AYA

Cape Aya ("the holy one" in Greek, Άγια) is a rocky promontory jutting out into the Black Sea southeast of Balaklava. This 13-km-long offspur of the Crimean Mountains separates Laspi Bay (to the east) from Balaklava Bay (to the west). The highest point is Blue Cliff, or Kokiya-Kiya (559 metres). A storm off Cape Aya is the subject of one of Aivazovsky's paintings. A Soviet guided missile system was located on Cape Aya. The headland is full of grottoes; it is protected as a national zakaznik.