The original name K�kt�bel is of Turkic origin: in Crimean Tatar it
means �Land of the blue hills� (from k�k, �sky blue�, and t�be, �hill�
or �mountain�, composed with the collective suffix -el). Its Soviet name
of Planerskoye comes from the Russian planer, or glider: the hills
above the shoreline were the site of many early experiments in manned
heavier-than-air flight by Russian pioneer aviators. The local airfield
is still known as Planerskoye.
The 2003 film of the same name by
Boris Khlebnikov and Aleksei Popogrebsky follows the journey of a father
and son as they try to reach Koktebel from Moscow.
Koktebel was
known as a vacation spot for writers in the Soviet Union. It is also
famous for its cognac, its hang-gliding and its naturist beach, largest
in the former USSR.
Nowadays, Koktebel fills up in the summer with
tourists from Russia and Ukraine. Rubles and dollars are readily
exchanged in kiosks along the beaches. There is a mixture of public
beaches and private beaches with a paved walkway all along the bay. This
walkway is lined with small restaurants, cafes, kiosks, and small
market areas selling arts and crafts, dried fish, or slices of
home-baked cake. In the evening, the beachfront comes alive with many
small discos offering music, beer and shashlik. The cuisine is
predominantly Tatar but Russian and Ukrainian food is also on offer.
There are boat excursions, horse-riding and trips to a nearby monastery
or to the cognac factory. Accommodation is either in a small hotel or in
one of the hundreds of guesthouses run by local residents. It seems as
though the whole population has turned into innkeepers in the summer.
Koktebel
is nowadays also well known for its jazz festival that usually takes
place in the middle of September. It lures the attention of jazz-lovers
from the whole ex-USSR. Cast from the festival in past years included
De-Phazz, Nino Katamadze, Stanley Clarke,
