Köhler's astonishing argument
Evpatoriia mosque
Mausoleum at Eski Yurt
Balaklava fortress
Mangup fortress
Genoese fortress at Sudak
Turkish bath at Feodosiia
Feodosiia Friday mosque
Fortress and mosque at Eski Sarai
Remarkably, 5 of the 8 monuments (and 74% of the budget of 44,100 rubles) were allocated to Turkish and Tatar monuments. Köhler thus became the first Russian official to acknowledge, and in fact insist on, the value of preserving the cultural landscape of the khanate. His opinion was not common currency in the imperial capital. Having reviewed the report, Golitsyn issued his opinion on the matter of Crimean antiquities: “Protecting the remains of Turkish and Tatar constructions is not as useful as protecting those of the Greeks and Genoese,” explained the minister, for the former could hardly be considered part of true “antiquity.” The fortresses at Balaklava, Mangup and Sudak therefore deserved the lion’s share of expenditures. In fact, instead of allocating funds for restoration, Golitsyn confirmed the official plan to convert the main mosque in Feodosiia into a church and tear down the Turkish baths in order to make way for an expanded city square. The mosques and burial sites at Eski Yurt, Eski Sarai and Evpatoriia were simply not the concern of the imperial government. The mufti was welcome to solicit contributions for their restoration from the local population and, if need be, from the entire Muslim population of the empire. The Senate and State Council accepted Golitsyn’s proposals, leaving the fate of several major monuments squarely in the hands of whatever private individuals – presumably beys or mirzas – might have the requisite wealth and devotion necessary to spare them further ruin.