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Bogudonia – the fishing slums of Taganrog in Russia

The air here smells of salt, fish and rusty iron. Bogudonia is the fishing quarter of old Taganrog, its secret pocket on the very shore of the Azov Sea. Once very beautiful – with white houses, greenery and clean beaches – today this area looks more like an urban ghetto.

The first thing that struck me was the descents with ropes instead of railings. Leave your car at the top. Most of its streets are simply impassable: the streets are crooked and narrow. Below begins the territory of real life, where there is no place for parking apps. Further – only on foot. Some streets are just passages two meters wide, and somewhere even less.

Why go down at all. For the atmosphere. For the architecture, where adobe and brick meet metal without designers. For the noise of nets drying in the yards, and for the cats, who are clearly the main ones here. And of course, for the view of the bay, which makes you want to speak more quietly.

Historically, people used to fish here. This tradition lives in every detail: in the gear on the ropes, in the boats that spend the winter in the yards. The history of the area is inextricably linked with the Trinity Fortress. The area stands on the old fortifications of the Trinity Fortress, and the former bastions still dictate the relief, forcing the houses to climb the slope in a cascade.

They say that ancient ice cellars have been preserved here, where fish was once stored. Local historians retell legends about underground passages. Treat this as family tales – they may be inaccurate, but they are the ones that preserve the spirit of the place.

In the evening, when the sun sets behind the cape, Bogudonia falls silent. Only the sea can be heard. And in this silence you suddenly understand that it is happiness to just sit on the old deck, look at the water and feel that you are a part of something real.

By the way, do you know any other “secret” places in other cities of Russia that you should definitely visit?