A Famous Genoese Fortress (Sudak, Ukraine)

Sudak was an important well-defended trading centre on the Silk Road from China. Its most impressive sightseeing - Genoese fortress stands on a massive cliff overlooking the town and the Black sea.

It became an important location for trading on the Silk Road in the 12th and 13th centuries, despite attacks by the Kypchaks in the 11th century and further damages inflicted by the Tatars (in 1223, but also in 1239). The Seljuk Anatolian Sultanate of Iconium army and fleet from Sinop held and fortified Sudak in 1224.

The Venetians also came to Sudak at the beginning of the 13th century to take their share,[4] naming the fortress Soldaia, before ceding it to Genoese control in 1365. The Ottomans took control of Soldaia and all other Genoese colonies, as well as the Principality of Theodoro in 1475. Although Sudak was the strategical center of the qadılıq, the smallest administrative unit of the Ottoman Empire, the town lost much of its military and commercial importance, until the Crimean Khanate took over.

More photos, but less synthed can be found here:
http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=40f1686a-1479-43d7-92cb-3af81750aeab