Gezlev - a complex of medieval monuments of Evpatoria. Evpatoria is a city with a twenty-five-century history, located on the shores of the Kalamitsky Bay in the northwestern part of Crimea. As a resort, Yevpatoria took shape in the 19th century and since then has been a recognized leader in the tourism and medical industries in its region. The historical predecessors of Evpatoria were the ancient Greek colony of Kerkenitida and the medieval port of Gezlev, the greatest prosperity of which is associated with dominion on the Crimean coast of Ottoman Turkey from 1475 to 1774. The city becomes a major craft and trade center, there is a huge slave market, as well as a military garrison and a fleet.
In the XVI century. According to the project of the prominent Turkish architect and engineer Kodzhi (Khodzhi) Sinan, the Juma-Jami mosque, or Khan-Jami, was built. It rises above the Embankment and is far visible from the sea. The Friday mosque, Juma-Jami (on Friday, according to legend, the prophet Mohammed was born) was founded in Gezlev a year after the coronation of Devlet-Girey I - in 1552. This temple was created by the great Turkish architect Khoja Sinan (born in 1489 or 1490 . - died in 1599 or 1600), the author of many outstanding buildings in Istanbul, Adrianople and other cities of the Muslim East. In the lists of buildings of Khoja Sinan, the Juma-Jami mosque is listed at number 77. Construction took a long time, more than ten years, and was completed, as they say, in 1564. Under the vaults of the new temple, the right to the Crimean Khanate (firman) received in Istanbul was announced, sealed here by the signature of the khan in a special act that was kept in the mosque permanently. Recently, the Juma-Jami mosque was completely restored: the minarets and the gallery of the main entrance were thoroughly restored, the architectural details outside and inside that had become unusable were replaced according to the preserved samples. The Turkish baths (20 Krasnoarmesskaya st.), Tekie dervishes (the cult building of the Islamic brotherhood, famous for its ritual whirling) have also been preserved in the city center - now there is an ethnographic center of Crimean Tatar crafts.
In Gezlev, later Evpatoria, there was one of the largest communities of Karaites, you can see their religious temples - kenasas of the 18th century. (St. Matveeva, 68), get acquainted with the dishes of national cuisine and handicrafts.