Many different lakes exist in Kazakhstan, and each can be called special, but one of them - Kok-Kol, located in the Karakistan Valley, is famous for its anomalous phenomena.
They say that a certain relict monster, unknown to science, very similar to the Loch Ness monster lives in it. Locals call it the water spirit Aydahar. Maybe that is why animals and people often disappear on the lake.
BOTTOMLESS MYSTERY
The water in the Kok-Kol lake is unusually clear, bluish. That is why it got its name Kok-Kol, which translated from Kazakh means “blue lake”.
An amazing feature of this reservoir is that it is not fed from the outside by a single river or stream. Even in hot summers, the water level in the lake remains constant, as it is replenished from underground sources.
Local residents are sure that Kok-Kol has no bottom. By the way, the hydrologists who studied the lake did not find the bottom in many places, but found many channels and channels. Based on these studies, it was suggested that underwater caves are located at great depths under Kok-Kol. Ufologists believe that ichthyosaurs could well have survived in them. Perhaps it is no coincidence that Kok-Kol and Loch Ness have something in common - both lakes are of glacial origin.
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Another name - a living lake - Kok-Kol received due to its ability to self-purify. It happens in the following way: even on a clear, windless day, funnels appear on the water surface, drawing in various debris that have fallen into the lake.
A few moments - and the water is clear and calm again. The local population considers this water to be healing. People consume it without any processing. Moreover, it is in the places where the funnels appear that the water becomes saturated with useful minerals, and the locals rush to collect it before it spreads over the lake.
According to one legend, this creature, called Aydahar, looks like a giant snake more than 15 m long.
Serpent Aydahar
At night, strange sounds are heard from the lake, similar to wheezing or groans, powerful splashes of water are heard, as if a huge creature is splashing in it. According to one legend, this creature, called Aydahar, looks like a giant snake more than 15 m long, and according to another - like a one-humped camel.
But whenever Aydahar appears, his whistle and hiss are heard over the lake, turning into a prolonged roar. They say that the monster takes away birds and animals who ventured to approach the reservoir. Few people could see it, but many heard it. People unnecessarily try not to approach the lake.
The Kazakhs have a legend about Aydahar - a snake feeding on the blood of living beings. He once ruled the world. And his helpers consisted of a mosquito. At the behest of Aydahar, he had to visit all ends of the earth and taste different blood, and then inform the sovereign whose blood tastes better.
And then one day, returning from another trip, a mosquito met a swallow. Apparently, he liked the bird, and he shared with her his observations, they say, the sweetest blood - human. For a long time the swallow persuaded the mosquito not to talk about the discovery to Aidahar, but the loyal subject did not want to give in.
Then the bird went after the mosquito, and when it began its report, flew up to it and cut off its tongue with its sharp beak. Since then, the mosquito was speechless, and could only itch. Aidakhar got angry and pounced on the swallow, but she managed to dodge. The serpent only managed to grab her tail with his teeth and pull out a few feathers from the middle. And not calculating the strength, fell to the ground and gave up his ghost. Since then, the swallow has a fork-shaped tail.
The legend is a legend, but they say that Aydahar still lives in Kok-Kola and makes sure that the water in the lake is fresh and clean.
There is an equally interesting legend about the origin of the lake itself. She narrates that one day, having suffered defeat in battle, Genghis Khan ascended into heaven with his army. True, one of the soldiers somehow angered the khan, and he threw his spear at him, but the Mongol dodged, and the spear, flying past, hit the ground with force. In that place, the earth broke and filled with water. This is how Lake Kok-Kol turned out.
WITNESSES
Whether Aydahar is to blame or not, people and animals disappear on the lake. People say that once a local shepherd grazed sheep near Kok-Kol and saw how two young men decided to swim. Before his eyes, they went into the water, and almost immediately the man heard their heart-rending cry. But by the time the frightened shepherd reached the lake, there were no more people, only turbulent water was seething.
Interested in the mysterious events taking place on the lake, Kazakh ethnographer A. Pechersky went there with his son. When they reached the reservoir, they began to observe the waterfowl, foraging in the water.
Suddenly all the birds flew up sharply and with an alarming cry began circling over some place in the lake. Meanwhile, the surface of the lake was quiet and calm. Pechersky was puzzled by the behavior of the birds. Less than five minutes later, the water in the lake rippled, then zigzags appeared on it, as if a huge serpentine body was moving under the water. The local historian said that there was a feeling that the monster was at least 15 m long. And this huge creature wriggled with its whole body, only the head and tail remained motionless.
I must say that Pechersky was skeptical about the stories about Aydahar, but when he saw him with his own eyes, he immediately recalled the death of young people. And of course, he rushed away from the lake. Climbing the hillock, he began to observe what was happening.
The kite's bends became more and more prominent, and small waves raised by the wind crashed about them. With bated breath, the researcher waited for the snake to raise its head out of the water. But his expectations were not met, the lake monster began to dive. In a minute, the lake became calm, transparent and clean.
Underwater caves are located at great depths under Kok-Kol. Ufologists believe that ichthyosaurs could well have survived in them.
AND THE LARCHIK JUST OPENED
Some light on the secrets of Lake Kok-Kol was shed by an incident that happened with an expedition from Irkutsk in the 70s of the last century. To study the bottom of the reservoir, experienced divers worked as part of the group, who, by the way, also could not find this very bottom. During the dives, an emergency occurred - a crater formed on the lake, which absorbed one of the divers in front of the stunned colleagues. Everything happened so quickly that no one had time to help him. And the search for the body yielded nothing.
Due to the unpredictability of Kok-Kol and the danger that the lake posed to people's lives, it was decided to stop the rescue operation and research. But then the unexpected news came that the missing diver was alive. He was found in the valley of the Vitim River. The man was saved by the fact that he was in a diving suit. The lake, having swallowed a man, dragged him along its depths and pushed him upward along with the flow of water to the Vitim bank. It turns out that the lake is through and communicates with the river through some underground channels!
The next expedition, which visited the lake in 1976, put forward new assumptions based on research. The team was able to establish that Lake Kok-Kol is of glacial origin and is located in a funnel consisting of moraine deposits. Gullies often occur in such sediments. Perhaps this happened with Kok-Kol. Channels formed at its bottom, most likely of the siphon type. The researchers were fortunate enough to find one such channel.
According to scientists, water is sucked into these channels. If the portions of water are small, then small craters and waves appear on the lake, resembling a huge snake. And if there is a large and powerful intake of water, air also gets there, then the lake begins to make sounds.
It is at such moments that people and animals disappear into the whirlpools. And it is these turbulences that lift water saturated with minerals, gases and salts from the depths. As for the healing properties of lake water, then, most likely, it is, since in dry summers you can see salt deposits on the shore of the reservoir.
It seems that all explanations are consistent and logical, but they remain at the level of assumptions and hypotheses. After all, no one has ever seen the bottom of Kok-Kol and has never been to its mysterious underwater caves. It is human nature to look for the real causes of abnormal phenomena.
Galina ORLOVA