Балаклава: введение в историческую топографию османского города 1475—1774 годов на Крымском полуострове

The article discusses the main points of the historical topography of the town of Balaklava, located on the Crimean Peninsula coast, which was part of the Ottoman Empire between 1475 and 1774. The author offers a graphic reconstruction of the general plan of Balaklava for the last quarter of the 18th century, the final stage in the life of this Turkish town. All basic elements of the historical topography of the late medieval town were recreated. The quarterly development plan and street network were reconstructed. The Ottoman city consisted of three fundamental parts: a fortresses with military and residential buildings, the town territory outside the fortifications and the unfortified suburbs. Localized were four city mosques, three Greek churches, one Armenian temple, a bathhouse, five fountains supplying the town’s population with water, one hotel — caravanserai, a market square with shops and coffee houses, shopping arcades, the main cemeteries of the town, a tile factory and vineyards in the northern suburbs. At the final stage of the Ottoman rule on the Crimean Peninsula, the total urban area of Balaklava was 10.2 hectares, including the ruins of the fortress of 3.3 hectares, the main territory of the town with an area of 5.8 hectares and the northern suburbs occupying 1.1 hectares.