Tuapse

Tuapse lies where a river of the same name reaches the Black Sea, between the wooded western Caucasus and the coast. This was Shapsug Circassian country, a landscape of mountain valleys and coastal landing places. A Circassian settlement called Tugapse was recorded on the river, while medieval maritime charts marked the neighbouring coast as part of Zichia. The river valley offered a way inland from a shore closely hemmed in by mountains.