https://www.maavald.ee/ /ru/h-ru/2016/externsteine-germany-2371 The Externsteine is a distinctive sandstone rock formation located in the Teutoburg Forest, near the town of Horn-Bad Meinberg in the Lippe district of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The formation is a tor consisting of several tall, narrow columns of rock which rise abruptly from the surrounding wooded hills. In a popular tradition going back to an idea proposed to Hermann Hamelmann in 1564, the Externsteine are identified as a sacred site of the pagan Saxons, and the location of the Irminsul idol reportedly destroyed by Charlemagne; there is however no archaeological evidence that would confirm the site's use during the relevant period. The stones were used as the site of a hermitage in the Middle Ages, and by at least the high medieval period were the site of a Christian chapel. The Externsteine relief is a medieval depiction of the Descent from the Cross. It remains controversial whether the site was already used for Christian worship in the 8th to early 10th centuries.

Germany, Teutoburg Forest, Horn-Bad Meinberg
Andreas Dengs]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2371 /ru/h-ru/2016/palivere-ohvripuu-e-puuvana-2370 Läänemaal Paliveres kasvab ohvripuuna künnapuu, mida on nimetatud ka ohvripärnaks. Wikipedia annab sellise loo. „Paleveres on iiepärn. See oo siin raudteejaama ligidal suure maandi ääres. Rääkisid ikka, kui me Paleveres elasime, et see oli na muhkusi täis. See oo na pahamoodi mügar: kõva puu, aeab kusagilt koorest välla, niisugune muhumoodi. Ma ei tea, kis rääkis, et teind ühe muhul augu sisse – veri tulnd välla." Tänasel päeval näeb "puuvana" välja sellina nagu pildil. Teda on mainitud 17. sajandi kirikuraamatus, ohvrimünte tema juurest on leitud 16. sajandi omi. Minu jalutuskäigud viivad ta juurest tihti läbi ja temast on saanud viimastel aastatel ka mu saksa tuttavate lemmikpuu Eestis.

Läänemaa, Palivere, Haapsalu-Ääsmäe maantee ääres.
Urve Tabri]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2370 /ru/h-ru/2016/jyr-pyd-sjoton-roshcha-prineseniya-zhervennykh-darov-pokojnomu-2369 В этой роще по сей день совершают обряд последних проводов души покойного родителя (отца, матери), когда собираются все родственники и жертвуют животное в честь усопшего. В народе обряд носит несколько названий: мыддорин сюан "свадьба наоборот", уллань вандон "жертвование вниз/низовье", йыр-пыд сётон "давание головы и ног [животного]" и т.д. В этой роще оставляют жертвенные дары усопшему (голову и ноги животного, пищевые дары, деньги и пр.). Выбор ольховника в качестве проводов умершего и контактировании с иным миром, вероятно, неслучаен, поскольку ольха в удмуртском языке в переводе на русский язык звучит как дерево с душой - лулпу "лул "душа", пу "дерево"". Сама ольховая роща находится ниже по течению реки по отношения к деревне и неподалеку от деревенского кладбища. Сакральный статус и ритуальная значимость места сохраняется и в настоящее время.

д. Карамас-Пельга Киясовского района Республики Удмуртия
Николай Анисимов]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2369 /ru/h-ru/2016/m-r-v-s-molenie-mirom-2368 На фото зафиксирован процесс моления Мӧр вӧсь “моление миром”. Само место находится недалеко от д. Асавка Балтачевского района Башкирии. Моление проходит в июне месяце. Жертвуют овцу, варят ритуальную кашу и молятся за мир во всем мире, за приплод скота, богатый урожай, здоровье детей и всей деревни и пр. Сакральное место по сей день функционирует и имеет большое ритуальное значение для местных жителей.

Республика Башкортостан, Россия
Николай Анисимов]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2368 /ru/h-ru/2016/m-r-v-s-molenie-mirom-2367 На фото зафиксирован процесс моления Мӧр вӧсь “моление миром”. Само место находится недалеко от д. Асавка Балтачевского района Башкирии. Моление проходит в июне месяце. Жертвуют овцу, варят ритуальную кашу и молятся за мир во всем мире, за приплод скота, богатый урожай, здоровье детей и всей деревни и пр. Сакральное место по сей день функционирует и имеет большое ритуальное значение для местных жителей.

Республика Башкортостан, Россия
Николай Анисимов]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2367 /ru/h-ru/2016/lud-keremet-roshcha-moleniya-ludu-keremetu-2366 Эта роща моления Луду/Керемету находится в д. Вотская Ошъя Янаульского района Башкирии. По традиции в этой роще могут молиться и находиться лишь мужчины. В народе это моление и само место считается особо опасным и даже злым. Сакральное место действует по сей день.

Республика Башкортостан, Россия
Николай Анисимов]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2366 /ru/h-ru/2016/v-s-kelyan-voz-lug-provodov-moleniya-2364 Данное место находится недалеко от д. Карамас-Пельга (Киясовский район Удмуртия). Место имеет высокую сакральность и значимость по сей день. Согласно местным жителям на этом месте совершали различные ритуалы, связанные с вӧсем, т.е. святым духом, святым местом, святостью. Так, утром до рассвета с этого луга собирали с цветов росу и приносили ее в новую куалу, ритуальную постройку, где совершались моления (вӧсез бичаса ваё “святость/святого духа собирая приносят”). В том случае, когда куала закрывалась и моления в нем прекращались вӧсь “святость/святого духа” провожали на этот же самый луг.

Удмуртская Республика, Россия
Николай Анисимов]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2364 /ru/h-ru/2016/bagysh-v-s-svyashchennoe-mesto-moleniya-bagysh-2363 Это священное место находится в поле, недалеко от автотрассы. Само место огорожено, внутри сакрального пространства растут несколько деревьев, имеются постройки для хранения атрибутов моления. На это моление, называемое в народе Багыш вӧсь собирается несколько деревень. Сакральное место действует по сей день.

Республика Башкортостан, Россия
Николай Анисимов]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2363 /ru/h-ru/2016/taevaskoda-dolina-reki-akhya-2361 Природное священное место

Эстония, Пылвамаа, Тэваскода
Надежда Михайлова]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2361 /ru/h-ru/2016/taevaskoda-dolina-reki-akhya-2360 Природное священное место

Эстония, Пылвамаа, Тэваскода
Надежда Михайлова]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2360 /ru/h-ru/2016/taevaskoda-dolina-reki-akhya-2359 Природное священное место

Эстония, Пылвамаа, Тэваскода
Надежда Михайлова]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2359 /ru/h-ru/2016/taevaskoda-dolina-reki-akhya-2358 Природное священное место

Эстония, Пылвамаа, Тэваскода
Надежда Михайлова]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2358 /ru/h-ru/2016/taevaskoda-dolina-reki-akhya-2357 Природное священное место

Эстония, Пылвамаа, Тэваскода
Надежда Михайлова]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2357 /ru/h-ru/2016/taevaskoda-dolina-reki-akhya-2356 Природное священное место

Эстония, Пылвамаа, Тэваскода
Надежда Михайлова]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2356 /ru/h-ru/2016/taevaskoda-dolina-reki-akhya-2355 Природное священное место

Эстония, Пылвамаа, Тэваскода
Надежда Михайлова]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2355 /ru/h-ru/2016/ra-unusta-mind-tamme-lauri-tamm-2354 Kaunis Tamme-Lauri-Tamm, Urvastes on Eesti üks vanimaid ja suurimaid tammesid. Selle foto tegin siis kui käisin koos perega pildistamas ja proovisin natuke teistmoodi asjale läheneda- pikali meelespeades ja võililledes :)

Võrumaa, Urvaste
Keily Laurits]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2354 /ru/h-ru/2016/podslushivayushchij-kamen-2352 По преданиям вожди древних эстов узнавали о приближении врагов прикладывая ухо к камню и слушая его...

Эстония, Пылвамаа, Тэваскода
Надежда Михайлова]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2352 /ru/h-ru/2016/mt-ol-doinyo-lengai-tanzania-2343 Rising to an altitude of 9717 feet (2962 meters, though these measurements vary according to different scientists) the symmetrical, steeply sided and still active volcano of Ol Doinyo Lengai is located in the Eastern Rift Valley of remote northern Tanzania. Soaring 6562 feet (2000 meters) above the parched and rocky desert floor, it is considered the home of the Masai god, Eng'ai, who occasionally signals her wrath with eruptions and drought. Pronounced ol doyn-yo len-guy, meaning ‘Mountain of God’ in the Masai language, it has long been a place of pilgrimage for Tanzania’s pastoralists, who pray for the most important things in their world: rain, cattle, and healthy children. In one of the more common rituals, Masai elders lead groups of barren women to the base of the mountain, where they pray to Eng'ai to bless them with children.

Tanzania
Martin Gray]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2343 /ru/h-ru/2016/k-rgema-allika-m-n-2342 Kõrgema allikas asub Saaremaal meeldivalt kõrvalises ning ürgse ilmega vaikses ja salapärases metsatukas, millest poleks tahtnud enam välja tullagi. Tol suvepäeval oli allika veetase väga madal ning silmale paljastusid allika sisekülgedel põimuvad ja väänlevad puujuured.

Saaremaa, Salme vald (Jämaja khk, Lõupõllu k, Viieristi mägedes)
Madli Lippur]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2342 /ru/h-ru/2016/k-rgema-allika-m-n-2341 Kõrgema allikas asub Saaremaal meeldivalt kõrvalises ning ürgse ilmega vaikses ja salapärases metsatukas, millest poleks tahtnud enam välja tullagi. Tol suvepäeval oli allika veetase väga madal ning silmale paljastusid allika sisekülgedel põimuvad ja väänlevad puujuured.

Saaremaa, Salme vald (Jämaja khk, Lõupõllu k, Viieristi mägedes)
Madli Lippur]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2341 /ru/h-ru/2016/k-rgema-allika-m-n-2340 Kõrgema allikas asub Saaremaal meeldivalt kõrvalises ja ürgse ilmega metsas, millest poleks tahtnud enam välja tullagi. Kuna allika veetase oli tol juulikuupäeval väga madal, köitsid pilku allika sisekülgedel looklevad ja põimuvad puujuured.

Saaremaa, Salme vald (Jämaja khk, Lõupõllu k, Viieristi mägedes)
Madli Lippur]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2340 /ru/h-ru/2016/p-hatu-allika-p-hi-2339 Pilt ei vasta küll paraku nõuetele --- pühapaik pole pildilt äratuntav --- kuid laen selle üles sellegi poolest. Pühatu ehk Põhjatu allika (ja ilmselt tegelikult kõikide allikate) puhul on kõige lummavam tema põhi. See, mis on veepinna all, veealune võluilm. Vähemalt tollel päikesepaistelisel päeval see nii oli ja allika ümbrusele mul silmi (ega filmi) peaaegu ei jätkunudki, pildistasin ainult seda, mis sillerdas vees ja vee all. Pühatu allika põhi on nõiduslikult endasse tõmbav ja kutsuv ning ilmus silme ette ka iga kord, kui hiljem kodus allikalt toodud vett jõin. Ja ta kutsub ja kummitab mind senini ning tema vee järele käivad mul ikka neelud :)

Saaremaa, Kaarma vald, Pähkla küla
Madli Lippur]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2339 /ru/h-ru/2016/p-hatu-allika-p-hi-2338 Pilt ei vasta küll paraku nõuetele --- pühapaik pole ilmselt pildilt äratuntav --- kuid laen selle üles sellegi poolest. Pühatu ehk Põhjatu allika (ja ilmselt tegelikult kõikide allikate) puhul on kõige lummavam tema põhi. See, mis on veepinna all, veealune võluilm. Vähemalt tollel päikesepaistelisel päeval see nii oli ja allika ümbrusele mul silmi (ega filmi) peaaegu ei jätkunudki, pildistasin ainult seda, mis sillerdas vees ja vee all. Pühatu allika põhi on nõiduslikult endasse tõmbav ja kutsuv. See ilmus silme ette ka iga kord, kui hiljem kodus allikalt toodud vett jõin. Ja ta kutsub ja kummitab mind senini ning tema vee järele käivad mul ikka neelud :)

Saaremaa, Kaarma vald, Pähkla küla
Madli Lippur]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2338 /ru/h-ru/2016/kuremyaeskij-dub-2336 Последнее дерево священной дубравы и согласно одному из сказаний под дубом были похоронены ноги Калевипоэга.

Эстония. Ида-Вирумаа. Куремяэ
Надежда Михайлова]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2336 /ru/h-ru/2016/iideva-ohvrikivi-2335 <p>Muistis asub kõrgel lagedal põllumaal ja kujutab endast ovaalse, lõuna suunas veidi teravneva põhiplaaniga kumera pealispinnaga raudkivi. Kivi pikku NS suunas on 4,1 m, laius 3,6 m, kõrgus 2,2 m ja suurim ümbermõõt maapinna lähedalt 13 m. Kunstlikke lohukesi kivil pole, küll aga on kunagi ammu välja murdunud osa kivi pealispinnast kesk- ja läänepoolses osas. Kivist ida pool kasvab toomingas. (Mälestise kirjeldus 1975. a)</p> <p><a href="http://register.muinas.ee/public.php?menuID=monument&action=view&id=9921">http://register.muinas.ee/public.php?menuID=monument&action=view&id=9921</a></p>

Läänemaa, Kullamaa kihelkond, Jõgisoo küla.
Katre Kuller]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2335 /ru/h-ru/2016/iideva-ohvrikivi-2334 Muistis asub kõrgel lagedal põllumaal ja kujutab endast ovaalse, lõuna suunas veidi teravneva põhiplaaniga kumera pealispinnaga raudkivi. Kivi pikku NS suunas on 4,1 m, laius 3,6 m, kõrgus 2,2 m ja suurim ümbermõõt maapinna lähedalt 13 m. Kunstlikke lohukesi kivil pole, küll aga on kunagi ammu välja murdunud osa kivi pealispinnast kesk- ja läänepoolses osas. Kivist ida pool kasvab toomingas. (Mälestise kirjeldus 1975. a)<br />http://register.muinas.ee/public.php?menuID=monument&action=view&id=9921

Läänemaa, Kullamaa kihelkond, Jõgisoo küla.
Katre Kuller]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2334 /ru/h-ru/2016/s-damega-allikas-2332 Külm- või ohvriallikas Hiiumaal, Mägipes. Siin käidud täiskuu ajal ikka üksinda hõbedat ohverdamas, selleks olnud allika juures kasetohust karp. Nii saanud endale noorust nõutada ning silmi ja näonahka ravida. Püha, südamega paik, mida armastavad ka konnad :) Võibolla on see nõiutud prints!

Mägipe, Hiiumaa
Kristiina Savva]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2332 /ru/h-ru/2016/kivijumal-2-2331 Kõige sagedamini arvatakse, et tegu on muistse hiiekohaga, tähtsate lepete sõlmimise, jumalaga arupidamise kohaga - nõnda öelda otsast lõpuni püha paigaga.

Hiiu maakond, Pühalepa vald, Pühalepa küla
Ülle Kütsen]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2331 /ru/h-ru/2016/ohvrikivi-saulepi-k-las-2330

Pärnu maakond, Varbla vald, Saulepi küla
Mehis Born]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2330 /ru/h-ru/2016/mount-agung-bali-2329 The island of Bali is geographically located about 8 degrees south of the equator and about 18 degrees north of the western end of Australia. One of the thousands of islands that make up the Indonesian archipelago, Bali is a relatively small island with an area of only 2147 square miles (5633 sq. kilometers). Originally inhabited by aboriginal peoples of uncertain origin, Bali was colonized by a seafaring people, called the Austronesians, some four of five thousand years ago. Since the seventh century AD, the animistic Balinese have absorbed diverse elements of Mahayana Buddhism, orthodox Shivaism and Tantrism. Today, the island is the only remaining stronghold of Hinduism in the archipelago, and Balinese religion is a fascinating amalgam of Hinduism, Buddhism, Malay ancestor cults, and animistic and magical beliefs and practices. A range of towering volcanic mountains divides the island into northern and southern portions. For the Balinese these mountains are the homes of the gods. The range includes four primary sacred mountains: Agung, Batur, Batukao and Abang. Of these, Gunung Agung, Bali's highest mountain at 10,308 feet (3142 meters), is the most sacred to the island's Hindus, while Gunung Batur is considered most holy by the aboriginal people living in the remote jungles around Lake Batur. Mt. Agung is the abode of Batara Gunung Agung, also identified as Mahadewa, the supreme manifestation of Shiva. Mt. Batur and Lake Batur are sacred to Dewi Danu, the Goddess of the Lake. Also called Ida Ratu Ayu Dalem Pingit, this goddess is regarded as the provider of irrigation water in the form of bubbling natural springs that issue all over the lower slopes of Mt. Batur. An enormous fresh-water lake of 4240 acres, sacred Lake Batur is considered by farmers and priests to be the ultimate source of the springs and rivers that provide irrigation water for the whole of central Bali. Bali is an island of temples. The Department of Religion has cataloged at least eleven thousand temples - small and large, local and regional. The Balinese call a shrine palinggih, which simply means "place" or "seat" and refers to any sort of temporary or permanent place toward which devotions and offerings are made. In no case is the shrine itself considered sacred; the shrine exists or is built as a residence for sacred, or holy, spirits - either ancestors or Hindu deities. Balinese temples are not closed buildings, but rectangular courtyards open to the sky, with rows of shrines and altars dedicated to various gods and deities. The gods are not thought to be present in the temples except on the dates of the temple's festivals, and therefore the temples are usually left empty. On festival days the congregation of each temple assembles to pray to and entertain the visiting deities. Most Balinese families belong to a half dozen or more temples and devote several weeks of labor each year to maintaining the temples and preparing them for numerous festivals. In Bali are found six supremely holy temples, called Sad Kahyangan, or the "six temples of the world". They are Pura Besakih, Pura Lempuyang Luhur, Pura Gua Lawah, Pura Batukaru, Pura Pusering Jagat, and Pura Uluwatu. The most famous temple in all Bali is the triple shrine located in the courtyard of the Pura Penataran Agung at Pura Besakih. At this shrine three Padmasanas (a type of shrine) are arranged side by side. Although it is often said that the three shrines are for Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, all are fundamentally dedicated to Shiva. The elaborate tiered shrine is called a meru and symbolizes the world mountain, Gunung Maha Meru. Something like a Chinese pagoda, a meru is constructed of an odd number - up to eleven - of thatched tiers. The laws of traditional Balinese architecture carefully specify the dimensions of a meru, the way it must be constructed, the types of wood appropriate for each part, and the ceremonies involved in its dedication. If, for some reason, a shrine must be moved to another location, the spirit of the shrine is first transferred to a daksina, a special offering, which is then placed nearby in a temporary shrine. The original shrine is completely destroyed. None of its components may be reused for any purpose. Often the materials are dumped into the sea to insure that they are not unwittingly used again. This practice is in contrast to certain other religious traditions where the reuse of the remains of earlier temples is considered to actually increase the sanctity and power of newer temples. Other important Balinese temples are Pura Ulun Danu Batur, the Temple of the Crater Lake, dedicated to the Lake Goddess Dewi Danu, and Tirta Empul, where flow the holiest waters of Bali, believed to possess magical curative powers. http://sacredsites.com/asia/bali/sacred_sites_of_bali.html

Indonesia
Martin Gray]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2329 /ru/h-ru/2016/white-sands-new-mexico-usa-2328 In southcentral New Mexico, west of Alamagordo, are the world's largest dune fields of gypsum sand. The brilliant white sand dunes cover an area of nearly 230 square miles, with many dunes rising to over 60 feet. The best time to visit the dunes is on a warm winter day; there will be few tourists compared to the large numbers during the summer months, and the winter light is absolutely beautiful on the shimmering sands. Wander far out upon the dunes and spend hours playing and lying in the sand. The spirit here offers an expansive sense of calmness and a childlike joy in the heart. The dunes also seem to attract visitors from very, very far away; while National Park and government officials will resolutely deny their existence, hundreds of UFO's have been sighted at White Sands during the past 30 years. The dunes were a fabled site for vision quests of Indians from throughout the southwest and northern Mexico. http://sacredsites.com/americas/united_states/white_sands_new_mexico.html

New Mexico, United States
Martin Gray]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2328 /ru/h-ru/2016/uluru-ayers-rock-with-kata-tjuta-the-olgas-in-the-distance-australia-2327 Located in the center of Australia, the massive rock formations of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) are the most prominent and well known sacred sites of the Aboriginal people. Rising 346 meters high, with a circumference of 9.4 kilometers and covering an area of 3.33 square kilometers, Uluru is the single largest rock outcropping all of Australia. Uluru is often referred to as a monolith, and for many years was listed in record books as the world’s largest monolith. That description, however, is inaccurate, as Uluru is part of a much larger underground rock formation which includes Kata Tjuta. The world’s largest monolith is actually Burringurrah (Mt Augustus) in Western Australia, which is more than 2.5 times the size of Uluru, stands 858 metres above the ground and covers and area of 48 square kilometers. In various tourist guidebooks it is said that 2/3 of Ayers Rock is beneath the surrounding land but this is not the case according to the science of geology, which explains that Uluru is only the exposed tip of a much greater mass of rock extending far below the surrounding plain as an integral part of the earth’s crust. Separated from one another by approximately 50 kilometers, Uluru and Kata Tjuta are situated along a straight line passing onto another holy peak known as Mount Conner. Geologists disagree about the origins of Uluru and Kata Tjuta. The most widely held theory is that both rocks are the remnants of a vast sedimentary bed laid down some 600 million years ago. Over eons of time the bed was raised and folded by movements of the earth’s crust, formed into a mountain range, and then slowly eroded leaving the towering rocks behind. The sandstone rock of Uluru is actually gray but is covered with a distinctive red iron oxide coating, while the thirty-six domes of Kata Tjuta are a harder type of granite composed of quartz and feldspar. The origins of the cave-like depressions on both outcroppings, especially those of Uluru, are the subject of debate among geologists but the most commonly held view is that the rock surfaces had been partly eroded and enlarged to form the depressions. The beginning of Aboriginal settlement in the Uluru region has not been determined, but archaeological findings to the east and west indicate a date more than 10,000 years ago, though some scholars estimate that human settlement in the region may actually date to 22,000 years ago. According to Aboriginal myths, Uluru and Kata Tjuta provide physical evidence of feats performed during the Dreamtime creation period. The aboriginal tribe of Anangu are the direct descendants of these beings and are responsible for the protection and appropriate management of these ancestral lands. The knowledge necessary to fulfill these responsibilities has been passed down from generation to generation. To the Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and Anangu tribes Uluru represents the living core of their belief. No other place in Australia is so rich in mythology, song-lines and stories, or so associated with events from the Alcheringa or Dreaming. In the language of the local Aborigines. ‘Uluru' is simply a local family name that is applied to both the rock and the waterhole on top of the rock. The thirty-six rounded rocks of Kata Tjuta (meaning ‘Many Headed Mountain’), are located in the same National Park as Uluru and the tallest rock, Mt. Olga at 546 meters is about 200 meters higher than Uluru. Kata Tjuta is much less visited by tourists that Uluru and therefore has a more peaceful feeling. By Aboriginal tradition only certain elderly males may climb the rock but despite this tradition the Australian government allows tourists to make the climb using a metal chain installed in 1964. Over the years there have been at least forty deaths, mainly due to heart failure while climbing Uluru, and several people have plumetted to their death while climbing. The Anangu tribe also request that visitors do not photograph certain sections of Uluru, mostly gender-related sacred places, for reasons related to traditional beliefs. This photographic ban is intended to prevent Anangu Aborigines from inadvertently violating this taboo by encountering photographs of the forbidden sites. The first sighting of Kata Tjuta by a European was in July of 1872, when Ernest Giles was exploring the country some 100 kilometers to the northeast. Giles progress towards Kata Tjuta was barred by a large lake. He later named the lake and the Kata Tjuta rocks after the then King and Queen of Spain: Amadeus and Olga. Giles returned to explore the area again in 1873 but was beaten to Uluru by William Gosse who sighted the monolith on July 19 and named it after the Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers. Giles also was the first European to climb the rock which he did accompanied by an Afghan camel driver. The inhospitable nature of the terrain ensured that few whites were to venture into the region. Farmers were defeated by the lack of water and the only whites to pass through the area were trappers, miners and the occasional missionary. The area was declared an Aboriginal Reserve in 1920 and this existed until the 1940s when road access, the possibility of gold in the area, and the tourist potential of Uluru, showed how fragile the original reserve had been. Ayers Rock was created a national park in 1950 and in 1958 was combined with the Olgas to form the Ayers Rock National Park. In 1959 a motel lease was granted near the rock and soon after an airstrip was built. By the 1970s, Ayers Rock and Mount Olga had become the most famous stop on the outback tourist circuit. In 1976 the Commonwealth Government set up the lease at Yulara (a resort complex and service village located 20 km from the base of Uluru) and in 1983 the old tourist facilities near the rock were closed down. In 1985 the title to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was returned to the local Pitjantjatjara Aborigines who, in turn, granted the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service a 99 year lease on the park. Today the Park is jointly managed under direction of a Board of Management that includes a majority of Anangu traditional owners. The Aboriginal community of Mutitjulu is near the western end of Uluru. In 1995, in acknowledgement of Anangu ownership and their relationship with the area, the name of the park was changed from Ayers Rock-Mount Olga to Uluru-Kata Tjuta, its traditional name. Uluru is listed as a World Heritage Area for its natural and man-made attributes. http://sacredsites.com/oceania/australia/uluru_ayers_rock.html

Australia
Martin Gray]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2327 /ru/h-ru/2016/mt-iztaccihuatl-from-the-slopes-of-mt-popocatepetl-mexico-2326 Forty-five miles (70 kilometers) southeast of Mexico City - and the old Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan - stand the two great sacred mountains of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, Popocatepetl means 'Smoking Mountain' and the 17,833 feet (5452 meter) volcano, while currently dormant, does frequently emit large clouds of smoke. Iztaccihuatl, meaning 'Sleeping Lady' or 'White Lady' in Nahuatl, is an extinct volcano rising to 17,388 feet (5286 meters). Numerous shrine ruins, found as high as 12,000 feet on both peaks, show that the mountains served important religious functions for the Aztecs and perhaps earlier cultures. A romantic legend that dates from Pre-Conquest times relates that Popocatepetl, a great warrior, was in love with the fair maiden Iztaccihuatl, daughter of a tribal king. The lovers went to the king who told them he would allow the marriage only if Popocatepetl was victorious in battle with a rival tribe. Popocatepetl went off to battle, was indeed victorious, but was kept away longer than expected. A rival suitor to the hand of Iztaccihuatl spread the rumor that Popocatepetl had died in battle and the young maiden soon died of grief. When Popocatepetl returned he laid her body atop a mountain range that assumed the shape of a sleeping lady - the form that is evident in the western view of the Iztaccihuatl today. Overcome with sadness, Popocatepetl climbed the adjacent peak where, standing sentinel with a smoking torch, he eternally watches over his lost lover. Legends relate that the Aztec emperor Moctezuma once sent ten of his warriors to climb Popocatepetl to discover the source of the mysterious smoke. The first recorded ascent however, in 1522, seems to have been accomplished by soldiers in the army of Cortez, making Popocatepetl the highest peak climbed by Europeans up to that time. Nowadays, during the winter months when the snow is hard and the skies clear, many climbers scale the towering mountains. In the vicinity of central Mexico are three other sacred mountains including Tlalocatepetl, the abode of the powerful Aztec rain god; Citlaltepetl Orizaba, the tallest peak in Mexico; and Nevada de Toluca. http://sacredsites.com/americas/mexico/sacred_mountains_of_mexico.html

Mexico
Martin Gray]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2326 /ru/h-ru/2016/mt-wollumbin-australia-2325 The sacred mountain of Wollumbin is located in a warm subtropical rainforest approximately 120 kilometers south of Brisbane in the state of New South Wales. Rising to 1156 meters (3793 ft), it is a holy place to many Aboriginal Communities. The mountain remains a place of cultural and traditional significance to the Bundjalung people and is the site of different ceremonies and initiation rites. In Aboriginal legend, Wollumbin was a giant bird, speared by a warrior. That fatal spear is still visible as a point on the summit. Other legends say fighting warriors cause the lightning and thunder often observed on the mountain. Captain James Cook gave Wollumbin the name Mount Warning in May 1770. It was a landmark to 'warn' mariners of offshore reefs that are found in the area. Wollumbin-Mount Warning is the remnant central plug of the Tweed shield volcano, one of the largest and best examples of an erosion caldera in the world. Wollumbin-Mt Warning became a National Park in 1967 and was added to the United Nations World Heritage list in 1975. A steep and winding path leads to the summit of the mountain where a viewing platform is located and the roundtrip hike is approximately 9 kilometers. Outside the nearby town of Nimbin is another Aboriginal sacred place known as the Nimbin Rocks. An Aboriginal Dreamtime story relates that the word Nimbin is probably derived from the name of Nyimbunji, a shaman with great supernatural powers who once ruled the land for many miles around. He had more power than other men in the area and when people needed food, rain or other things they would go to him. He was generous, wise and kind and would visit the tribal areas to make sure everyone was all right and that they were following the rules and laws. The rocks are still associated with Nyimbunji. http://sacredsites.com/oceania/australia/mount_wollumbin.html

Australia
Martin Gray]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2325 /ru/h-ru/2016/mt-olympus-greece-2324 Traditionally regarded as the heavenly abode of the Greek gods and the site of the throne of Zeus, Olympus seems to have originally existed as an idealized mountain that only later came to be associated with a specific peak. The early epics, the Illiad and the Odyssey (composed by Homer around 700BC) offer little information regarding the geographic location of the heavenly mountain and there are several peaks in Greece, Turkey and Cyprus that bear the name Olympus. The most favored mythological choice is the tallest mountain range in Greece, the Olympos massif, 100 kilometers southwest of the city of Thessaloniki in northern Greece. The highest peak - shown in the photograph - is Mytikas at 2918 meters (9570 feet). The deities believed to have dwelled upon the mythic mount were Zeus, the king of the gods; his wife Hera; his brothers Poseidon and Hades; his sisters Demeter and Hestia; and his children, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Athena, Hermes and Hephaestus. It is interesting to note that these Olympian gods and goddesses were understood in ancient times as archetypes representing idealized aspects of the multi-faceted human psyche. Worship of the deities was a method of invoking and amplifying those aspects in the behavior and personality of the human worshipper. Zeus was the god of mind and the intellect, and a protector of strangers and the sanctity of oaths; Hera was a goddess of fertility, the stages of a woman's life and marriage; Apollo represented law and order, and the principles of moderation in moral, social and intellectual matters; Aphrodite was a goddess of love and the overwhelming passions that drove humans to irrational behavior; Hermes was the god of travelers, of sleep and dreams and prophecy; Athena was spiritual wisdom incarnate; Hephaestus was the god of the arts and fire; and Ares represented the dark, bloodthirsty aspect of human nature. These gods and goddesses did not actually live upon Olympus, rather the ancient myth can be understood to be a metaphor for the power of the sacred mountain. This spiritual power had drawn hermits and monks to live in the caves and forests of the mountain since long before the dawn of the Christian era. With the coming of Christianity the myths and legends of the old Greeks were suppressed and forgotten, and the holy mountain was seldom visited. Today, weekend hikers and young travelers on the vagabond trail through Europe dash up and down the peak in a single day. It is certainly a beautiful place for such a hasty hike, yet to draw upon the real magic of Olympus one should come as a pilgrim and remain for a few quiet days in the woods. http://sacredsites.com/europe/greece/mt_olympus.html

Greece
Martin Gray]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2324 /ru/h-ru/2016/mt-kailash-tibet-2323 A great mass of black rock soaring to over 22,000 feet, Mt. Kailash has the unique distinction of being the world's most venerated holy place at the same time that it is the least visited. The supremely sacred site of four religions and billions of people, Kailash is seen by no more than a few thousand pilgrims each year. This curious fact is explained by the mountain's remote location in far western Tibet. No planes, trains or buses journey anywhere near the region and even with rugged over-land vehicles the journey still requires weeks of difficult, often dangerous travel. The weather, always cold, can be unexpectedly treacherous and pilgrims must carry all the supplies they will need for the entire journey. How long have people been coming to this sacred mountain? The answers are lost in antiquity, before the dawn of Hinduism, Jainism or Buddhism. The cosmologies and origin myths of each of these religions speak of Kailash as the mythical Mt. Meru, the Axis Mundi, the center and birth place of the entire world. The mountain was already legendary before the great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, were written. Indeed, Kailash is so deeply embedded in the myths of ancient Asia that it was perhaps a sacred place of another era, another civilization, now long gone and forgotten. Hindus believe Mt.Kailash to be the abode of Lord Shiva. Like many of the Hindu gods, Shiva is a character of apparent contradictions. He at once the Lord of Yoga and therefore the ultimate renunciate ascetic, yet he is also the divine master of Tantra, the esoteric science that regards sexual union as the most perfect path to spiritual enlightenment. According to legend, immortal Shiva lives atop Kailash where he spends his time practicing yogic austerities, making joyous love with his divine consort, Parvati, and smoking ganja, the sacred herb known in the west as marijuana, Hindus do not interpret Shiva's behaviors as contradictory however, but rather see in him a deity who has wisely integrated the extremes of human nature and thus transcended attachment to any particular, and limited, way of being. For a Hindu, to make the arduous pilgrimage to Kailash and have the darshan (divine view) of Shiva's abode is to attain release from the clutches of ignorance and delusion. Kailash is sacred to other religions as well. The Jains call the mountain Astapada and believe it to be the place where Rishaba, the first of the twenty-four Tirthankaras attained liberation. Followers of Bon, Tibet's pre-Buddhist, shamanistic religion, call the mountain Tise and believe it to be the seat of the Sky Goddess Sipaimen. Additionally, Bon myths regard Tise as the sight of a legendary 12th century battle of sorcery between the Buddhist sage Milarepa and the Bon shaman Naro Bon-chung. Milarepa's defeat of the shaman displaced Bon as the primary religion of Tibet, firmly establishing Buddhism in its place. While the Buddha is believed to have magically visited Kailash in the 5th century BC, the religion of Buddhism only entered Tibet, via Nepal and India, in the 7th century AD. Tibetan Buddhists call the mountain Kang Rimpoche, the 'Precious One of Glacial Snow', and regard it as the dwelling place of Demchog (also known as Chakrasamvara) and his consort, Dorje Phagmo. Three hills rising near Kang Rimpoche are believed to be the homes of the the Bodhisatvas Manjushri, Vajrapani, and Avalokiteshvara. Pilgrims to Kailash, after the difficult journey getting there, are then confronted with the equally arduous task of circumambulating the sacred peak. This walking around the mountain (clockwise for the Buddhists, counter-clockwise for Bon adherents) is known as a Kora, or Parikrama, and normally takes three days. In hopes of gaining extra merit or psychic powers however, some pilgrims will vary the tempo of their movement. A hardy few, practicing a secret breathing technique known as Lung-gom, will power themselves around the mountain in only one day. Others will take two to three weeks for the Kora by making full body prostrations the entire way. It is believed that a pilgrim who completes 108 journeys around the mountain is assured enlightenment. Most pilgrims to Kailash will also take a short plunge in the nearby, highly sacred (and very cold) Lake Manosaravar. The word 'manas' means mind or consciousness; the name Manosaravar means Lake of Consciousness and Enlightenment. Adjacent to Manosaravar is Rakas Tal or Rakshas, the Lake of Demons. Pilgrimage to this great sacred mountain and these two magical lakes is a life changing experience and an opportunity to view some of the most magical scenery on the entire planet. http://sacredsites.com/asia/tibet/mt_kailash.html

Tibet
Martin Gray]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2323 /ru/h-ru/2016/mt-ararat-turkey-2322 <p>Mt. Ararat, the traditional resting place of Noah’s Ark, is located in eastern Turkey near the Armenian and Iranian borders. The summit of Mt. Ararat is 5,165 meters (16,946 feet) above sea level. Ararat is a dormant volcano and its last eruption was on June 2, 1840. At present the upper third of the mountain is covered with snow and ice throughout the year. The Turkish name for Mt Ararat is Agri Dagi (which means mountain of pain). Adjoining Mt. Ararat, and 4000 feet lower, is the peak known as Little Ararat. Classical writers considered Ararat impossible to scale and the first known ascent was that of Frederic Parrot, a German physician, in 1829. Prior to the fall of the Soviet Union, Armenia was part of the Russian state and border conflicts between the Turkish and Soviet authorities often made it impossible for climbers to gain access to the mountain. Armenia has now regained its freedom but continuing conflicts with the Turkish government and the Turkey’s own conflicts with local Kurdish tribes have continued to limit further exploration of the great peak. If one is able to gain permission to climb, it is best to start from the Turkish town Dogubayazit on the south side of the mountain. The average climber who is experienced in high altitudes can complete the trek in three days, but it is better to allow four or five days so that exploration of the peak can be included. Late August is the best season for climbing. Over the years various groups have explored Ararat in the hopes of finding remains of Noah's Ark. Both Josephus in about 70 AD and Marco Polo about 1300 AD mention the Ark’s existence on the mountain, but their reports are based on others' accounts. The story of Noah's ark, as it is told in the Old Testament, is a reworking of an earlier Babylonian myth recorded in the Gilgamesh Epic. The hero of the earlier version is called Utnapishtim. It seems probable that the Babylonian story was based on a devastating flood in the Euphrates River basin, and that the ark in that story was grounded on the slopes of one of the Zagros mountains. According to Old Testament passages, God became so dismayed with the wickedness of the human race that he decided to wipe it out with a cataclysmic flood. Only a man named Noah was to be spared. So God warned Noah to build a boat to house his family and the birds and animals of the earth. Genesis (8:3-4) relates: And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountain of Ararat. The Bible only mentions Ararat in two other passages (2 Kings 19:37 and Isaac. 37:38), where it makes it clear that it is speaking of a land and a kingdom. The biblical word that we read as "Ararat" could as well be read "Urartu" because the text has merely "rrt" and the proper vowels must be supplied. Urartu was the name of a historical kingdom, but the word also meant "a land far away" and "a place in the north." There are numerous legends and eyewitness reports of Noah's Ark resting high on Mt. Ararat but so far no real evidence has been found. Only the loftiest heights of the frozen peak are capable of preserving the Ark and perhaps explorers will one day find the boat’s remains beneath the snow and ice. If the ark had landed lower on the mountain, then it would have disappeared long ago due to the natural decomposition of the wood or because it had been hauled away by treasure hunters or mountain folk in search of firewood. The Biblical references to a great flood and Noah’s ark have remarkable parallels in many other archaic myths found around the world. Greek mythology, for example, tells of a hauntingly similar cataclysmic event. Collecting and recording oral traditions from a far earlier time, Hesiod in the 8th century BC reports that prior to the present creation there were four earlier ages, each of which had been destroyed by geological cataclysms. In the forth of these previous ages, Deucalion was warned by Prometheus of an impending flood and told to fashion a wooden box in which he and his wife Pyrrha could float above the rising waters. After nine days and nights in the boat, Deucalion came to rest upon sacred Mt. Parnasus in Greece and, with the help of Zeus, recreated human beings. As the Hebrews looked back to Noah, so also the ancient Greeks looked upon Deucalion as the ancestor of their nation and as the founder of many towns and temples. The idea of a great flood (or floods) that devastated human civilization is not simply the product of the robust imagination of the ancient Hebrews and Greeks. These myths may be understood as reports, embellished and altered over the millennia, of real events. In fact, more than 500 deluge legends are known around the world and, in a survey of 86 of these (20 Asiatic, 3 European, 7 African, 46 American and 10 from Australia and the Pacific), the researcher Richard Andree concluded that 62 were entirely independent of the Mesopotamian and Hebrew accounts. Conventional scientific theory, based on incorrect assumptions made in the 1830’s and 1840’s, attempts to explain these flood myths by reference to the known rise in ocean levels that followed the hypothesized end of the last ice age and the melting of the ice caps between 13,000 and 8000 BC. The idea of an ice age at the juncture of the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras has, however, been shown to be inaccurate. Based on extensive research from the scientific disciplines of zoology, biology, geology, oceanography, climatology, astronomy, anthropology and mythology it has been conclusively shown that there was no ice age, there were no vast glaciers covering large parts of the northern hemisphere, and consequently there was no melting of any ice caps as previously hypothesized. Readers desiring a detailed scientific discussion of this matter are advised to read the book Cataclysm: Compelling Evidence of a Cosmic Catastrophe in 9500 BC, by J.B. Delair and D.S. Allan. While it is certainly true that ocean levels did dramatically rise at this time, by as much as 80-200 feet along different coastlines, that rise was not caused by the so-called slow melting of the ice caps but rather by the massively devastating influences resulting from a large cosmic object passing close by the planet around 9500 BC. This event did, however, cause cataclysmic floods which rapidly destroyed a large percentage of global human population. Modern researchers such as D.S Allan, J.B. Delair, Graham Hancock, Christopher Knight, Robert Lomas and Rand Flem-Ath have conducted comprehensive studies of the cataclysm myths found around the world and have put forth some surprising – and controversial - theories to explain the extraordinary similarity of those myths. Basically these theories posit two different causes for the great floods and their accompanying geological cataclysms. One cause, initially suggested by the American professor Charles Hapgood, was the crustal displacement of 9600 BC that rapidly shifted – in a matter of days or weeks - enormous portions of the lithosphere (upon which the slowly moving tectonic plates are situated) and resulted in catastrophic earthquakes, volcanic activity and abrupt climate change. This crustal displacement was itself caused by the enormous gravitational influences of the cosmic object (probably a fragment of an exploded super nova) as it passed close by the earth in 9600 BC. Certain myths of great antiquity can only be understood by reference to this event and interested readers may find detailed analysis in the writings of Allan, Delair, Hancock and Flem-Ath. A second cause may be found in the cometary impacts of 7460 BC and 3150 BC. The earlier impact event, which involved seven distinct cometary bodies simultaneously crashing into seven separate ocean locations around the world, has been calculated to have developed massive waves that washed over and completely devastated almost all human civilizations situated upon or near coastal locations. A large number of ancient myths that report “seven blazing suns speeding through the sky and falling to the earth” may be understood as legendary accounts of these comets. The single cometary strike of 3150 BC, impacting the eastern region of the Mediterranean Sea is probably the event that caused the great floods recorded in the myths of ancient Sumer, Egypt and Greece. Readers interested in studying the fascinating matter of cometary impacts and their devastating effects on earth will enjoy the book Uriel’s Machine by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas. <a href="http://sacredsites.com/middle_east/turkey/mt_ararat.html">http://sacredsites.com/middle_east/turkey/mt_ararat.html</a></p> <p>["Mount Ararat has historically been associated with Armenia, and is widely considered the country's principal national symbol. It is known as the "holy mountain" of the Armenian people." - Wikipedia, 02.08.16<br /><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Ararat#Significance_among_Armenians" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Ararat#Significance_among_Armenians</a>]</p>

Turkey
Martin Gray]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2322 /ru/h-ru/2016/lake-titicaca-the-island-of-the-moon-and-the-holy-mountains-of-ancohuma-and-illampu-bolivia-2321 Soaring majestically above sacred Lake Titicaca and often cloaked by ethereal mists, stand the mystic mountains of Ancohuma and Illampu. The Andean region birthed several sophisticated cultures, including the Inca and that of Tiahuanaco, which venerated high peaks as the abodes of weather deities and nature spirits. Archaeological remains found on the summit of dozens of mountains throughout Peru and Bolivia reveal that pre-Columbian people regularly ascended peaks in excess of 18,000 feet to perform ceremonies asking the spirits for life-giving rain. These mountain spirits were known by different names. There was Illapa, the ‘Flashing One’, who as Lord of storms and lightning controlled the forces of wind and rain, hail and snow. The Aymara of the Bolivian altiplano had a similar deity named Tunupa who was associated with Illampu and another great mountain, Illimani. The Inca called their mountain deities apu and their goddess of the earth was venerated as Pachamama. Great condors, traditionally regarded as messengers of the mountain spirits and able to communicate through shamans, also watch over the sacred peaks. Today people all across the Andes still ascend these mountains, continuing an ancient ritual of communion with nature spirits and the weather gods. Mt. Illampu (20,867 feet) and Mt. Ancohuma (20,957 feet), part of the same massif of peaks and permanently covered in snow, are also favored destinations of technical climbers and extreme skiers. Far below these resplendent mountains is the lake of Titicaca. Situated at 12,506 feet and covering 3200 square miles, Lake Titicaca is over 1000 feet deep and has more than thirty (mostly uninhabited) islands. Three of its main islands; Amantani, Isla de la Luna (the Island of the Moon), and Isla del Sol (the Island of the Sun) figure richly in archaic Andean myths, and ruins of enigmatic temples are scattered throughout the hilly islands. Legends say that long ago in a forgotten time the world experienced a terrible storm with tremendous floods. The lands were plunged into a period of absolute darkness and frigid cold, and humankind was nearly eradicated. Some time after the deluge, the creator god Viracocha arose from the depths of Lake Titicaca. Journeying to the islands of Sol, Luna and Amantani, Viracocha commanded the sun (Inti), the moon (Mama-Kilya) and the stars to rise. Next going to the island of Tiahuanaco, he fashioned new men and women out of stones and, sending them to the four quarters, began the repopulation of the world. Tiahuanaco became, and has remained to this day, the sacred center of the Andes; it is to South America what the Great Pyramid is to Egypt, Avebury is to England, and Teotihuacan is to Mexico. Over millennia the waters of Titicaca have receded and shifted, leaving Tiahuanaco twelve miles inland.

Bolivia
Martin Gray]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2321 /ru/h-ru/2016/mt-croach-patrick-ireland-2320 Rising to 2510 feet (765 meters) near the town of Westport in County Mayo, the quartzite peak of Croach Patrick was a pagan sacred place long before the arrival of Christianity. For the Celtic peoples of Ireland it was the dwelling place of the deity Crom Dubh and the principal site of the harvest festival of Lughnasa, traditionally held around August 1 (until the mid-nineteenth century only women were allowed on the summit during this pilgrimage and childless women would sleep on the summit during Lughnasa eve in the hope of encouraging fertility). According to popular Christian stories, St. Patrick visited the sacred mountain during the festival time in AD 441 and spent forty days and forty nights banishing dragons, snakes, and demonic forces from the site. Were there dragons and demonic forces actually living atop this mountain, or does the legend have a metaphorical rather than a literal meaning? To shed light on this matter it is important to know something of the person known as St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Patrick is not actually Irish. He was born in Britain around AD 385. Captured in his youth by Irish pirates raiding the Scottish coast, he was sold into slavery in Ireland. Later escaping to Europe, Patrick spent some years studying at the monastery of St. Martin of Tours in France, where he was ordained as a priest. Deeply affected by the Christian missionary zeal so prevalent in the early fifth century, he decided to return to Ireland to undertake the conversion of the Celtic pagans and their Druid priests. Arriving in Ireland in AD 432, Patrick spent nearly thirty years traveling about the countryside, bringing Christianity to the local people and establishing churches and monastic foundations upon many Druidic sacred sites, which had themselves been established upon far more ancient megalithic sites of the Grooved Ware people. Patrick later retired to Glastonbury, England, where he died at the age of 111. It was common for early Christians to view pagan religious practices as devil worship; thus the legend of Patrick slaying dragons and demonic forces on the sacred mountain is actually a metaphor for his subjugation and conversion of the pagan priests. In support of the pre-Christian sanctity of the mountain it is important to note that Neolithic foundations have been found on the summit and, on a natural rock outcrop (known as ‘St. Patrick’s Chair) along the pilgrimage route to the summit, Neolithic art has been discovered. By the seventh century the holy mountain had become one of the two most important Christian pilgrimage sites in all Ireland (the other being Station Island, also called St. Patrick's Purgatory, in Lough Derg near the town of Sligo). Prior to AD 1113 the pilgrims came to the mountain during Lent, but following a wild storm in which thirty pilgrims died upon the peak, the pilgrimage period was changed to summer, with the most popular days being the last Friday and Sunday of July. Currently it is estimated that nearly one million pilgrims climb to the summit each year, as many as forty thousand on the last Sunday in July. In the Irish Christian tradition the ascent is undertaken as an act of penance for wrongdoing, and many of the pilgrims climb barefooted or even on their knees. The ancient worship at Mt. Croach Patrick, however, had nothing to do with matters of penance and supposed wrongdoing. The holy mountain was a sanctuary for the giving of thanks and the celebration of life's abundance. Similar to what occurred at many other prehistoric sacred places across Europe, at Croach Patrick Christianity has warped, stifled and corrupted the natural human tendency to venerate life and the Earth's beauty, while imposing ideas of fear, guilt, and control. This great sacred mountain certainly does not wallow in such limiting, life-denying concepts nor does it require or support humans in doing so. Mt. Croach Patrick was - and still is - a place to experience and give thanks for the exquisite beauty of life.

Ireland
Martin Gray]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2320 /ru/h-ru/2016/v-itra-hiiekivi-3-2319

Pärnu maakond, Koonga vald, Võitra küla, Tõnnase talu
Mehis Born]]> https://www.maavald.ee/gallery-2319