Eski-Kermen cave town, which was founded at the beginning of VI century, was a first-rate fortress for those times. Steep rocks are practically inaccessible and battle walls ware erected upper parts of crevices which were penitrable. Well protedtec gates and entrances were part of the defence system.
  Eski-Kermen was a large craft and trade center, but the basis of its economy was agriculture – wine-growing, gardening, horticulture. In the neighbourhood of Eski-Kermen there are remainders of irrigative system found as well as traces of terracing land-cites with wild-growing vines. Eski-Kermen was an important political and administrative center of south-west as well. In compliance with archaeological data the town fell at the end of XIII century. It was ruined and burnt in 1299 by Nogai, the Horde leader. Time finished destruction: piles of stone are covered with ground, grass and trees.
  A road led to the southern gates. It passed along the eastern gorge and went up along the eastern gorge in three flights. Wheel ruts are still seen on them. At the end of the road there were two front gates. The main gate started from the start of the street in a carved stone rock. They were double and opened inside. There was a tower over them and battle areas with parapets on both sides. Along the edge of the third flight of the road and before the main gate, the front wall was made. The main fortress wall went to casemates from the tower both sides along the edge of platteau. Only after destructing front wall and gaining the front gates, the enemy could come to the main gate. But even in this case defenders attacked the enemy from the gate tower, battle areas and main wall.
  Nothing remained of all those fortifications but carved rock and main gate traces. Hollows for posts are seen down and on sides. A wooden flat, covered with forge iron, like one on Chufut-Kale, was possibly fixed to those posts.
  At the beginning of the street there are caves of different purpose. One of them near the gate is a lodge, another was a passage into a gate tower. A complex of adjacent caves is to the right; here was a lafge temple. There is a conch with pontifical chair across the entrance, benches for parish to the right, a font to the left. The ceiling was supported by colomns, broken nowadays. This is the most ancient part of the temple which appeared together with the fortress. Later the temple was widened to the north and east, a door was made in the outer wall and a wooden staircase led downside. Tombs were carved in the floor.
  After your visit to the temple you'd better go from the main street westward to the casemate. It is situated in a ledge of a rock hanging over the road into the fortress. There are six holes in the casemate walls. They look like embrasures or loopholes. Stones were thrown through them and archers shot arrows when the enemy appeared at the turn of the first road flight. But the main purpose of the casemate was to protect the passage to the crevice.
  In order to pass to the second casemate you have to cross the plateau eastward. This fortification consists of four two-way connected cave premises with embrasures and battlements.
  Further at the edge of the steep there is a small temple of Assumption. There are fragments of wall-painting seen on its wall with the picture of God's Mother Assumption. This fresco is dated XIII century.
  The third casemate is not far from here. It also protected approaches to the crevice. Its guarding caves, connected by staircases and flights, are carved in a rock. Remainders of the fortress wall are still close to the casemate. It is made of large lime-stone blocks. Such 2-meter thick wall surrounded Eski-Kermen from south-east westward. In some places the wall was 3 meters high.
  Northward there was the forth casemate. Its battle caves, connected between each other, were made in two layers. This casemate controlled crevices from the north and approaches to the eastern pass into the town with the gates. A staircase led to the gates along the slope and its remainders are seen well.