Novyi Afon

Novyi Afon 

an urban-type settlement and health resort in Gudauty Raion, Abkhazian ASSR, situated on mountain slopes along the Black Sea. It has a railroad station 18 km northwest of Sukhumi. The summers are very warm, with an average July temperature of 24° C; the winters are mild, with an average January temperature of 6° C. The annual precipitation reaches 1,400 mm. Treatments at Novyi Afon include climatotherapy and sea bathing (from May through October). Persons suffering from disorders of the nervous and cardiovascular systems, non-tubercular respiratory disorders, metabolic disorders (obesity, gout), and anemia are treated. Novyi Afon has a sanatorium, tourist facilities, and holiday hotels. A branch of the Abkhazian State Museum is located in the settlement.

The Novyi Afon Monastery was founded in 1875 at the foot of the Afon Mountains. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, construction of the monastery was suspended. The ruins of an ancient temple and the Anakopian Fortress have been preserved on the peak of Mount Iverskaia. Under Mount Iverskaia and in the region surrounding Novyi Afon there are a number of karst caves, including the Anakopian Cave, which was discovered in 1961.

REFERENCE

Pachulia, V. P. Novyi Afon. Sukhumi, 1973.