Muslim Heritage of Ukraine.

MUSLIM HERITAGE OF UKRAINE

Day 1.  Trip to Podoliya

The first Muslims arrived at the territory of Ukraine in the IX century - more than a thousand years ago. 

Ukraine was destined to interact with Islam, as it was a frontier region neighboring the Muslim world: starting from the Volga Bulgaria, the Golden Horde (after its conversion to Islam), the Crimean Khanate, and finally – the Ottoman Empire.

Of course, interaction rarely had been peaceful, most of the time of its history Ukraine territory was a battlefield of big empires - Polish Rzeczpospolita, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Russian, and the Ottoman Empires. 

However, we know the cases when the Zaporizzhye Cossacks were in alliance with the Crimean Tatars and Turks (mostly for the fights against the Catholic Poland).

One of the historical periods which is of biggest interest to us is the XVII century when a part of Ukraine was occupied and included in Ottoman Empire.

It is called Podoliya- the neighboring district of the Lviv region (Galicia on the map).  

The Turks had stayed in Ukraine for a too short period (from 1672 until 1699) to leave significant marks, besides it was a time of constant fights when most of the buildings and monuments were destroyed.

However, we offer you the exclusive quest in search of those little treasures that remained from the residence of Muslims or somehow related to Islam. 

Rohatyn

Our first stop is the small town of Rohatyn – it is the birthplace of the famous Hürrem Sultan, the legal wife of Süleyman Kanuni (Süleyman the Magnificent). 

Her real name was Anastasia Lisowska, but we know her as Roxelana.

At the age of 15, during one of the raids of the Crimean Tatars, she was captured from Rohatyn, taken as a slave, and chosen for the Ottoman Palace. There she had managed to attract the Sultan’s attention with her beauty and intelligence and finally became Haseki Sultan, the most beloved wife and mother of Selim II (Sarı Selim). 

Now the beautiful monument of Roxelana stays in the center of town!

She was the daughter of an Orthodox priest and until now still exists the wooden church in which her father had served. This single church is also included in the UNESCO Heritage list. 

Now, move on further! 

Occasionally there are also few Turkish memorials and cemeteries in the region. They all are from the Great World War period. 

As you may know from history, Ottoman Turkey was one of the allies of the Austro-Hungarian Empire against Russia. And Turkish warriors took part in few war operations, “Ukrainian operation” was one of them. From August 1916 to August 1917 40000 Turkish troops fought in Galicia and Podolia. Incidentally, their ‘front-line neighbors’ were the Ukrainian national army - Sichovy Strilcy (Riflemen). From the memoirs of participants of those events, we know that the Turkish soldiers were very brave.

Hutisko and Lopushna

The biggest memorials are not far from Rohatyn - in the villages of Gutisko (officers' cemetery) and Lopushna. Cemeteries are in good condition, as local people are taking care of them. 

Khotyn

Our next stop is very impressive historical monument - the Khotyn fortress. 

It was conquered and owned by the Ottomans in XVII century.

There was a big mosque near the fortress. You can see its minaret on old pictures. 

Now there are remains of this mosque and the fortress stills looks powerfl. 

Day 2. 

In the evening we will arrive to Kamianets-Podilsky - one of the oldest cities in Ukraine. During Middle Ages, it was a large craft and trade center and was equal to Lviv and Kyiv. 

This is our main target. 

It was the capital of the Podolia Eyalet (Eyalet-i Kamaniçe) of the‎ Ottoman Empire - and it was called Kamaniçe. 

At that time this town was one of the best East-European fortresses, which was conquered by the Turkish Sultan Mehmed IV also known as Mehmed the Hunter (Avcı Mehmed) in 1672. 

Legend says that when he arrived to conquer it, he asked one of his generals: “Who has built such a mighty fortress?” “Allah itself”, came the reply.

Turks made serious reconstruction of the fortress, built a bridge which is still called Turkish bridge (you can see in on the drawing). It connects the Old Town, located on a peninsula, with the fortress.

During the Ottoman period, the catholic church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul became the main Muslim mosque of the Kamianets Eyalet. 

Until the present moment, mighty Turkish minaret (36.5 meters high) stands near the church. After returning of the Polish a statue of the Virgin Mary was established on the minaret (1756). 

There is a drawing of the ancient artist depicting a general view of the church during Turkish times.

Although it is just a sketch, an important detail attracts attention - there is no statute of the Virgin Mary on top of the minaret, only a crescent moon sign (which is also uncommon). 

But the first thing that Turks did after conquering the city - they opened the coffee-house  It was in 1672 and it was the first coffee-house in the territory of modern Ukraine.

In addition to the Castle, there is a picturesque historical Old Town, where there are not a single buildings of the XX century!

Fortifications of Kamianets-Podilskyi are still considered to be one of the best fortifications in Eastern Europe.

After the sightseeing tour over the city and ortress we come back to Lviv.