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 Once
the son of khan Mengli-Girey went on hunting. It was a successful
day for hunting as a lot of foxes, hares and 3 wild goats were hunted
down.
The son of the khan wanted to be alone. He sent the slaves with
the prey away to the fortress, penetrated into the thicket, jumped
off the horse and set on the stump near the Churuck-Su river.
Suddenly he heard a rustle. A snake crawled out of the bushes.
Another snake followed it. A death skirmish began...
One snake, biten and broken down, stopped resistance and hung it's
head. The third snake hurried to a fighting field. It threw over
the winner and a new slaughter began.
But the son of the khan observed the snake which had been won.
He thought about his father, his kin. Now they are like that half-dead
snake. There is a battle somewhere and who will be the winner: the
Golden Hordes or the Turks? Goodness knows. But he and his father
do not arise, like this snake...
Some time had passed. The young khan noticed that the snake began
to move, it creeped to the water with difficulty. Having strained
every nerve, it reached the river and sank into the water. The half-lived
snake coiled quicker and quicker. When it creeped to the shore,
there was not a sign of wounds to be seen.
The son of Mengli-Girey was exulted, that was a lucky sign! They
are to be arisen! They will be revived as that snake...
He jumped up the horse and darted off to the fortress. He told
his father what he had seen near the river. They started waiting
news from the battle-field. And it came at least: Ottomanskaya Porta
overcame khan Akhmed, who exterminated all Girey's warriors long
ago and Girey was driven to the fortress on the steep rock.
The old khan ordered to build a palace where the 2 snakes gripped
at the death battle. That was the history of Bahchisarai. The khan
ordered to carve the 2 snakes, creeped in death skirmish on the
coat of arms.
Bahchisarai means the palace in gardens, built at the end of 14
century. It became the capital of the Crimean khanate in the 15
century. The khan Mengli-Girey fought with the Golden Horde for
the independence of the Crimean khanate for a long time. The Golden
Horde fell to pieces in 1502 and khan Mengli-Girey had built the
palace on the left coast of the river Churuck-Su. There is an image
of the 2 fighting snakes at the gates of khanate Palace up to now.
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