Kerch. Partisanski quarries.
I meet Ivan-the-Digger and his digger friends in the early morning, but they are not in a hurry to get down into the catacombs. We waste hours. At last, we take trolleybus #5 to Partisanski district.
Entrance to the quarries is just behind a monument to partisans. Access is very easy. First rooms are very dark, because of smoke, and littered with garbage, including syringes :-( A few steps farther, stone turns to fine white limestone, and the place is very clean and tidy. Catacombs are not popular here.
As the name of the place indicates, partisans hid in these quarries during the 2nd World War. The size of this system is uncertain, because my guides only know one part of it. Partisans are said to have used 3 levels, and there may be up to 7 floors, but I only saw one.
The quarry is inclined and follows a grid-like plan, so it’s very easy to find one’s way. Average height is 2 m. Exploitation was run with saws, in early XXth century. There are many quarrymen graffitis, with accounts and dates.
I soon realise that most guys in the group are not really cataphiles. They have not enough lights, wear poor shoes and light clothes unfit for underground temperature. They look nervous. They try to scare me with stories of rapes in the quarries. I show no reaction, and it makes them even more nervous. They think I’m crazy. It’s getting funny... for me.
After one hour underground, they exit to go to the beach. I’m disappointed. Fortunately, Ivan-the-Cataphile is not interested in swimming, and proposes another visit later in the afternoon.
This second visit is much more interesting. Ivan-the-Cataphile can tell a lot about these quarries... in English! :-) He says there is another quarry system in Kerch, inside a hill, where levels go up instead of down. You have to climb you way up to the next level inside the hill. I had never heard of such a quarry before.
Ivan-the-Cataphile has a very powerful neon light. He has been taking it underground for 6 years, and repaired it so many times that now he can fix it in the dark.
Entrance to the quarries is just behind a monument to partisans. Access is very easy. First rooms are very dark, because of smoke, and littered with garbage, including syringes :-( A few steps farther, stone turns to fine white limestone, and the place is very clean and tidy. Catacombs are not popular here.
As the name of the place indicates, partisans hid in these quarries during the 2nd World War. The size of this system is uncertain, because my guides only know one part of it. Partisans are said to have used 3 levels, and there may be up to 7 floors, but I only saw one.
The quarry is inclined and follows a grid-like plan, so it’s very easy to find one’s way. Average height is 2 m. Exploitation was run with saws, in early XXth century. There are many quarrymen graffitis, with accounts and dates.
I soon realise that most guys in the group are not really cataphiles. They have not enough lights, wear poor shoes and light clothes unfit for underground temperature. They look nervous. They try to scare me with stories of rapes in the quarries. I show no reaction, and it makes them even more nervous. They think I’m crazy. It’s getting funny... for me.
After one hour underground, they exit to go to the beach. I’m disappointed. Fortunately, Ivan-the-Cataphile is not interested in swimming, and proposes another visit later in the afternoon.
This second visit is much more interesting. Ivan-the-Cataphile can tell a lot about these quarries... in English! :-) He says there is another quarry system in Kerch, inside a hill, where levels go up instead of down. You have to climb you way up to the next level inside the hill. I had never heard of such a quarry before.
Ivan-the-Cataphile has a very powerful neon light. He has been taking it underground for 6 years, and repaired it so many times that now he can fix it in the dark.
posted by Juliette at 00:00
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