Anapa

The archaeological site of Gorgippia

The area around Anapa was settled in antiquity. It was originally a major seaport (Sinda) and then the capital of Sindica. The colony of Gorgippia (Greek: Γοργιππία) was built on the site of Sinda in the 6th century BCE by Pontic Greeks, who named it after a king of the Cimmerian Bosporus. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries BCE, Gorgippia flourished as part of the Bosporan Kingdom, as did its guild of shipowners, which controlled maritime trade in the eastern part of the Black Sea. A fine statue of Neokles (a local potentate, son of Herodoros) was unearthed by Russian archaeologists and is now on exhibit at the Russian Museum. Gorgippia was inhabited until the 3rd century CE, when it was overrun by neighbouring native tribes. These tribes, of Circassian or Adyghe origin (specifically of the Natkhuay tribe), gave Anapa its modern name.

Later the Black Sea littoral was overrun by successive waves of Asiatic nomads, including the Sarmatians, Ostrogoths, Huns, Avars, Gokturks, Khazars,Tatars and Circassians who are native to the Northwestern Caucasus. The settlement was renamed Mapa by the Genoese at the turn of the 14th century. Genoese domination lasted until the arrival of an Ottoman fleet in 1475. The Turks later built a fort against the Russian Cossacks. The fortress was repeatedly attacked by the Russian Empire and was all but destroyed during its last siege in 1829. The town was passed to Russia after the Treaty of Adrianople (1829). See Russian conquest of the Caucasus#Black Sea Coast. It was included in Black Sea Okrug of Kuban Oblast and was granted town status in 1846.[3]

It was occupied by Ottomans between 1853-1856 during the Crimean War. It became part of Black Sea Governorate in 1896. Elizabeth Pilenko, later named as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, was the mayor during the Russian Revolution. It became part of Kuban-Black Sea Oblast in 1920. During World War II, it was occupied and totally demolished by Nazi Germany with the help of Romanian troops between August 30, 1942 and September 22, 1943.

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Anapa serves as the administrative center of Anapsky District, even though it is not a part of it.[1] As an administrative division, it is, together with three rural localities, incorporated separately as the Town of Anapa—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.[1] As a municipal division, the territories of the Town of Anapa and of Anapsky District are incorporated as Anapa Urban Okrug.[6][7]

Commemorative coin of the Bank of Russia with a face of anapa of 10 rubles (2014)

The town boasts a number of sanatoria and hotels. Anapa, Sochi, and several other cities along the Russian coast of the Black Sea have enjoyed a substantial increase in popularity among Russians since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which left traditional Soviet resort cities in Georgia and Ukraine. Anapa is served by the Anapa Airport.

Anapa, like the other Black Sea coast resorts, has a superb sunny summer climate. Anapa has beautiful, mostly sandy beaches. However, Anapa seldom attracts tourists from outside Russia due to its modest infrastructure and its inconvenient accessibility from Europe via Moscow or Krasnodar. Anapa remains an attractive option for Russians who prefer the inexpensive Russian resort to other destinations.

• 
  Train station in Anapa
• 
  Anapa Airport

Transportation facilities include the Anapa Airport, a railway station, an international passenger port for small-tonnage ships, a bus station, and a network of highways.[12]

Anapa has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with mediterranean (Csa) influences at the lower elevations.[13]

The Town Theater of Anapa is located on Krymskaya Street. It was opened after the reconstruction of the Town Cultural Center.[17] There are twenty nine public libraries including four for children. In 2010 the libraries of Anapa received more than 8,000 books, and magazines and newspapers were ordered costing more than 1,000,000 roubles, in addition, nine hundred CDs were purchased.[18]

The only remaining gates of an Ottoman fort

Anonymous ruler of the city of Gorgippia (Anapa) in the Bosporan Kingdom, c. 180 AD, during the period of Roman Crimea. Or alternatively the Roman Emperor at that time, Marcus Aurelius.

There is museum of Local History (Краеведческий музей) on Protapova Street.[19]

• Maria Skobtsova[25]
• Valentin Mashukov
• Germogen Korolyov[26]
• Mikhail Boyur[27]
• Vitaly Astapenko[28]
• Vladimir Tsukanov[29]
• Anatoly Pakhomov[30]
• Tatyana Yevsikova[31]

• Kinoshock film festival[32]
• Blue-eyed Anapa song Festival
• Russian coast guard academy

Anapa is twinned with:

• Gomel, Belarus[33]
• Novy Urengoy, Russia[34]
• Larissa, Greece

• 
  Administration building
• 
  Anapa river
• 
  The sea in Anapa
• 
  Lighthouse
• 
  temple of Saint Onuphrius the Great
• 
  The only remaining gates of an Ottoman fort
• 
  Equestrian statue in Gemete restaurant of the Colosseum
• 
  Lenin Monument
• 
  Beach in the Little Bay
• 
  Concert platform "Summer Estrada"
• 
  Chapel of the Prophet Hosea

• Official website of Anapa Urban Okrug (in Russian)
• Anapa Information Portal (in Russian)