Riddles and anomalies of the Crimean mountains

Family people go to the Crimea for a pleasant sea holiday, creative people - for inspiration, inquisitive minds - in search of reliable information about the situation on the peninsula, and adventurers - for new impressions and emotional jolt. A trip to some locations will help the latter to recharge with unprecedented energy. It is in the mountains of Crimea that you can find a huge number of unusual mysterious places shrouded in secrets. Ekaterina Vinnik, a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza in Crimea, tells about the brightest of them. 

Karadag Volcano

In the eastern Crimea, between the villages of Koktebel and Kurortnoye, the Karadag mountain-volcanic massif rises. The name has Turkic roots and translates as "black mountain". It is caused by the color of volcanic rocks. Karadag belongs to one of the oldest volcanoes in Europe, and its last eruption occurred 160 million years ago. However, it is possible that one day the "unforeseen" may happen, so the protected area with a ban on production activities has been expanded to 3,000 hectares. According to Stepan Romchishin, a well-known volcanologist, if Karadag wakes up, the damage will be enormous: hot, deadly ash will reach Smolensk to the north and south - to Turkey, Bulgaria and other nearby countries.

Those who are interested in truly strange, unusual stories about the Crimea will be struck by the following facts. The fact is that even NASA still cannot give an answer to the question about the magnetic anomaly that is observed on the mountain range. Compasses stop working here, and some tourists suddenly lose consciousness; someone, on the contrary, feels a surge of strength and energy due to an incredible magnetic flash. Ufologists say that it was not without the intervention of aliens who placed their station on the territory of the mountain. That is why Koktebel is attractive for creative personalities and experimenters.

And of course, where without local legends. Thus, the "Karadag snake" or ”Karadag monster" deprives the lives of large marine life, for example, dolphins, sharks and katran. Scientists admit that the bites and injuries left on the victims are quite large, and their nature is unclear. Local activists, writers and historians, in particular, Anton Anfalov and Anatoly Tavrichesky, believe that the "snake" has a prehistoric origin. Even Herodotus, the father of history, wrote about the existence of a certain monster living in the Euxine Pontus (Black Sea).

Karadag can only be visited with a tourist guide, as the roads and trails on the mountain are dangerous for untrained pedestrians. Unauthorized entry into the territory of the reserve threatens with a large fine.

Valley of Ghosts

The area has more than a hundred towering stone blocks resembling fingers. The cluster is located on the Demerdzhi mountain range, near Alushta, on the Southern coast of Crimea. The massif is a geological monument of nature with an area of 20 hectares.

Why are these bizarre rocks, according to scientific data formed as a result of weathering of Upper Jurassic conglomerates, so attractive to people? The answer is obvious: in the sunset, twilight time of the day, they cast exciting, sometimes even frightening shadows, and lead travelers into strange states. Impressionable natures should be well prepared for a trip to the Valley of Ghosts: it is believed that powerful energy flows intersect here. They can be confusing: travelers simply lose track of time. One hour here lasts like ten minutes, and in the dark it's not so easy to find a way back to civilization.

"Devil's fingers", as it is customary to call massive stone ledges, according to the famous legend, were formed in ancient times when the Crimea was captured by ruthless nomads. They were hostile and used Demerdzhi Mountain as a place for a forge to forge all kinds of weapons. The forge caused great harm to wildlife: the heat was so strong that it destroyed trees and animals, dried up streams. One day, a girl whose heart could no longer bear such barbarism turned to the tribal leader with a request to stop the work of the forge. At her words, the leader only burst out laughing, responding with a cruel refusal. And Demerdzhi Mountain did not forgive him for this: it spewed a hot stream of flame from the top, which destroyed the nomads. In the morning, when the dust and fog settled, residents of nearby villages found only huge boulders on the site of the forge: those "fingers". It is believed that the souls of the tribe are still trapped in the rocks. Perhaps that is why some tourists are uncomfortable in the Valley of Ghosts.

Anyway, those who love thrills just need to visit the slopes of Demerdzhi. Excursions there are held regularly. There are also organizations that deliver to the place in comfortable jeeps, and those who prefer more natural ways of transportation can go to the Valley of Ghosts on horseback.

Temple of the Sun

The most famous ”place of power” in the Crimea, located at the foot of the rocky Ilyas-Kaya massif, in the direction of the Yalta highway. This is a group of towering boulders forming various objects among themselves. One sees, for example, the giant's open palm holding a handful of greenery, another sees a giant flower, and the third sees a radar aimed at the universe.

Scientific fact: all angles from the fingers to the center are 600 degrees. It is unusual, considering that the Temple of the Sun appeared 160-130 million years ago, during the completion of the natural formation of the Crimean Mountains.

This place attracts more and more unusual tourists every year: esotericists, Buddhists, Old Believers, ufologists, psychics and just seekers of new experiences. And for a reason. The fact is that the Temple of the Sun is located not far from the place of the earth's crust fracture, and, as you know, magnetic anomalies occur there. People who are sensitive to such changes in the atmosphere experience a wide variety of both mental and physical sensations. The "place of power" definitely affects impressionable tourists.

For those who believe in the unusual, there are other, more breathtaking theories. According to one of them, "Crimean Stonehenge” is the work of extraterrestrial civilizations. So, some travelers perceive the Temple of the Sun as a portal to space, where all the innermost desires and dreams should be sent for their speedy fulfillment, and from where you can draw unprecedented cosmic energy. Therefore, whole pilgrimage groups come here, and sometimes hermits, lovers of meditation and esoteric rituals. Every now and then in the Temple of the Sun they discover personal belongings left by tourists as an offering to higher powers.

According to another theory, even before the Second World War, under Hitler's personal control, the Ahnenerbe organization, which investigated the occult, paranormal phenomena and conducted experiments on people, sent an expedition to the Temple of the Sun. It is said that Stalin himself was interested in the results of the expedition and gave the go-ahead to continue the work. But there is no confirmation in the archives or at the site of Stonehenge. These are just speculations of historians, backed up by popular rumor.

Those who are close to the topic of ufology should also pay attention to Cape Meganom, where strange phenomena in the sky are often recorded, and Mount Ayu-Dag, under which, according to Russian researchers, the aliens have established their station.

Crimea is a unique place where every tourist will find what he has been looking for for so long: inspiration, strength, cheerfulness, fortitude, health, new friends and loved ones. Travel, explore, check and be savvy in matters of history to form your personal opinion. The main thing is not to lose common sense and believe in what brings joy and happiness to you and your family.