Actually, today we will not speak entirely about the island. Rather, about an island that disappeared … It is located in Kazakhstan (Aralsky district / Kyzylorda region). At the moment, the island of Barsakelmes is a tract in the Aral Sea. The literal translation of the name of the island from Kazakh - "if you go, you won't come back." Trust me, it makes sense.
The geographical coordinates of the island: 45 ° 38′07 ″ s. sh. 59 ° 54'30 ″ east etc.
Barsakelmes is located about 200 km from the city of Aralsk (in the southwest direction).
In the middle of the last century, the length of the island was 23 by 7 kilometers, but as the Aral Sea became shallow, its size grew. Closer to 2000, Barsakelmes ceased to be an island. Already in the summer of 2009 it was not even a peninsula. Now its area is approximately 640 km². I think you will allow in the future to use the word "island".
No one lives on the island. Locals call him Barsak.
HISTORY AND LEGENDS
Promotional video:
The island was discovered in the middle of the 19th century (in 1848). For the first time it was officially documented by members of the expedition of A. Butakov (a famous hydrographer). Even the official papers showed surprise at what he saw.
In the late 1920s. In the twentieth century, a hunting farm (Soyuzpushniny) was created on Barsakelmes. Gophers were bred here. Within ten years, the entire island was declared a national reserve. Tellingly, it was one of the most "closed" reserves in the entire Soviet Union. Officially, the main task of the nature object was to support the population of kulans (brought from the Turkmen SSR). It was almost impossible to get to the island (they were probably afraid of poachers) And those who were there were very stingy with comments …
What exactly happened to the island in subsequent years, almost nothing is known. Due to such a conspiracy, many rumors and guesses arose. There was talk of secret research. But the "isolation" policy suffered a fiasco due to the shallowing of the Aral Sea (no one could have foreseen this). Nowadays it is possible to get to Barsakelmes, but it is worth a lot of effort. There are many legends and wonderful stories about the Barsakelmes island. They usually deal with very strange phenomena and incidents. Basically, all of them are associated with a violation of the course of physical time - time anomalies.
From local residents, you can hear stories about how in the past centuries the fugitives, who stayed on the island for only a couple of years, returned home after 2-3 decades! The legend is well described in the book “Heart of Asia” by N. Roerich.
There are also stories about how whole groups of people disappeared on the island. The Kazakhs “blamed” these disappearances on a flying lizard, which, in an incomprehensible way, “came” from prehistoric times.
Dragon's Tooth Legend
Batyr Kuran lived on the coast of the Aral Sea. Once he and several friends found himself on the island of Barsacalmes. The company was very surprised by the wealth of the island - everything was here: birds, animals, fish and clean water. But there was also an evil dragon that killed everyone who appeared in its area. This is where the name comes from: "If you go, you won't come back."
In order not to tire the reader, I will say that everything ended well. Brave horsemen killed the creature and returned home in triumph.
According to unverified data, people also disappeared on the island (already in our times). Of course, the press loves such stories, and in most cases there is not a word of truth in the publications about Barsakelmes. But, as wise people say: "nothing comes from nothing …"
Here is one of the modern stories about Barsakelmes:
In the 50-60s. of the last century on the island of Barsakelmes lived a man named Abdrazak. According to the stories, relatives brought him here, right after the first "lens" appeared here - a mysterious flying object. From this object, he (in an incomprehensible way) received information by means of visions. The old man told about one of these visions to the whole island at the beginning of September 1960 - it was about a manned flight into space (let me remind you that such a flight took place on April 12, 1961).
Abdrazak always warned that an attempt to penetrate the "lens" would not end well. But when the military learned about the object, they immediately sent a plane to the island. A few kilometers before the island near the plane, the engine began to "junk". Nevertheless, they made a landing … Then the study of a strange object went. Dogs were put there on long leashes (they did not return). It was decided that a tank with super armor and a whole bunch of different devices would go inside. A metal cable was attached to the tank (for insurance). Slowly, the military transport "fit" into the "lens". The tanker constantly reported what he saw and suddenly stopped doing it. The order was given to him to return, but the answer was astonishing: “And what is the point for me to return now ?!”. The tank (all covered with frost) was pulled out. The tanker was not in it. At the same time, everything remained hermetically sealed as before …
If you search, you can easily find publications about UFO eyewitnesses on Barsakelmes (1970, 1985 …). They willingly talk about contacts with aliens …
CLIMATE
The climate of Barsakelmes is rather dry, sharply continental. The average air temperature in summer is + 27 ° C, and in winter - -12 ° C. Summer is long enough. There are cold winters (completely receding at the end of March). The wind is mainly from the north-east direction.
RELIEF. FLORA AND FAUNA
The southern part of the island is an elevated plateau. The maximum height at Barsakelmes is 108 meters. In the northern part, there are gentle plains with temporary watercourses. There are both gray-brown soils and sands with salt marshes (especially in those places where there used to be a sea). From the vegetation there is gray wormwood (a lot!), Saxaul, boyalysh, biyurgun, herbaceous saltwort, and quinoa.
Since the present Barsakelmes is a desert (with "elements" of the steppe), then the fauna is corresponding. It is believed that 12 species of mammals live on the island. Among them are shrew, gazelle and wild ass. Can you meet them now? I think no. There is almost no fresh water on the island. In the 90s, the kulans were taken out of here. The rest of the animals migrated inland.
Snakes, spiders, scorpions and phalanges are found here.
On the island there is a national nature reserve (opened in 1939).
TOURISM AND ATTRACTIONS
In the central part of the Barsakelmes Island there are several buildings and other structures (half destroyed). All this has long been thrown away or someone wants it to look like this.
Below you can see a photo of the central estate, where travelers and researchers used to stay for the night.
In order to at least partially feel the oppressive atmosphere of Barsakelmes Island, you can view a virtual 3D tour created during the expedition of the Kazakhstan National Geographic Society under the leadership of Saulet Sakenov.
INFRASTRUCTURE
If you go to Barsak, you need to remember that there is little civilization. As the saying goes "steppe and steppe …". It is better for beginners of such travels to refrain from visiting.
People who have visited the island say that there is no need to rely too much on GPS navigation and cellular communications - interruptions in the work of both.
There is also a runway (transport planes used to land; now unusable for their intended purpose) and several large antennas. Probably kulans were transported by air. And also, as one of the participants of the expedition on the former bottom of the Aral Sea told us, the roads in this area are characteristically dashed … Who drives them and why is a mystery.
HOW TO GET THERE?
In order to get to Barsakelmes, you first need to get to Tashkent, and only then to Aralsk. You need to drive to the coastline, then about six hours drive from the Karateren village (once a fishing village) in the Aralkum desert. Of course, you can rent a helicopter or a boat.
It should be noted that the journey to the island is very difficult and sometimes dangerous. It is highly recommended to take with you a person who is guided in these places. Although, today, you simply are not allowed to enter the territory of the "island" without a guide who will control the route from start to finish …
A powerful SUV and a set of spare parts for it will also not be superfluous (often the engines simply light up from the heat and the grass stuffed under the bottom - this happens quite often and even in the evening …)
INTERESTING FACTS - Post Scriptum
* The story "Forty-first" (1924) by B. Lavrenev describes the events that take place on the island of Barsakelmes.
* The island was often mentioned in the Soviet press. Here, as if they saw a prehistoric lizard, a UFO was landed, anomalous disturbances in the course of time were observed. Officially, all these moments are considered falsification and a hoax, in which the key role was played by the writer of science fiction novels Sergei Lukyanenko (he personally stated this). Personally, it seems to me that not everything is clean here … What is true and what is fiction is up to you.
* One of the members of Butakov's expedition (which discovered the island of Barsakelmes) was a Ukrainian poet and cult personality - Taras Shevchenko. He even recalled the island in his memoirs and made 2 drawings:
* Cases were repeatedly observed when the skin of people after a long stay on the island (usually overnight) turned blue.
* There is a cemetery on the island. It seems strange that some of the graves are relatively "fresh" … Who is buried on an abandoned distant island?
* There is evidence that biological weapons research was carried out on the island in Soviet times. “It was for this purpose that prisoners were brought here” - M. Antonov. If we assume that this is true, then wonderful animals may not be fictions …
* The historical name of the island Barsakelmes is Suzhok.
Video island Barsakelmes: