Togliatti, Central District, Gagarin Street
It was a warm September day. We went to the next meeting on the development of domestic tourism, and one of the Togliatti majors in the field of tourism, N. P. Korovina, asked me all the way, what are these abnormal zones? Indeed, in the popular literature there is a lot of confusion of several concepts, which, although they are similar to each other, still describe different natural phenomena: these are geoactive zones (GAS), geopathogenic zones (GPZ), anomalous zones (AZ), space-time anomalies (PVA), black spots, places of power and a number of other variations on the same theme. I think that it would be useful to include here a new concept - mythogenic zones, invented by us on the way to the meeting. And another note - the term "zone" is simply a local area of the earth's surface. Let's figure out which is which.
First, there is indeed some similarity between geoactive, geopathogenic zones, places of power and places of spatio-temporal anomalies, and it consists in the presence of a certain anomaly, i.e. differences from the generally accepted norm. This difference from the norm can be clearly distinguishable and constantly present, or it can manifest itself sporadically and, by its properties, be below the threshold of human sensitivity.
Secondly, it is often impossible to unambiguously establish the type of a specific zone, since it contains properties inherent in several types of zones.
Thus, the concept of "anomalous zone" is the broadest of the above, since it indicates the presence of two most important characteristics - the presence of some kind of anomaly (anomaly) and limited space. The mechanism of origin of this anomaly can be both natural (geophysical) and psychogenic and technogenic.
Here is a list of the mandatory signs that are inherent in anomalous zones:
1) they have altered (abnormal) geophysical activity;
2) what happens in anomalous zones does not depend on the existing system of beliefs, culturally conditioned stereotypes and scientific ideas (and sometimes contradicts them);
Promotional video:
3) a statistically significant number of facts of abnormal phenomena are noted in them, the presence of which is confirmed by organoleptic (sensory) and instrumental methods;
4) they note the presence of crypto-geographic and cryptobiological objects;
5) they are characterized by abnormal activity, presumably of non-anthropogenic genesis;
6) the system for disseminating information about what is happening in anomalous zones (media processes) is secondary to the presence of the anomalous zone itself.
It is interesting that the Volga regions relatively often give us examples of such anomalies. In theory, they can be encountered by anyone, anywhere. Therefore, it is important to know the safety precautions and apply them in the event of a “Zhiguli mirage”. But the conversation will go ahead about safety precautions, but for now - examples of chronoanomalies described by eyewitnesses.
Volga river, Zelenky island
This story, which happened to him personally, was entrusted to us by one of the Togliatti residents, well known to many residents of our city by virtue of his professional and social activities. For obvious reasons, I cannot give his name and surname. While still a student at the Samara Medical Institute, one Friday, after another exam, he and his future wife went to rest on the Zelenky Island opposite Samara. On Saturday morning, he went to catch crayfish. The next two days of rest seemed almost endless. However, in the middle of the same day - Saturday - a young couple drew attention to the fact that the surrounding vacationers began to fold their things and sail towards the coast. This seemed odd, and our couple thought there was a message about impending bad weather. The young man approached the company, which had not yet had time to sail, and asked what had happened. They answered him,that nothing happened, it's just time to go to work. What kind of work? After all, tomorrow was only Sunday? Our informants sat alone until eleven in the evening, but then, nevertheless, they also decided to return to Samara. On the way, they passed a ship on which the radio was talking loudly. Imagine their amazement when the announcement sounded that it was midnight on Monday. Thus, it is not clear where the whole day disappeared from them. For those in doubt, I will say that this young man does not take alcohol at all.when the announcement said it was Monday midnight. Thus, it is not clear where the whole day disappeared from them. For those in doubt, I will say that this young man does not take alcohol at all.when the announcement said it was Monday midnight. Thus, it is not clear where the whole day disappeared from them. For those in doubt, I will say that this young man does not take alcohol at all.
In this case, everything was limited only to the loss of one day of time. Our young couple did not notice anything else strange. However, chronomirages are often accompanied by the appearance of amazing landscapes. It is characteristic that all objects of Fata Morgana - whether they are landscapes, single buildings or entire architectural complexes - look like completely real objects. They seem to be directly inscribed in the surrounding landscape and appear anywhere - in ravines, on mountain slopes, in the steppe, etc. They are most often observed at sunset, but there are reports of nightly mirages. For example, such as this one.
Volga bank near Vinnovy mountains
Vasily M. from Togliatti in April 1974, while fishing on the banks of the Volga in the Samara region, suddenly noticed a castle city on the opposite side of the river, as if growing out of the mountains (reconstruction in the picture). Everything was visible so clearly that he could even see the cracks in the stone walls. The full Moon, illuminating the night landscape, for more than an hour of the existence of the mirage, moving across the sky, illuminated its walls, which suggests that the vision had a clearly material nature (though arranged according to laws that are still incomprehensible). The appearance and inclination of the shadows cast by the protruding parts of the buildings on the walls changed significantly during the observation time - just as they would change on a real object. And again, a characteristic detail: all the time that the castle was visible, there was a dead, ringing silence around.
Samarskaya Luka, near the village of Zolnoye
Tourists talk about a huge dome with many small and large turrets appearing on the side of the mountain - the beautiful name "Temple of the Green Moon" has stuck to it. Some came so close to it that they noticed how, due to the enormous weight of this structure, the soil around it was always somewhat moist.
Most of these reports come from the area near the village of Zolnoye, but special searches have never been successful - no one has been able to find the dome. Luck is always unintentional. And this is how she smiled at two tourists who managed to see not only this temple of unknown cult and unknown origin, but also part of the ritual performed in it.
So, it was a few years ago. Imagine - mid-summer, warm, late clear evening, the right bank of the Volga in Zhiguli. I don’t name the exact place, but it’s not so deaf, so our two eyewitnesses just walked under the moon, especially since in a few weeks they were supposed to have a wedding.
The moon was shining brightly, and everything around was very clear. Their attention was attracted by something unusual, not related to the usual and familiar landscape for many years. Something that hasn't been there before. Either a huge hill with hummocks at the top, or a building … We came closer - it turned out to be a building of an almost perfect semicircular shape, and what was mistaken for hummocks from afar was numerous small domes built into the main vault. The entrance was clearly visible - it was not closed by doors, and a small light came from inside. We came closer, took a closer look - whether it is imagining - no, not imagining. The solid-sized stones from which the building was folded could be easily touched by the hand, they were cold, slightly damp and overgrown with moss from time to time. The size of one stone is about a meter by a meter, and it felt like it was not limestone, which is usual for our placesand something like granite - stronger and denser to the touch. The treatment of the stones was somewhat uneven - there was some roughness of the surface under the hands, but they were almost perfectly ground to each other - as far as could be seen in the moonlight.
And the very shape of the building, I repeat once again, was almost perfectly hemispherical - both for the main dome and for all additional domes.
From a distance, it really could be mistaken for a hill, since, apparently, from time to time a small layer of earth was blown into some places of this dome by the wind, where grass and even small bushes quietly took root, which, however, did not spoil the feeling of the majesty of this building.
Young people, overcoming their natural fear, approached the opening and looked inside. It was light enough as there was a fire burning in the center. From the setting, if you can call it that, it was possible to see that statues were placed along the perimeter along the walls, possibly depicting goddesses. They were made of the same stone as the building itself - and in the light of the fire it was possible to see that it was indeed gray-pink granite. The manner of execution of the statues is somewhat stylized, although their execution amazed with the level of skill of the sculptor - or sculptors - all the details of the human body, details of clothing are very accurately depicted (very different - from light capes that almost do not cover a perfect, physically developed body to complex complexes, apparently, which had a symbolic meaning). Some of the statues were decorated with flowersin front of some lay wreaths of tree branches - it looks like birch and willow. Apparently, the statues were the objects of the ritual, and not just elements of its interior decoration.
Around the central dais, on which a bonfire was burning, stood twelve women in a circle, ranging in age from twenty to forty. They were dressed in the same long gray clothes, woven of very coarse fibers - almost rags. But there was a feeling of unnaturalness of this coarseness - as if this coarsening was done on purpose and made sense only for the ritual. Perhaps the feeling of such a discrepancy between the culture of the people to which the women belonged and the primitive clothing was caused by the fact that the head of each of them was wrapped in a scarf of the finest silk dyed in all colors of the rainbow, which, as it moved, rose into the air, so that it became clear how light and with what graceful design it is decorated.
Everything happened in complete silence, even the steps of bare feet on the stone floor were silent. At first, the priestesses stood in a circle around the fire. Then one of them threw something into the flames, and the smoke turned a pleasant green.
And here it is worth mentioning that the building had one design feature - a hole in the roof, but not above the center of the hall, but with a slight offset to the side. It can be assumed that this shift was caused by the need to catch the rays of the luminaries when they are almost at the top of their celestial trajectory. In a strange way, the location of our, so to speak, the real Moon was exactly such that it was clearly visible through the hole in the roof of this temple that had arisen from nowhere.
Through the smoke reaching the opening, the moonlight turned a delicate green color - which, apparently, was of great importance for the ritual. Then the women joined hands and, slowly at first, and then faster and faster, they danced in a round dance. Here the first sounds appeared - it is difficult to call them a song, rather, it was a certain set of tones that were not connected into one melody, however, with eyewitnesses, how they later exchanged impressions (but for now they just stood silently in front of the entrance to the temple and tried to consider every detail of the event), both of them had a feeling of enlightenment and harmony in body and soul, a feeling of such close unity with nature, which they had never experienced before or after.
The sounds gave rise to a feeling of understanding the world around us in all its little things - from the problems of each small animal to the interaction of heavenly bodies. Finally, the pace of the round dance became so fast that the women were already spinning on tiptoe, barely touching the floor with their feet. This picture looked fantastic in the greenish moonlight, but at the same time, it did not make either the girl or her companion feel unnatural, as if they could see this every day. I must also say that, firstly, the Moon was in the first quarter - that is, a month, and in their appearance the priestesses of this temple could well be ranked as a European race, although the facial features of two or three of them suggested an eastern origin.
Then the round dance broke abruptly in one place, and, still holding hands, the women, united as if in a living tape, spirally approached the walls of the temple and made several more full circles, All this was accompanied by the same melody, which, however, at this stage she somewhat changed her character and began to evoke a sense of the strength and power of a person in this world, but also of his responsibility for everything that he did. Our casual witnesses still cannot understand how the simple sounds of a human voice could cause all this understanding, penetration, insight, if you can call it that.
The temple became clearly brighter, and the reason for this was not immediately noticed. When the round dance broke and the women walked along the walls, a light appeared at each statue (which, by the way, they did not touch) - it was not fire in the usual sense, this light resembled an electric one, and only one piece of some kind was shining - at one statue a brooch on clothes, another has a flower cup in a stone garland. The priestesses approached the entrance even more and, it seems, were about to go outside, so that the observers, having returned to a sense of reality, were afraid to be noticed and preferred to retreat home - to put it simply, to run away as fast as they could. In the afternoon they returned to this place - to confirm their observations, since what had happened in their minds could not fit in any way, and - nothing, not a temple, not its traces. A familiar and well-known landscape.
And the mystery remained unexplained. Although the fact that only women participated in the ritual makes us recall the ancient name of the Zhiguli mountains, and matriarchy, which once was not an exception, but rather the rule.