Ruins of ancient temples and medieval castles, unusual natural phenomena, mysterious forests and the remains of lost civilizations and extinct dinosaurs - all this can be found in the vastness of the former Soviet republics.
These places are overgrown with fabulous myths and legends, and even scientists can not find a rational explanation for everything that happens there. Ekaterina Butorina prepared a guide to the most mysterious and mystical corners of the former USSR.
Azerbaijan: land of fire
What a mountain captured by a fairy dragon looks like can be seen not only in movies, but also in reality. Yanardag, which means "mountain of fire" in Azerbaijani, is located on the Apeshron peninsula, 25 km from the capital of the republic, Baku.
It is best to go to the fiery mountain at dusk or at night. The hill, 116 meters high, enveloped in a wall of flames is a sight, truly unforgettable. The fire burns at any time of the year and in any weather. And next to the mountain, fiery rivers flow - Yanarbulak. True, the locals will tell the legend not about dragons, but about a magical pack of wolves that once lived in a cave on the top of a mountain and were the first to light a fire here.
There is also a scientific explanation for this phenomenon. Natural gas seeps out through the porous sandstone and ignites from reaction with oxygen. There are only a few such places in the world, and most of them are located in Azerbaijan. Before people learned to extract gas, the Absheron Peninsula was completely covered with fires. Giant torches burning everywhere were described by the famous traveler Marco Polo in the 13th century. Since then, many gas sources have been depleted.
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Yanardag is considered a holy, healing place not only in Azerbaijan itself. Pilgrims from India, Iran and other countries of the world strive here. Buddhists spend meditation at the foot of the mountain, and fire worshipers also come here - their temple, Ateshgah, is located there, on the Absheron Peninsula. It is famous for the fact that on its territory there are many burning, thanks to the outlets of natural gas, sources.
Mighty stones of Armenia
A burial mound, an ancient observatory, the Armenian Stonehenge and even an ancient cosmodrome - this is how Karahunj or Zorats Karer is called (translated from Armenian as "mighty stones"), one of the most mysterious sights of Armenia.
This prehistoric monument is located 200 km from Yerevan, near the city of Sisian. There, on the mountain plateau, there are hundreds of vertical stones, at the top of each through holes. And although scientists argue about the purpose of this place, no one doubts its mystical nature.
Some believe that here in the III-II millennium BC. e. there was a sanctuary with a burial mound in the center - the temple of the sun god Ara, who was worshiped by the ancient Armenians.
Others believe that Karahunj is much older and originated in the 5th millennium BC. e. Scientists made several expeditions on the days of equinoxes and solstices, carried out hundreds of measurements: geographical coordinates, magnetic declination of the place, horizon closure, azimuths and angles of holes in stones.
According to researchers, Zorats Karer is an ancient observatory equipped with stone instruments that can be used to make high-precision measurements. It is believed that there was an ancient university here, which is two millennia older than the famous Stonehenge.
Local residents will tell that at nights over Zorats Karer they saw large luminous balls, which gave rise to another legend about the purpose of Karahunj as an ancient cosmodrome. The myth says that once upon a time there lived a tribe of hardworking, but weak dwarfs, whom their giant neighbors decided to help and built stone houses.
Belarus: Black Castle with a White Ghost
"Black Castle Olshansky" is a historical detective novel by the Belarusian writer Vladimir Korotkevich, the scene of which takes place in the castle of Golshansky, about which chilling legends tell.
Actually built of red brick and located in the village of Golshany, Oshmyany region of Belarus, this castle was built from the 13th to the 17th century by the princes of Golshansky. After that, it was owned by the statesman and military leader of the Principality of Lithuania Pavel Jan Sapega. It is said that the Golshanskys' residence was not inferior to the royal castle in Warsaw with the splendor of its decoration.
World wars and the period of Soviet stagnation did not spare the castle, which now remains in ruins. And according to the legends, two ghosts, the White Lady and the Black Monk, are still wandering arm in arm along them. The Franciscan monastery built here at one time by the Golshansky Catholics also has its own ghost.
According to legend, during its construction, the work did not go well, the walls continually crumbled. Therefore, it was decided to make a sacrifice - she was the first woman who, on that fateful day for her, brought her husband, the builder, dinner. The girl was immured alive in the wall. At that, the problems with the construction of the monastery ended, but the soul of the unfortunate still does not find rest.
The museum will also tell you the story of how ghosts frightened the film crew of the Belarusian television to death. During the preparation of the Christmas program, the actors playing the roles of the White Lady and the Black Monk walked along the castle wall. Suddenly, the actress felt a sharp jolt, fell and was severely injured. The film crew was seized by panic - no one doubted that someone was trying to drive the intruders out of their abode.
"Devil's Pit" Lithuania
220 meters across and 47 meters deep - these are the dimensions of the "devil's pit", which is called one of the most interesting and mysterious natural monuments. This place is located four kilometers from the Lithuanian town of Aukstadvaris, on the territory of the Aukstadvar Regional Park. The rounded shape of the pit suggests that it was formed as a result of a meteorite fall, and this is the most common theory. Scientists associate another version with the melting of glacial waters.
However, the "Devil's Pit" has three legends. It got its name from one of them. Once, the legend says, shepherds grazed the cows in this place, and their calves began to disappear. The men who started the investigation discovered that the cattle went to a certain crevice in the ground and disappeared there. This phenomenon was attributed to the tricks of the devil, and since then the area has received the name "devil's pit" and they tried to bypass it.
Another legend says that the pit was once a high hill on which the church stood. The pastor of this church was famous for his lascivious disposition, and one of the parishioners, who caught the priest with the girl, cursed both, exclaiming: "Let the earth unfold under you!" The church and the sinners immediately collapsed, but for a long time people heard the bell ringing coming from the bottom of the pit.
The third legend, on the other hand, speaks of a sinner-worshiper. Being already married, this man decided to marry a girl he loved. The pastor refused to marry the couple, and then the adulterer began to threaten him with a sword. The ceremony began, but heaven did not approve of it - as soon as the groom took an oath not to be separated from his new wife until the grave, the church collapsed into the abyss.
Latvia: the mysterious Pokaini forest
In Latvia, the Pokain forest is considered to be energetically powerful and at the same time dangerous in the Naudite parish, 10 km from Dobele, the administrative center of the Dobele region of the republic. Tourists are not welcome here - it is believed that this forest can only be visited for rituals. Many traditional healers bring their patients here, asking for help from the energies concentrated here, as they believe.
The Pokain forest stands on thirty hills, its oak trees have foliage on only one side, and no one can really explain the origin of the many boulders here. All this gave reason to consider this place, at least, an anomalous zone.
The pulse of a person who is here increases 7-10 times. Scientists explain this by strong magnetic amplitudes and, on the contrary, do not advise staying in the forest for a long time, believing that this can be harmful to health. A powerful energy source on the territory of Soviet Latvia was discovered by NASA satellites in the mid-70s of the last century.
It is said that there is a giant energy crystal under the ground that rocks the earth's electromagnetic field. In Pokaini, there is also the so-called Mother's Stone, around which both the servants of ancient cults and modern healers and esotericists perform their rituals. They say that the earth's axis passed only five kilometers from the stone.
Estonia's "witch's well"
There is a well in the Estonian reserve Tuhala in the southern part of Harju County. It looks quite ordinary, at times it turns into a powerful geyser.
The locals dubbed it the door to the underworld or the "witch's well". The well can remain calm for several years, but sometimes it literally begins to boil several times a year. The well is only two meters deep, however, turning into a geyser, it is capable of spewing out 100 liters of water per second up to one and a half meters high.
According to legend, witches flew here to recuperate in the "devilish" source. Scientists explain this phenomenon quite simply: for underground currents, the "witch's well" sometimes becomes the only way out, when in the spring they overflow with melt water. Unlike the mystical fears of superstitious people, pragmatists fear something completely different - if the well becomes overly active, this can lead to flooding of the surrounding area.
Moldova: in search of the grave of Orpheus
The landscape reserve "Tsypova" is full of legends, located on the banks of the Dniester River, on the border of the Chishishut Upland and the Suslenskaya Plain. It is called a place unique in terms of energy, and it is completely surrounded by legends and traditions, which made the reserve a place of pilgrimage for numerous bioenergetics, ufologists, esotericists.
Researchers and admirers of Orphic cults - beliefs and rituals common in the VIII-VI centuries BC come here. e. on the territory of Macedonia, Greece, Southern Italy, Sicily, and later in Rome. The mythical ancient Greek singer Orpheus was considered the founder of these cults. It was here, in Tsypova, in the grotto of the local waterfall, as some claim, Orpheus was buried.
However, the grave of a mythical hero itself cannot be anything other than a myth. And there are many waterfalls in the reserve, and their names are appropriate - "Dead Falls", "Gates to Heaven", "Gates to Hell". These names are quite natural, since the main attraction of the reserve was the carved into the rocks in the 6th century AD. e. monastery where hermits settled.
Nevertheless, many believe that in this place there are portals to other worlds and dimensions, so meditating yogis, shamans and esotericists can often be found here.
“The Temple of Tsypovo is older than Christianity and is a giant dolmen with a whole system of underground structures and passages that go under the Dniester and go to all the holy monasteries by the river: Rogi, Tsibulevka, Yekaterinovka, Rashkoy, - said parapsychologist and raja-yogi Igor Spartak, - Concept time in such places has always been relative. Being in a blissful state, a person becomes here one with his past, present and future and acquires a state that yogis call "here and now."
Georgia: the rock of Prometheus and the treasury of Queen Tamar
Amazing discoveries await those who dare to climb Mount Khvamli in Lechkhumi, in northwestern Georgia.
“It was here, in these mountains, to the Khvamli rock towering over the city of Kutaisi, as punishment for the brave kidnapping of the heavenly fire, Prometheus was forever chained, and a griffin pecked out his liver,” reads a quote from Jules Verne's adventure novel The Stubborn Keraban.
This mountain, as the place where the hero of ancient Greek myths was chained, was indicated in his report to Emperor Hadrian in the II century AD. e. traveler and philosopher Arian.
Many later sources pointed to Khvamli as to the royal storeroom, where during the wars of the 13th century the Georgian autocrats hid their treasures. Whole expeditions were equipped to find them. It took some time to conquer the mountain and find the cave.
For the first time, researchers (archaeologists, geologists, architects, restorers and art historians) were able to explore the cave only in 2007. But even then it was not possible to fully study it, an underground reservoir interfered. No gold-diamonds were found in the cave, but much more valuable treasures were found.
The cave was indeed once used by people, its lower platform was artificially carved into the rock, where the remains of seven halls were located. On the walls of these halls, murals were found: figures and symbols made with red paint. Above the vaults of the halls there was a medieval four-story fortress.
But what this fortress guarded, treasures or ancient sacred symbols, has not yet been established. Actually, the symbols painted on the walls of the cave are Aquarius, Capricorn, Mercury, Venus, Mars and the Sun, as well as the sacred symbols of the greatest ancient Egyptian gods Osiris and Isis - keys enclosed in a quadrangle.
Scientists have established that the cave drawing is a map of the starry sky, as it was depicted in 5604 BC. e. Astrological charts of other years looked different. Presumably, cave drawings may indicate the beginning of a new Sumerian and Georgian chronology, which is considered to be 5604.
Khorezmatic Uzbekistan
Remnants of the once powerful, ancient state of Khorezm can be found in Central Asia, in Uzbekistan. From the 4th century BC e. many cities and fortresses were built here, and from the 2nd century AD. e.
Khorezm fell under the influence of the Kushan kingdom, whose dominion covered the territory of modern Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India. In those days, the Ayaz-Kaly fortress was erected, the ruins of which can still be found in the Kyzylkum desert, on the eastern spurs of the Sultauizdag mountain range, on the right bank of the Amu Darya.
Once this fortress was just one link in the chain of many other similar border fortresses that guarded the oasis from raids. And now from its top you can see the remains of others - Mali and Bolshoi Kyrk-kyz-kala. However, Ayaz-kala was the best preserved - for centuries it was hidden by the desert sands before archaeologists were able to find it.
The fortress is a complex of several structures, both residential and military, but, as scientists have established, the ancient builders never finished the work. On this occasion, Ayaz-kala has its own legend. In ancient times, she says, one Khorezm king ordered to build a fortress to defend against nomads.
Anyone who dares to do so, he promised his beautiful daughter to wife. One of the local shepherds named Ayaz took up the job. But the king deceived him, married his daughter to another, and then the shepherd quit his job and left.
Dinosaur plateau of Turkmenistan
It is in Turkmenistan that the largest plateau of dinosaurs known in the world is located, where herds of ancient Jurassic lizards once grazed peacefully and not very much. The Kugitanga (Koytendag) plateau, 400 meters long and 300 meters wide, is located in the extreme southeast of the country, three kilometers from the mountain village of Khojapil.
One of the greatest archaeological discoveries, scientists managed to make thanks to ancient local legends, which said that the elephants of Iskander Zulkarnein - Alexander the Great once grazed in this place, and described the traces they left. Actually, the name of the village of Khojapil is translated from Turkmen as "holy elephants".
In the second half of the last century, Soviet scientists equipped expeditions here and discovered about three thousand dinosaur tracks and 31 trails they had trodden. Researchers have established that millions of years ago the area was marshy, but then the swamps dried up, petrified, and therefore the traces of dinosaurs roaming here are so well preserved. Dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous.
However, many are inclined to assume that some of them lived in much later times, which is indirectly evidenced by the legends of fairy dragons. In the same Turkmenistan, in the village of Anau, a medieval mosque with images of dragons has been preserved, which is not at all typical for Islam, which forbade drawing animals and people.
In 1986-1986, the Soviet press erupted into a sensation: on the plateau of dinosaurs, scientists discovered fossilized footprints of an ancient man. Since then, this find has attracted scientists from all over the world to Turkmenistan, however, it has not yet been possible to establish for certain whether the trace belongs to a humanoid.
This immediately gave rise to many fantastic theories, one of which says that aliens inherited in the ancient swamps. One such hypothesis about the destruction of dinosaurs by aliens was described in his novel by the scientist paleontologist and famous Soviet science fiction writer Ivan Efremov.
Central Asian Pompeii of Tajikistan
68 km southeast of Samarkand, in the valley of the Zeravshan River, the city of Penjikent is located, which is called the Central Asian Pompeii.
Here, on the southeastern outskirts of the city, in 1946, archaeologists discovered a unique monument of pre-Muslim culture, the ruins of an ancient Sogdian city, which flourished in the V-VIII centuries A. D. e. Local residents named him Kainar after the source located here.
Archaeologists managed to excavate entire streets lined with houses and Zoroastrian temples. The city center (Shahristan) was surrounded by walls, with narrow streets and narrow quarters with two-story houses. In the west there was a fortified citadel, where the ruler's palace was located. And in the south, a necropolis was found, in whose crypts the well-preserved remains of the local residents of the ancient city were found.
The ancient settlement became famous for its wall paintings, which were preserved almost completely intact after 1300 years. Heavenly bodies, ancient deities and cults, battle scenes, feasts and dances - all these pictures allow us to sufficiently understand and study the culture and life of those times.
Kazakhstan: bottomless lake Kok-Kol
The water spirit of Idahare lives in the Kok-Kol lake. From time to time, a snake-like monster floats to the surface and devours animals that have wandered here to drink.
Few people managed to see Idahara, but his howl is often heard by many around. But those who dare to approach the lake and drink from it will be healed. This is how the legend of one of the most mysterious lakes - the "blue lake" Kok-Kol, located in the Karakistay valley of the Dzhambul region of Kazakhstan, sounds.
The water in the lake is unusually clear and clean, while not a single stream feeds it. Even if any debris gets on its surface, it soon disappears, being sucked into the lake funnel. Hydrologists have found that the craters are formed due to the unusual topography of the lake bottom, which consists of deep-sea caves.
However, in some places of Kok-Kol, the divers never found the bottom, which is why the lake is also called bottomless. From the bowels of the earth, the waters of the lake are saturated with minerals, salts and gases. Because of these processes, sounds are formed that the locals used to take for the howling of a monster. Thanks to this, Kok-Kol water really has healing properties.
Kyrgyzstan: Tash-Rabat fortress - a miracle given by heaven
Among the high snow-capped peaks and inaccessible ridges of the Central Tien Shan, a small stone fortress Tash-Rabat is hidden in the Kara-Kayun gorge.
Scientists are still arguing about the origin of this early medieval building, and local shepherds have since ancient times called a miracle given by heaven and tell legends about Tash-Rabat. One of them says that in ancient times, when people worshiped fire, pouring lard on it, a saint with his followers came to these lands from distant Rum (Byzantium) together they built a temple, prayed and enlightened the local residents.
According to another, the fortress was built by the father and son, when the Almighty, angry at human sins, sent down a flood to the earth. The young man abandoned his father, escaping after an accidentally met beauty, and the old man was helped in its construction only by occasionally passing pilgrims.
The Tash-Rabat fortress, approximately built in the X-XI centuries, is symmetrically rectangular in shape, it is crowned with a bath - twenty small and one with a large dome. Under the building there is a labyrinth of underground passages and a prison. The purpose of Tash-Rabat has not been reliably established. For a defensive structure, according to researchers, it is not strong enough and, in addition, there are no traces of settlements nearby that could be protected.
According to one version, Tash-Rabat is a Christian temple that could arise here, like many other shrines of various religions that were built along the entire Silk Road. However, other historians claim that the fortress was built by one of the rulers of the Turkic-Mongolian state of Moghulistan, Muhammad Khan. This state was formed as a result of the collapse of the empire of Genghis Khan, on the site of the Jochi ulus.
Ukraine: Stone grave on the banks of the Milk River
The Stone Tomb is considered a monument of ancient culture of world importance - an area located near the village of Terpenie, Melitopol district, Zaporozhye region, on the right bank of the Molochnaya River.
Actually, the Mogila is a small isolated massif of sandstone, approximately 240 by 160 meters in size. It consists of large boulders up to 12 meters high. The form of this pile resembles a mound, from which it got its name.
Presumably, the Stone Tomb was once a sandbank of the Sarmatian Sea - the ancient ocean of the Tethys, which in the Mesozoic era connected the ancient continents of Gondwana and Laurasia. Both the Mediterranean, the Black and the Caspian Seas are relics of this ocean.
Inside the grottoes and caves of the Tomb, archaeologists have discovered many rock paintings and 369 burials from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages. The oldest images date back to the Stone Age. Created by nature, this place has long served as a temple for hunters of the copper and bronze age, Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, Huns, Goths, Pechenegs, Khazars and Polovtsians.
In the Stone Tomb, archaeologists also found elements of proto-Sumerian writing, but this fact has not yet been reliably established, and in the scientific world, disputes about the origin of the inscriptions do not subside to this day.