Origin of name Ziguli
In one of ancient maps these places were called Amazonia to note that aggressive Amazonians once wandered here. Sarmatians, which occupied territory from Volga to Crimea were used as prototype of amazons. Other ancient name of this territory (up to 1775) is Maidens' mountains. Legends tell about group of maidens of sisters. Antiquity of this legend is reflected in a 1459 map on which the area of Maidens' mountains is called Amazonia. Later legends inform on "tombs" of maidens in Zhiguli mountains. "At midnight the door with a secret vault inside was opened before them. A greater room with sparkling luxury of underground chambers, rare viands on wide stone tables and a stone coffin with three hoops across it bestow an eye. Everything around is embellished with gold, silver and diamonds.. An icon lamp is lit on". The image of maiden sisters is gradually replaced with image of the Mistress of Mountains and then with image of magician-sorcerer. "He was damned, and he could not even die. Neither water, nor soil did not wish to accept him. It lives eternally. Some people think that his spirit wanders in suburbs and dense woods. And his body lies in a deep cave" ("First Romanoffs" by K.Valishevsky). Its modern name Zhiguli was fixed since Katherine the Great times. Name Zhiguli came from expression "to burn down on brooms". Peasants were beating merchants from vessels coming across Volga with brooms sjouting: " Zhig! Zhig!". [Light up! Light up!]
Ziguli Myths and Legends
The legend "Precept of Boryslavna" narrates that certain Russian maiden-bogatyr Boryslavna buried magnificent treasures brought from the far East in Zhiguli mountains, under a rocky barrow... That barrow is spellbound and its secret will be revealed to the hero in due time. The hero will be rewarded with enormous riches". Image of maiden-bogatyr Boryslavna is close to image of legendary Mordovian tsarina Anna which lived in an unapproachable fortress on mountain Osh-Pando-Ner. Boryslavna image is surprisingly similar to legend about Maria Magdalina -the keeper of sacred Graal, a sacred bowl or a stone that has been granted from the sky. According to the Western-European legends, Maria Magdalina kept Graal in one of caves on the river Rhone, somewhere near to mountain Mountsegur. In legends of the Samara region the image of Mistress of Mountains, the Keeper of Sacred bowl is narrated. Mistress accepts visitors in subterrain chambers under Volga. For example, legend "Sheludjak" narrates: "Suddenly the stone under a body of the daredevil (Feodor Sheludjaki) was opened, then carefully accepted daredevil in its cool bowels and was closed again in front of held down by horror Streletz warriors. [...] Day after day blood of a good fellow was cooler and cooler, incorporating a cold from a stone and was lost somewhere among granite blocks in terrible melancholy on the hot sun. Since that time Mistress of Mountains is inconsolable. And to this day her transparent tears flow down to the Stone Bowl." In this legend "granite blocks" are mentioned. Zhiguli are composed of soft limestone, but ravine Dry Brysyana has granite slabs coming to soil surface.
Stone of Yavsen' legend
Under one version, once upon a time pagan agricultural god Yavsen' was rolling a huge stone on road and suddenly he met Christ who addressed him such words: "God helps you". Yavsen' throw a stone away and escaped. According to the legend the stone split in two and a huge hole, where Yavsen' throw it, was formed. Other version of a legend says: veins in Zhiguli the greedy bogatyr, and here learnt that the big emerald is from time immemorial stored in one of stones. The bogatyr found this stone, split it in two parts, took an emerald and left. Both legends gave precise geographic reference points. Now, as well as in antiquity, there are Mordovian and Chuvash settlements there. The huge stone split in two as is narrated in the legend does indeed exist. And in the middle of that stone there is a dredging, as if an emerald was there once indeed. Local residents regard this place as sacred. Peasants make offerings to Yavsen'. As he is the god of agriculture people bring him gifts of the nature - mushrooms, berries ..."
There is an assumption, that Samara legends serve as latent storehouse of forgotten knowledge, as alongside with gold and precious stones so desired by poor people, legends constantly tell about hidden rolls with knowledge, sometimes making that the main emphasis of a legend.
Fiery snakes
The Legend of Fiery snakes say that when widow grieves very much over deceased husband fiery snake arrives to make her a visit. Snake lifts a roof of widow's house or gets through a flue and accepts a shape of deceased husband. After the night spent together snake departs leaving a widow numerous gifts. But next morning these gifts transform in ordinary stones or fragments of broken crockery. These snakes often kill widows whom they visit. As legend narrates, there are people who are able to stop fiery snakes. One legend tells that to catch the snake, it is necessary to stop on a crossroad, put a belt cross on the ground and, saying a spell, firmly put a heel of the left leg in the center of a cross. Snake moves toward sorcerer and cannot fly away until sorcerer cleans a heel from a cross. And to unhook the snake it is not simple too. It is necessary for sorcerer to tear a shirt on himself and to say some code words.
Fiery spheres
According to local residents, up to this day strange fiery spheres about two-meter diameter and with tails sometimes fly by natural reserve Gremjachee. Peasants who live here more than 20 saw those object at least once. In language of Byuriats objects are called "patavka", that means "a fiery sphere". As one of eyewitnesses of this phenomenon told to folklorists, "patavka" usually flies slowly and very close to a surface of the ground. But the most intricate part of this legend says that these fiery spheres can ... turn into humans! Local peasants know concrete cases when such turned into human males newcomers came to village where they ... lived together with local women! And children who have born from this strange marriages, or died, or quickly turned into legendary sub-terrain little men "Yibede"
Fiery objects above Usa river and sub-terrain hominoids
Local legends say that not only in present but also long time ago people saw certain flying fiery spheres and other not clear objects of unknown nature above Samara mountain ring. In this connection very attractive is a point of Samara ring where a natural reserve Gremjachee - hills in village Syzranskoe area are situated. Here a source of the river Moustaches which completes Samara mountain region up to almost full water ring is situated. Local mountains have on their slopes sets of caves and spring sources since times immemorial. Series of legends and myths are connected with these places. Legends tell about mysterious underground race. According to local legends in local caves from thousand years ago live dwarfish people which local Chuvashs name "yibede". This word-combination can be translated as " shaggy monkey-like human"and " eagle and owl-like human" [Mothman]. Locals tell that even nowadays these strange beings are rarely met in local mountains. Imagine the dwarf with height not above human navel, but with huge eyes and covered with feathers. So, someone who met such "horror being" named it as a monkey, others - as an eagle-owl. Chuvashs also had a name for this mysterious underground beings.
Cyllinders of light
Locals oftern observe messages written on so-called columns of rigid light. Columns are described as strange motionless beams, reminding shone columns or cylinders, soaring on height of several dozens meters above a forest or road. Strange " beam of firm light", arisen beyond Volga, above Zhiguli mountains. The beam had no visible source. Sometimes beam hungs above mountains and above Volga in form of a column, then goes straight downwards, causing well visible waves in water. After contact to water phenomenon disappears.
August, 1978. A vertical column of light was seen in the sky by 200 people. For several minutes a column motionlessly hung above mountains, then began to fall downwards. Further testimonials of eyewitnesses are inconsistent: overwhelming majority of them has simply lost eye contact with object, but some eye-witnesses assured, that they saw bright beams coming from object in all directions. After that object disappeared.
August, 1988. Some observers saw light spots of green color in form of ellipses and vertical strips above Volga and far Zhiguli mountains. They arose in air one behind another then quickly disappeared.
Vertical luminescence above mountains can appear as a result of ionization of air during powerful electromagnetic or radiating irradiation. Underground deposits of uranium and radium in Samara region lie on depths of only 400-600 meters from a surface of the ground and natural radiation can periodically come to surface through "windows" in Zhiguli mountains.
Zhuguli caves
Within 1931-1933 a special geological expedition under direction of mountain engineer A.S.Barkov surveyed valleys of Zhiguli in area of villages Gavrilov, Lipova Polyana, and a number of other sites. Mountain engineers through caves entered the system of caves of Samara region for the first time. During expedition scientists met mysterious and inexplicable phenomena. Scientist Nikolai Sokolov wrote in his expedition journal: "In 1931 summer was exclusively hot and dry. Volga has fallen significantly. and sandy islands have risen out of water. To approach a cave which we were going to investigate, it was necessary to maneuver between shallow waters. At last it was possible to bring a boat to a rock near to a cleft. [...] And here the gallery turned aside almost under a right angle. We stop, captivated by the picture opened to us. A huge hall filled by strange bluish blinking laid in front of us. It was so bright, that all surrounding space was easily observed. We were standing on immense ice field of light violet color. More close to walls of a cave ice rose upwards, forming system of geometric cubes. Soon we have come nearer to one of the huge ice blocks, shining with the same bluish light. Here we all were dumbfounded: from depth of an ice armor an enormous frozen bear looked at us ... Bear was standing on posterior legs, as if he was leaning forward, aspiring to get up to uninvited newcomers. ..When the first shock from a meeting with the frozen bear passed, we captivated by tremendous show, explored the hall further. Surprisingly, nobody felt a fear. The further we went the more frozen creatures of this strange underground museum we met. Here in front of us there was one more bear in a block of an ice, there a huge bird, an elk, a deer, one more bear, and many strange creatures... It was a real subterranean pantheon! How all these animals got here? How they happened to be frozen in these almost geometrically ideal ice cubes? What time did they spent in this mysterious cave? These questions we did answer at all. How much time did we spent in a cave after that, was difficult to tell. Perhaps, hour, and can be several hours: feeling of time disappeared. But suddenly on a floor of a cave we saw a running water and a small streamlet from which we greedy drunk. After a brief rest for few minutes we went along a streamlet to one of lateral galleries. The course was gradually narrowed, and on a floor we saw fine small stones, clay and, at last, dry leaves of trees. So, we were close to a surface of the ground! And after passing several turns, we saw an exit from a cave."
The story of other employee of this expedition Victor Ageev is even more surprising. As it has already been told, in the beginning of 1930-th geologists from a special expedition were engaged in studying of Shiryaev galleries in Zhiguli mountains. Once in distant little-known lateral drifts the group unexpectedly got trapped. Eventually all scientists got out everything, except for geologist Ageev. His two-day search was not successful and Aggev's colleagues were going to put him into the list of victims but suddenly Ageev appeared, coming down in Shiryaevo from an opposite slope of Zhiguli mountains. When the chief of a special expedition A.S.Barkov heard his report about subterranean travel he advised Ageev not to tell anybody what happened there. Only shortly before his death, in the mid-1980-th, Ageev allowed to write down the memoirs to one of Kuibushev loocal historians, under a condition, that the story will be published only after his death.
"When there was a collapse, an exit from a drill was filled up. I began to make the way forward in a narrow manhole where earlier never went neither I, nor someone from researchers known to me. I nevertheless hoped to come to a surface because I had a stock of canned food and crackers with me, and also matches and a lantern with a complete set of reserve batteries. After long wanderings under the ground I eventually entered an extensive hall with corners filled by ice. In darkness this ice was shone by weak bluish light. And here there was something strange - my consciousness was as if was disconnected, feelings of fear and famine have disappeared at once. I entered into a narrow corridor with walls made of the huge ice blocks closely pressed to each other. They were separate blocks, put together instead of a continuous ice wall. The most surprising, that a core of each of these enormous columns had a certain creature, as if frozen in ice. There were many such ice crystals here, and inside of each of them unprecedented, fantastic monsters motionlessly hung.
To describe these creatures is extremely difficult. I remember a head, bigger than a body hanging above a body, huge facet bulging eyes, large prefrontal bulge, small hands pressed to a stomach with three fingers. A trunk - something like the soft cocoon which curtailed into a tubule and drawn in to a stomach. The further I went alongside that corridor, the more bizarre sizes ice blocks became. Monster creatures inprisoned in them were larger and larger. I went on this gloomy waxworks exhibition hour, then entered another, and then the third one. And here suddenly I saw that the ice corridor bifurcates in two. On the left the same monotonous cubes with big-eyed monsters continued. And to the right there were ice crystals with almost same monsters, but on their heads for some reason the huge prefrontal bulge was absent. Against my will I choose the right corridor. Then significant time interval simply dropped out of my memory, the vague sensation however was kept, that all the same picture went somewhere forward. The following memory was a picture of small expansion of a corridor where in the center of a floor two blurbs of light like sun-hares were superimposed one on another. As there was no chance to bypass them, I have stepped in the center of a shone spot. During the same moment something has powerfully struck me in a head and after that I had again a memory blackout. I regained consciousness already at top of mountain Popova that is approximately ten kilometers from Shiryaev. I remember fresh wind, and a sunlight. During the moment when I regained consciousness it seemed to me, that beside me a huge dog sat, but here I can't be sure of that. I learned, that my travel under the ground lasted five days ".
Violet luminescence of an ice in a cave specifies presence in it of significant radium inclusions. Disintegration of this radioactive chemical element also should cause steady ionization of air and, hence, its own luminescence and that of surrounding rocks. The first mentioning of ice caves of Zhiguli mountains is recorded in the 1689 edition of the monastic geographical guidebook. And in the beginning of 20-th century editors of a detailed hypsometric card of Zhiguli mountains described set of caves where even during mid-summer there were unmelted ice. In particular, topographer M.Noinsky in 1902 noted occurrence of "underground passage to very deep ice cave near village Podgoru ".
UFO
In many areas of Samara area there are UFO "points of an attraction" where similar phenomena are frequent enough.
September, 1952. Five red spheres flew In area at height from 3 up to 5 kilometers.
August, 25th, 1962. Flying source seen above airport Kurumoch which flew with speed of a fighter-plane.
Summer of 1972. In Tolyatti above one of electrosubstations dark color "plate" stayed still. Electricity gone for 10 minutes.
August, 23rd, 1979. An UFO "drop" 300 meters in length hung above a crossroad of Lenin prospect .
May, 11th, 1990. UFO "Cigar" moved to Tolyatti above Mir street.
June, 1990. In village Bolshaya Glushitza people saw in the sky brightly shining sphere of blood-red color. Then the sphere started to change a form to a cone, and then to a"desk lamp".
August, 15th, 1990. Near village Bogatyr (Zhiguli Mountains) 10 fiery spheres flew in the sky. The UFO burnt the radar!
The most known case connected to UFO in Samara region is an incident which occurred on the night of September, 11th, 1990 on military radar station at village Bobrovka of Kinelski area. A certain object which moved very quickly was detected on the screen of a locator. The object was several dozens meters in length and had the form of a triangle. It hung for few minutes above station, then UFO suddenly radiated a bright beam, and steel aerial RLS burnt as if it was a piece of paper. After that UFO "triangle" disappeared, but strange things connected with distortion of time and space were observed for some time.
One of inhabitants of Tolyatti city observed in the morning on coast of Volga a star in the sky which quickly grew in size and finally appeared as a double barrow, combined by the wider sides to each other. "Double barrow" was several meters in size and obviously had a metal case. From under water the cone of light rose, double barrow flew in it, went under water and dissapeared. Similar cases of encounters with double barrows were reported also by pilots in Kumuroch, whosaw similar barrows in air.
Strange "sailors" from Isaklin woods
One of legends with obvious UFO connection implies that "strange sailors" appeared in Samara High Volga region after Great Civil war. According to this legend, somewhere in the middle of 1940th in a wood ravine nearby to one of villages in the north of Isaklin area there were strange people whom local residents at once began to name "sailors". All of them were wearing uniforms reminding navy uniforms, so people started calling them "sailors". Old men assured, that some of "sailors" even came to farmers from their village to exchange bread and milk. "Sailors" didn't speak Russian well, and were grossly distorting words. "Sailors" in exchange offered things, unknown to locals: small lighters from which the spark appeared only from an easy touch, knives of unusual form and even sweet water in soft bottles.
MIRAGE FATA MORGANA
Fata morgana - " A mirage - the optical phenomenon in an atmosphere, when on horizon numerous images reminding remoted islands, mountains, cities, rocks and other objects are seen. Represents a case of complex and especially effective mirage ".
The first known written account of Fata Morgana in Samara region dates back to Arabian annals. In 922-923 Arabian historian Ibn-Fadlan visited these places. From his records it is possible to understand, that local residents considered Fata Morgana pictures in the sky, first, as display of the world of spirits, and secondly, as absolutely routinefor them phenomenon.
The most ancient annals contain descriptions of Mirages in archives of city of Samara during last three centuries (for earlier times simply there are no written sources). Character of the observable phenomena is the same. All objects - whether single buildings or architectural complexes - look like absolutely real objects, or, at least, it is ideally executed holography.
The illusive phenomena of Fata Morgana is not only narrated in Zhiguli legends, but also till now is observed in a number of places of Samara region. Most known of them is a so-called Mirage of " Peace city " which is mentioned in the book by traveller Adam Oleary (1636) who visited Volga region in the 17-th century. Other names of the same phenomenon - "the Fortress of five moon", "White church", "Mirage". Such Mirage is observed near Valiant and Usine barrows, and also in area of lakes that are stretched between villages Mordovo and Brusyanu According to many observers, an illusive city that quickly disappears again could be seen at a dawn there. Those who saw this mirage, tell, that it reminds the fantastic fortress with a white fortification and turrets on which flags of truce flutter.
Legend of the "peace city" narrates: "And when there is a sun above Volga, palaces and walls of Peace city are visible above the river. City is built as Russian tradition tells, and it awaits, when all its riches will be given to its people". However, according to the collected data, sometimes on Volga it is possible to see other phenomena, in many respects similar to "Peace city". Among them - a Mirage named "the Temple of the Green moon". Like not time observed surprisingly poured tower nearby to settlements Cindery and the Solar Glade, and also in area Strelnoj of mountain. Still it is necessary to mention a Mirage named "the Falls of tears" which the national rumour adheres to a known spring The Stone Bowl, and also to disappearing lake that is in natural Elgushi boundary. According to the legend, all these water sources were formed by tears of Mistress of Zhiguli mountains which to this day mourns over her beloved husband. Interestingly, geological data suggest that there could be falls in a number of points of Zhiguli mountains in antiquity. Researchers classify described phenomena as so-called "chronomirages". It is supposed, that they are reflections of realities of the remote past projected in the present.
The majority of observable mirages are in the air, they are visible high in the sky and are absolutely not connected with surrounding landscape. For example, on June, 26th, 1989 at 9-15 pm an almost correct square aperture appeared in thunderclouds, its perimeter shined with a bright red beam, then the beam brightly flashed, turned in a fan and switched off. After that in cloudy "window" a picture appeared. It was a landscape of the sea gulf limited by a ridge, covered with woods and hills. From them the narrow line of sandy dunes run into water. In that far world there was a bright sunny day, and on its sky is lazy crept small white clouds. Suddenly above mirage hills set of black points appeared. They moved from depth of the image to the observer. At once after this "a window" clouds started moving, converged, and in one second they closed a square" in an aperture "in the sky". Above this mirage world there was its own sky which shined much more brightly, than our Sun. Within 15 minutes the sector of mirage slowly turned in a horizontal plane, hiding hills and opening water area of a gulf. Above hills there was a set of black points, to analyse them in more detail was not possible, as clouds quickly tightened an aperture. Some Samara mirages are called near-surface mirages. They appear as if they directly enter surrounding landscape and can arise in any place - in ravines, on slopes of mountains, in steppe.
V.S. Marchuk, inhabitant of Tolyatti, in April, 1974, was fishing on f Volga coast and suddenly noticed the city-fortress as though growing from mountains on the opposite side of the river. Everything was visible so precisely, that he managed to count even cracks in stone walls. The full Moon moving in the sky, shined Mirage fortress walls for an hour of superfluous existence of this Mirage, so that vision was obviously of material nature. The kind and iangle of shadows rejected by Mirage fortress buildings parts and walls was changing during observation essentially - the same how they would change on real object. There is second record of Fata Morgana observation in 1955. In the early morning B.B.Zubahin on a southern extremity of island Zelenenky observed a huge building. Most of all it resembled the orthodox cathedral built from red bricks and decorated by golden domes. This building optically completely closed opposite coast and surrounding part of island. The picture was steady for 5 minutes; the building was seen extremely precisely though its separate details disappeared in light clouds, as though filtered through walls of a cathedral. Then the image has started "to thaw" similarly to a piece of the refined sugar put in hot water. Through turning pale contours of cathedral Fata Morgana contours of opposite coast gradually became visible.
Often tourists tell about a vision of a huge dome with set of gradually incrementing big and small turrets, appearing on a slope of mountain. Some people approached it very close and noticed that because of a huge weight of this construction the soil around of it always was a little damp. It is characteristic, that seeing the dome mirage for the second time was unpossible.
Abnormal behavior of a Tzar barrow. Sometimes the Tzar barrow is visible from Bald mountain in area of the Ice cold ravine, but physically to see it from that point it is simply impossible. Actually from Bald mountain Tzar barrow it is not visible: higher mountain blocks it from view. On Zelenenki island people repeatedly within 15 minutes saw a phantom of the big church. Interestingly that Zelenenki island is alluvial, and no church there existed. Some objects appear during one periods of time, and in others - completely disappear. For hundred years in the certain place there is an entrance in a cave, and in other hundred years entrance dissapears. Then, in next hundred years, a cave opens again. The most simple explanation of this phenomenon is occurrence and disappearance of a certain electromagnetic radiation. It influences a subcortex of a human brain, and we lose orientation in space. Objects do not disappear ' but human subconsciousness is blocked in this place.
Inhabitants of village Kruglovushka of Bogatovskoe area observe the abnormal phenomena above island which they name Kruglovushka [a round village]. Llocals observed, how above Kruglovushka the strange light sometimes eclipsing a stellar light rises... Still quite often directly above the center of island suddenly a dark blue fog appears, itl blurs above water, and then quickly disappears at the border of a wood. Besides that mysterious Kruglovushka draws to itself lightnings during thunder-storms: they strike here more often than in nearby woods. This place is known also by its healing properties, there are many local histories of healings from various illnesses. Above Kruglovushka a ring spiral of an abnormal origin is hunging. The island which peasants name Kruglovushka, has about 50 meters in diameter. Well noticeable, concentric water rings are located around it. All system is surrounded with a soil-clay shaft of up to 30 meters height and with diameter of 400-500 meters. Scientists observed slightly raised levels of radiation in Kruglovushki area. Instead of 8-11 background mcR/h periodically 24-30 mcR/h were observed. Interestingly also that space-time perception at times can change in Kruglovushki area.
Other group of Zhiguliх myths and legends concerns the underground world of these Volga mountains which remains a терра incognita for scientists to this day. In particular, bylinas about certain illusive little men suddenly appearing from under the ground and also suddenly disappearing are very interesting. Bylinas tell, that these "white dwarfs" are so transparent, that through them trees are visible. In a legend about the immortal Ivan Gornui [Jan from the Mountain], written in the middle of 19-th century, these creatures are called "subterranean marvels". Local residents describe them as "Little men of small height, with a bony body, with skin covered by scales, with huge eyes, death-bearing sight and mysterious property to move consciousness from a body to a body".
Here one of descriptions of chronomirages: "in the clouds there was a certain bright square, and inside of it there was a steady image of a step pyramid. It stood on an plateau which abruptly broken downwards. A valley crossed by a river was observed under mountain. Then a angle of sight inclined approximately on 15 degrees to a plane of a valley. The impression was that the valley, the river and a pyramid were observed from a board of the plane flying at height of 8-10 kilometers".
A "device" similar to a giant condenser is buried deep inside of Zhiguli mountains. This "device" is still operating and creates around itself a certain power field which interferes with flow of water streams through a mountain ridge. That is why Volga since time immemorial is compelled to bend around Zhiguli mountains, doing a strange bend in the form of a semicircle which nowadays is called Samara ring. Most likely, this hypothetical geomachine represents a clot of power fields - electromagnetic, gravitational, biological or others, unknown to us. Samara ring is already more than ten millions years old and also helps Zhiguli main building blocks -limestone (which iseasily washout by water) to keep in stable position an ancient riverbed of Volga, not supposing even its insignificant displacement over time. Rock layers in area of Samara ring appear very similar to contours of a huge condenser. The size of this condenser amaze - its length is about 70 kilometers.
Underground Sages
The hypothesis about the ancient geomachine, buried deep inside of Zhiguli mountains, is acknowledged in local folklore. Among local myths, bylinas and legends there is a strange and mysterious history about the mysterious Master of Caves of Zhiguli mountains. According to this legend, during very old times when these places were unhabited yet, in subterranean "bowels" of Zhigulis a certain Wizard - the white sorcerer lived. The Magician left people to find a way to eternal happiness, and in mysterious underground silence he was engaged in studies of Magic [alchemy], what resulted to advent of unprecedented magic things. Among such miracles, for example, there was the surprising flying boat which shone in darkness on which the Magician flew above mountains what strongly surprised people of those times. Then he spent eternal hours with a peal which could be obtained only once in hundred years. But the most wonderful invention of the sorcerer was the fantastic furnace which could transform stones into gold. Locals living in Zhiguli mountains at those times of Magician were hunters fishers and honey-gatherers , were at first afraid of the Master of Zhiguli Caves. Local residents were frightened even more with strange creatures serving the magician - transparent white dwarfs who could disappear suddenly in one place and then re-appear in other. However peasants were convinced soon, as the Wizard, and his servants abode to peaceful customs. They never offended people, and even moreover - sometimes helped them when people were in trouble. Magician very seldom showed himself to people, and it happened more often during times of Great Challenges to people. For example, once steppe nomad invaders plundered Volga coast and burnt many settlements of local Volga population. Peaceful fishers and hunters in fear of nomad conquerors ran deep into Zhiguli mountains. And then at night Wizard came towards to newcomers on flying boat which let out from itself mysterious green beams to rescue Volga people. Having seen something not clear and sparkling, Volga people in horror ran back to steppe and after that did not dare to come any more to edge of Zhiguli woods. And then at once Volga has risen directly to bottom of mountains, and its waters began to destroy unapproachable slopes together with settlements. But here wizard who has constructed the huge machine in the cave has again come to the aid of Volga people from the underground cave - and Wizard forced waters of the river to deviate on seventy versts to the West, and to bypass partly Zhiguli mountain. The legend narrates that by means of sorcery the underground Magician could prolong his life up to several thousand years.
In local folklore there are stories about a mysterious caste of underground eremites, living in caves unknown to humans and possessing hidden knowledge and surprising abilities. These comely gray-haired old men, according to legends can appear and disappear unexpectedly directly on sight of a traveller. Sages from different regions of Russia constantly communicate among themselves.
In area Perevoloki village in the end of 19-th century caves with entrances similar to doors were discovered. Caves with windows, within the precincts of a niche, a ceiling with the arch ... Similar caves surrounded also the next village Pecherskoe (its name comes from Russian word "cave") where peasants found tombstones with Arabic inscriptions, stone cellars, iron wiring.
Other account of an antiquity of this mysterious Volga civilization can be found in works of the Kazakh researcher of the Central Asia Velikhanov which, referring to eastern annals "djami", in 19-thcentury wrote the following: "the son of biblical Noah and the legendary ancestor of arabs, on coast of Volga has found the death. His name has been immortalized in name of the river of Samara. Here he was buried". Myths and legends in many respects prove to be true. Archeologic evidence allowed to find out so-called Volga historical shaft in boundless steppes. These words historians refer to certain grandiose construction representing a soil wall embankment along which a deep moat is well visible. Nowadays the wall embankment is about five meters in height and seven-ten meters - at width, and depth of moat is 1-3 meters. As a whole scale of Volga historical shaft should amaze: it lasts with breaks through the Saratov and Samara areas, through Tatarstan and Bashkiria, and then is lost somewhere in foothills of Average Urals Mountains.
The general length of Volga historical shaft is estimated to be at least two thousand kilometers. It is supposed, that this shaft has been erected approximately in the second millenium B.C. by powerful race, nowadays completely dissapeared. Hypothesis of existence in Ural Mountains an ancient civilization is supported by existence in Southern Urals Mountains, in territory of modern Chelyabinsk area of a mysterious city of Arkaim which, probably, was the largest cultural and economic center of that ancient civilization of followers of Zoroastrism. Most likely, thousand years ago citizens of Arkaim knew well metallurgical manufacturing process. Most likely, they also constructed Volga historical shaft as a defence system. According to archeologic data in the second millenium B.C. Arkaim literally in one day has stopped the existence on the unknown grounds.
Zhiguli as a geopathogenic zone
Zhiguli mountains is a unique geopathogenic zone. Pl;ace is a source of strong electromagnetic beams and the strongest thunder-storms. During certain precise time intervals power beams of two points in Zhiguli mountains are crossed in certain place. Immediately afterwards growth of accidents and crimes is observed. N. I. Gumilev had a theory about passionary beams that there are certain periodic pushes from space (he coined the term passionary for them) which influence intensity of historical process. Where such push occur, many outstanding historically significant geniuses in a science, techniques, culture appear... And passionary beam influences mentality of people. There are only two points in the world, where frequency these beams is the highest - it is Egypt and Zhiguli mountains. At present one more passionary beam operating in part of Appennines peninsula, Yugoslavia, Chechen Republic, Pakistan and India develops. This beam represents a narrow strip approximately 300 kilometers. This beam is now very active. When this beam becomes more active - passionary people, ready to make revolutions and other radical social changes, appear. Zhiguli mountains, on the contrary, radiate passive passionary beam. Zhiguli mountains always represented very socially inert place. Since Stepan Rasin and Pugachev times all revolts and wars always bypassed Zhiguli region. Samara never had an active social stand, nor was defended from the enemy.
One of riddles of Samara ring is that Volga river while possessing huge weight and force of a water stream did not punch the isthmus in Perevolok area composed of soft soil, and instead bends around Zhiguli mountains as a huge bulge loop, passing through an outlet in granite rocks in area of Samara. That creates unique geophysical conditions of Volga river. A significant site of a surface is a structure acting as an electromagnetic contour. Samara physicist Markelov showied that Samara ring represents the center of a gravitational whirlwind.
Few images of Zhiguli mountains:
Sok river into Volga, Sokoli mountains
