In 212 AD Greeks founded the city of Sugdeya (the Greek name of Sudak). At the site of fortifications in the period from 1371 to 1469 years the Genoese have created the perfect fortification system Soldayya (the Italian name of Sudak) which has survived till our time.

Sudak Fortress is situated on a high conical hill known as the Castle Hill. The preserved city walls has two tiers. One of them - the bottom - includes massive defensive wall with moat, towers and gates. This tier of defense lies at the foot of Castle Hill.

Upper level of Sudak Fortress is the Citadel consisting of Consular castle and west wall with towers. At the top of the Castle Hill stands Watch Tower (Maiden Tower). The total area of Sudak Fortress is around 30 hectares.

The height of the walls reached 6 meters and in some places 8 meters and their thickness was equal to one and a half to two meters. The height of the towers reached 15 meters.

The fortifications - walls and towers were built of local building material - gray limestone, sandstone and limestone. The stones are not always well-hewn and often irregular in shape. Most often large slabs lying interspersed with rough stones. This slabs and stones were put on a very thick layer of mortar with broken bricks and shards of tableware. The nature of masonry suggests that Sudak Fortress was built mainly by local craftsmen and masons.

A romantic legend connected with the Maiden Tower (Castle Tower).

There was in ancient times the local governor of the fortress - Archon. And he had a beautiful daughter which was the most beautiful in all of Tauris. The best general of King Mithridates Pontus - Diophantus wanted to marry the girl but she chose a poor shepherd. Archon did not want to think about this choice of his daughter because it would have been glad to get influential relatives. Someone was told Archon about the secret meetings of the shepherd and the princess and an angry father ordered to throw the shepherd into the well.

The girl bribed guards and freed her lover and hid him in her room. But the father knew about it and decided to act more cleverly. Archon sent a young man in Miletus (Greek city in modern Turkey) and ordered his servants to kill him.

"A year later the ship will be back and if your lover will be in love with you then you will see a white sign on the mast. I will not oppose your happiness. But if the ship will back with not sign - you have to marry to Diophantus", - said Archon to his daughter.

When the ship came a year later there was not a sign. The girl threw herself into Black Sea from the tower and broke. Since then the tower called the Maiden Tower.