-Marmara, or "marble grate". It is said that at the foot of Chelter there was once a small village of Marmara.
Now only the name remains of it, and the faded clay shards, which are dotted with the southern slope of the mountain. Climbing it is rather exhausting. But upstairs the traveler will find an amazing and mysterious medieval monument of history and architecture.
The ancient monks lived in the bowels of the mountain for three whole centuries and sank into oblivion after the invasion of Turkish troops, which destroyed most of the cave monasteries of the Crimea. More than 50 cave rooms of Chelter-Marmara, for household and religious purposes, are located one above the other in 5 tiers. The once weathered limestone slopes of the mountain were decorated with numerous ladders, wooden balconies, walkways and ceilings that looked like a fancy lattice from afar. A similar sight could be seen in the monastery of St. Fedora on Chelter-Koba Mountain.
In the first tier of Chelter-Marmara, there were once about a dozen inhabited caves and several unoccupied grottoes. The second tier housed the "visiting card" of the cave city - the main temple of the medieval monastery was built in a natural 32-meter grotto. It was decorated with 6 massive columns, one of which later collapsed. Premises from the second to the fifth tier are interconnected and constitute a single architectural complex. Religious buildings were built on each of them - miniature cave churches and chapels. Stone graves were carved into the floor of the cave galleries, niches, windows, benches and traditional Greek crosses in the walls. A rag for wine production has also survived, as well as nests for installing pithoi. Every now and then the gaze stumbles upon the clearings under the hearths, eyelets for lamps, grain and drainage pits,numerous recesses for the installation of wooden beams. There are also interesting graphic images of animals and people. There are also memorable inscriptions made many centuries ago.
Now the drawings have practically disappeared, the latticed wooden floors have long been turned to dust, the stone stairs have become like children's slides. For many years the cave ensemble was empty. Only occasionally it was visited by researchers and tourists. At the beginning of the 21st century, the Simferopol Diocese began to revive the cave monasteries of the Crimea, and in 2007 people settled in the empty ancient cells again. The restoration work began thanks to an ordinary resident of Ternovka, Konstantin Gudkov.
One day he had an amazing dream. Konstantin flew through the air and found himself on the edge of a cliff. There was not a single cloud in the sky, and the sun's rays illuminated the valley. And then, according to Gudkov, "cartoons began." The dream was unusual and more like a prophetic vision than a dream. Konstantin began to pinch himself in the hope of waking up. However, this did not happen, and he heard a thunderous voice: "Do you know where you are?" Gudkov looked around - no one was near, familiar greenhouses could be seen below. "I know it's Chelter Marmara." And again thundered at the very ear: "You will restore!". “But I don’t have that kind of money either,” Konstantin was confused. "It's none of your business, wait!" - he heard in response and woke up. He sat on the bed, looked - and his hand was blue from pinching …
The next morning Gudkov went to the monks in the Shuldan Monastery to share an unusual dream-vision. He told everything as it is. Naturally, they did not believe him, they twirled a finger at his temple. And two years later, when no one else recalled what had happened, two people came to Konstantin: “We know that you will restore Chelter. Take us there, and the money will be found. " So he realized that the time had come. It took a long time to restore the monastery, collecting money "for a pretty penny". And some entrepreneurs presented the founders of an UAZ, and the business began to move forward - people reached out to Chelter. Konstantin realized that he could not cope further and wrote a letter to the Crimean diocese, with a request to send a hieromonk here. Soon the monk Agathon became the abbot of the monastery, who still reigns services in the main temple. 8 more monks joined him,and Chelter-Marmara has changed beyond recognition. Now it is a cave monastery, founded in honor of the Monk Savva the Sanctified. This man, more than one and a half thousand years ago, founded a cave church in the Judean desert, which turned into a vast Lavra, which is visited by thousands of pilgrims every year. He also developed the church charter, which is still used by Orthodox cave monasteries.
Now services are held in the monastery twice a week, Chelter has again acquired balconies, ladders and ceilings, so his 40-meter "facade" again began to resemble a lattice. The grottoes closed the walls of modern materials from prying eyes, inside two churches, the Holy Sepulcher and St. Nicholas, as well as in the Temple of Sava the Sanctified, church decoration appeared, the main value of which is 80 icons donated to Konstantin Gudkov by the Balaklava and All Saints temples.
Promotional video:
By the way, there is another mystical story connected with these icons. When Constantine was taking them to the monastery, it began to rain very hard. Lightning flashed to the right and left of the road. Gudkov got scared and thought to himself that if lightning struck right in front of his bus, he would not go anywhere. At that moment, he was overtaken by a motorcycle on which a guy and a girl were riding. Gudkov for some reason was confused, opened the minibus window and shouted into the sky: "Lord, give me a sign, otherwise I don't understand anything!" And suddenly letters began to appear in the blue-black sky. The strange phenomenon was repeated three times. In surprise, Konstantin turned off the engine and began to stare at the sky with fascination. The thunderstorm subsided, and Gudkov drove on. After driving a couple of hundred meters, he saw a motorcycle and a guy with a girl, huddled together, sitting on the side of the road. He stopped and asked:"Why aren't you going?" It turned out that their motorcycle stalled, and they also saw strange signs in the sky. Gudkov chuckled and said that he was “to blame” - he was carrying 80 icons in the car. He crossed them and said: "Go on, the motorcycle will start now." They looked at him as if he were crazy, but nevertheless started up and drove off. Later, Constantine learned what the strange signs meant - the Lord "wrote" the word "repent!" In Greek letters.
If the story seems far-fetched to you, I dare to upset you - there is a video on the Internet in which Gudkov tells these amazing events. So the author of the article did not come up with anything, just retelling the unusual stories associated with the restoration of the monastery. Not everyone likes it. Tourists who have visited these places earlier complain that now the entrance to the monastery is closed, and the archeological monument has been lost to researchers. However, not everything is so sad. Nothing can remain vile for years. In addition, modern monks have significantly ennobled the territory, removed the garbage accumulated around, made many convenient ladders, without which it would be impossible to inspect all the tiers of the monastery without special equipment. Now everyone, accompanied by one of the monks, can see in detail all the sights of the monastery. Besides the main temple,two churches and an unusual belfry, on the fifth tier of Chelter-Marmara there is a through grotto with a chapel, on the walls of which you can see many ancient graffiti. The entrance is now closed. Attempts to settle the premises ended tragically. The monks talk about something inexplicable protecting the ancient chapel. Once a particularly revered hermit lived here, and within the walls of a karst cave located not far from the through grotto, there was a life-giving spring.located not far from the through grotto, there was a life-giving source.located not far from the through grotto, there was a life-giving source.
At the top of the plateau, which offers stunning views of the Shul Valley, dotted with white squares of greenhouses, stands a wooden cross and a makeshift hoist. It is used to lower the soil intended for the monastery garden, where monks grow greenery in the beds all summer. On the plateau, you can see the remains of boundary fences 300 meters long.