Elven cities from the lord of the rings. Stone cities of the elves. Minas Tirith on Tol Sirion

The ancient settlement of giants was destroyed in a global war

In the Phrygian Valley in Turkey, in the Yazilikaya region, there is an unusual archaeological site - the monument "Midas's tomb", discovered in the 19th century. It is a huge rock, dotted with passages, rooms, strange bas-reliefs and partially destroyed by an unknown force. On the walls, Phrygian inscriptions have not yet been deciphered. Alexander Koltypin, Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, suggests that this complex could have been inhabited by giants.

Alexander Koltypin: We have been planning to go to Phrygian Valley to Turkey, moreover, this place was pointed out by one of my friend's pen pals Case Work who lives in Izmir, he is of English descent, but he is already a rather elderly person, he himself is not able to go, but he strongly recommended that I visit the area, he called it "Bolshoi Izilikaya", which is located near the village of Izylykaya, there are several more places around it, so in another, in Malaya Izylikaya near Hatushish, this is no longer the Phrygian, but I am the Hittite empire. Well, one is located, the Phrygian valley of Izilikaya is 200 kilometers west of Ankara, and Hatushish 200 kilometers east of Ankara, with a total of 400 kilometers between them. But in this moment I will probably now touch more on the Phrygian Valley, an area so-called Big Izylykaya... The task was before us to see rocky, underground megalithic cities and complexes, overturned huge megalithic blocks, with sculptures of lion bas-reliefs that were upside down, broken, broken, inverted, rooms that were also lying on the slope, stone rooms carved in stone, here , numerous tunnels going down, thrones carved in stones and some kind of bas-reliefs and sculptures of animals, moreover, weathered enough.

And it is no coincidence that this area is called a plateau. Markaguasi, and its other name is city Midas, because it is believed that the legendary Phrygian king Midas once lived there, but one more, third name, which is probably the most interesting, is Turkish Markaguasi... Markahuasi is a plateau in Peru, to the north of Cuzco there are remnants of stone animals, people, and, moreover, of different races, as it is believed, and, moreover, they are sufficiently weathered. Not everyone agrees that they are of artificial origin, some consider the natural play of the stone. And so it turned out that on this, when we arrived here already in this plateau of Markaguasi, we entered the plateau of Midas, climbed it and saw that there really are such outliers on this plateau, moreover, two, for example, an elephant, one located on half-bent knees, the other in a standing position, with distinctly visible trunks, already touched, strongly affected by weathering, nevertheless well readable. And in the photographs there are some fabulous birds, camels, really thrones, and we saw at the top of these plateaus, which really spoke of its incredible antiquity, that is, in order for such forms of weathering to occur, they had to pass many millions of years.

That is, of course, this is not the result of two or three thousand years of work by water, wind, some kind of pink, even if erosion, in general, atmospheric erosion. On this plateau, as well as in the vicinity of this plateau, there are a large number of stairs carved into the rocks, some kind of baths, sarcophagi, straight carved in stone, wells, tunnels going down, blocks were torn off the plateau surfaces that were lying on the slopes, many of they were upside down when we drove across Phrygian Valley, well, not all over, but over a significant part of the Phrygian Valley, we visited such places, the area of villages Ipeldak, village area Chukurka, village area Isini, we saw there our rock complexes, with tunnels going into the mountain. In these land premises there were such domed structures, which externally, for example, in Aizin did not differ in any way from Christian churches, bas-reliefs of a cross, bas-reliefs of other solar symbols, which are very widely developed in ancient Slavic culture, such as Kolovrat, for example, were carved on the walls. this was combined with domed temples, on the basis of which many archaeologists attributed them to the Christian period and dated either to the early Christian faith 2-3 century AD, or even sometimes the Byzantine period, up to until the 15th century AD.

But this right away, during my other trips, both to Israel and Turkey, I ruled out such a possibility, because all these premises inside them had a crust up to 1 mm secondary minerals, they were broken by faults, they had a thick crust of soot, that is, everything showed that these rooms had undergone powerful tectonomagmatic activity, due to which hydrothermal solutions were introduced along the faults, which were deposited on the walls, after which fires occurred, when this trail of fires has been preserved in almost all such underground structures, such global fires. Then, apparently, all this was still covered by the waters of the flood, because in most of these structures we see on the surface a layer from a few centimeters, sometimes up to a meter or deeper, of some clay-calcareous sediments, often very with oblique bedding of wave-breaking activity, that is, I clearly have all these structures multimillion-year age.

Here, one of our most interesting discoveries is what I called "cities of elves" or "elven fortresses", they are developed on the same Midas plateau, they are also developed in the region of four hundred kilometers from the Hittite Empire's Izilikaya in the Hatushish region on separate mountains , they are widely developed in the Phrygian Plain region, it is a fortress Pishmish, fortress, fortress Doganly and a whole series of such fortresses. These are, in fact, such mountains with steep rocky slopes, sometimes 100 , sometimes 200 meters, and with a fairly flat surface. And here it is almost impossible to climb these mountains. And when you go around, only one well-hidden entrance leads, moreover, this is a staircase carved into the rocks, very ancient, destroyed by erosion, often megalithic blocks are quite large near this staircase near it.

As you go up, you see the rooms carved inside this rock above, and, moreover, the rooms are often designed for a person of ordinary height, this is what is most interesting. That is, for the most part, these are not traces of any giants or dwarfs here, but the creation of ordinary growth. The tunnels that go deep into the mountains, no one knows where, because they are mostly covered with a large number huge megalithic blocks, many of them have survived, but they are in the form of a saw like this, something in places on some surfaces for 20, there, 30 meters, such blocks have survived, sometimes 100 meters. Often they fell down, sometimes whole columns up to 15-20 meters in size, hexagonal fell down, which, apparently, decorated. Sometimes whole rooms fell down, which are in an inverted bed on the slopes. Blocks with bas-reliefs of a lion, moreover, the lion lies, upside down on the slope. That is, all this suggests that this rock previously existed, represented a certain single city or fortress, which reminds me of nothing else, as, for example, shown in the film The Lord of the Rings, Konon, The Chronicle of Narnia, The Hobbit ... Whoever showed these films, he, apparently, was very grounded in ancient knowledge and knew that such cities existed, and that they can really be seen in Turkey.

And as recent trips have shown, I still went to Bulgaria, in the Eastern Rhodopes there are many such formations, there is already the Thracian Valley, which is a continuation of the Phrygian. This, for example, Perperikon, which, if mainly in Turkey in tuffs are carved into volcanic rocks, then Perperikon is already limestone to a greater extent, although there are also volcanics there. Tatu, Deaf stones and many other cities, that is, here are such rocky cities on the tops of the mountains, which were beautiful places, with fantastic views all over the neighborhood, a lot. Moreover, at first I somehow thought that this was the result of all this weathering, that over the past 10-15 million years from the construction of these complexes, river erosion and weathering destroyed these structures. Well, not quite so, indeed the destruction was strong, but the point is that during the last 15 million years old territory of Turkey, as well as Bulgaria, total Mediterranean rises... 10-11 million years ago, the uplift became especially strong. Almost the same relief that existed in those distant times, it could have remained practically unchanged, the same river valleys, the same rivers, but only they became deeper, the same mountains, only they became more destroyed, and blocks were torn off from them ... That is, we see such an ancient relief.

General information about Perperikon (according to published sources)

Perperikon is located in the Eastern Rhodopes, 20 km north-east of the town of Kardzhali. The rocky city rises on a rocky peak at an altitude of 470 m. At its foot is the village of Gorna-Krepost (Upper Fortress), and the Perpereshka River flows nearby. The convenient river valley created favorable conditions for life in ancient times and now it is dotted with dozens of archaeological sites different eras, the center of which is Perperikon.

Perperikon (6 )

The archaeological medieval complex of Perperikon is one of the oldest monumental megalithicmonuments carved into the rocks. This is one of the most popular tourist sites in Bulgaria.
Cultural life on the rocky peak began as early as the 5th millennium BC.– she was associated with the cult of the Sun God, which was worshiped by people of the Stone and Bronze Ages. The first sanctuary was created here, into which they brought vessels with gifts for their gods. These sacred rites continued throughout the entire Bronze Age (ІІІ– II millennium BC).
With the development of metal tools, it became possible to carve stone structures from solid rock. Then an oval hall with a huge round altar in the center was carved into the rock. There the priests performed sacred rituals with wine and fire. These rituals were characteristic of the temple of Dionysus, which was long sought after in the Rhodope Mountains.
Recent archaeological research clearly indicates that the temple was located precisely on Perperikon. According to legend, two fateful prophecies were made from the altar of this temple. The first prophesied great conquests and glory to Alexander the Great, and the second, made several centuries later, foreshadowed the coming to power and power of the first Roman emperor, Gaius Julius Caesar, Octavian Augustus.
During the last millennium B.C. and in the first centuries after the birth of Christ, rock-cut temples grew and turned into a city with fortified walls, palaces and adjacent buildings. There probably was also the palace of the king of the Thracian tribe besi. Subsequently, the Romans brought a taste for luxury and sophistication to Perperikon, and the Goths ravaged and burned Perperikon in 378.
At the beginning of the 5th century. after the adoption of Christianity in the Rhodope Mountains, the rocky city of Perperikon became the seat of the bishop. In the VІІ-XІV centuries. Perperikon became the center of a thriving area. For this city, battles were repeatedly fought between the Bulgarians and the Byzantines. At the end of the 14th century. The Ottoman Turks took possession and destroyed the fortress, whose ruins were gradually consigned to oblivion.
The sacred city of Perperikon is unique from an archaeological, historical, natural and interfaith point of view; this is one of the wonders of the world. Many finds made during archaeological research on Perperikon can now be seen in the Historical Museum of the city of Kardzhali.

A source: http://bulgariatravel.org

... Thousands of years ago, Perperikon was a massive rock. Prehistoric people chose this mountain for the performance of religious rites. At first they worshiped huge stones, later they learned how to process and use them for protection and refuge. Then the Thracians came here. After examining ancient maps, scientists discovered that Pergamon in Thracian language was called Pergamon - the citadel at the top. The first name of the legendary Troy was also Pergamon. The earliest traces of human civilization found at Perperikon date from the late Neolithic period– VI-V millennia BC Remnants of Neolithic pottery found in natural crevices of the cliff .
Then Perperikon was not yet a settlement; cult rites were held here. Perperikon became a settlement in the "copper" era– V-IV millennium BC Exactly the origin of the pits carved in the rock and the fragments of earthenware found in them dates back to this time ... Scientists believe that Perperikon reached its climax in the Bronze Age, in particular the 18th-12th centuries. BC, during the heyday of the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations.
Perperikon consists of four objects: the citadel, the acropolis on the hill; a palace or temple southeast of the acropolis and two outer cities on the north and south slopes of the hill. No archaeological site the two outer cities have not been conducted, but a survey of the landscape shows that the cities had streets and public and religious buildings carved into the rock. During the domination of the Romans, in the I-IV centuries. AD, most of the houses were located at the foot of the hill, the fertile river valley was densely populated.
The top of the hill was defended by an acropolis whose walls were 8 and a half feet thick. The citadel was probably built earlier, the Romans have repeatedly completed and repaired it. The walls of the fortress were laid from solid stone blocks without the use of any binding materials. In the eastern part of the acropolis, a structure similar to a basilica has been preserved. Archaeological research suggests that it was a pagan temple, later converted to a Christian church by the addition of an apse. There are two stone doors in the western part of the temple. A gallery with columns leads from the walls of the church to the middle of the acropolis. About 90 feet below the acropolis is a spectacular palace.

Avallone

Minas Tirith on Tol Sirion

An elven fortress on an island in the middle of the river (Tol Sirion). Built by King Finrod Felagund shortly after coming to Beleriand. For about 400 years, the fortress belonged to the elves of House Finarfin. In 457, the First Age was taken by the army of Angband under the leadership of Sauron. The remnants of the defenders fled to Nargothrond, and the island on which the fortress stood was then called Tol-in-Gaurhot (Werewolf Island). In 465 CE, the island was freed from the rule of Sauron by Lúthien Tinuviel, and by the Valinor dog Juan, as a result of which Minas Tirith, deprived of the will of Sauron to support him, collapsed. After the War of Wrath, the ruins of the fortress, along with Beleriand, sank to the bottom of the Great Sea.

Nargothrond

The secret citadel and capital of Finrod Felagund, modeled after Menegroth in Doriath. It was cut into the rock above the Narog River and you could get inside only along a narrow mountain serpentine. It was destroyed by the dragon Glaurung, who crept into the city over a new bridge built on the advice of Turin Turambar.

Thangorodrim

Three huge protective mountains above the gates of Angband, created by Melkor. They were destroyed by the dead dragon Ancalagon when he fell from heaven, slain by Earendil.

Utumno

The first stronghold of Melkor to the north in the Iron Mountains. The Sindarin version of the name is Udun. Utumno flourished during the era of the Valar Lamps. It was from Utumno that Melkor attacked the Lamps and began to change the world of Middle-earth. Also in Utumno, he perverted the elves and turned them into orcs. It stood for 1146 years and was destroyed by the Valar during the War of the Elements. At the same time, Melkor was captured and imprisoned in Valinor. And although Utumno was not completely destroyed, Morgoth did not return to it.

Himring

The hill on which the fortress and capital of Maedhros' domain stood.

The cities of Numenor

Andunie

Armenelos

Capital of Numenor.

Nindamos

Coastal settlement in the south of Numenor.

Ondosto

The central city of Forostar in the north of Numenor.

Romenna

Fortress and port on east coast Numenor. Royal Asylum, in other words - "residence".

Eldalonde

The port city of Numenor, located in the western part of it at the mouth of the Nunduin River, which flows into the Gulf of Eldanna.

Western Middle-earth cities

Aglarond

Aglarond ("The Shining Caves") is a network of caves in the White Mountains west of Helm's Gorge. Next to the caves was the Numenorean fortress, later named Hornburg. The inhabitants of Rohan did not appreciate the beauty of the caves, using them as warehouses in case of war. Aglarond was later settled by dwarves who founded their kingdom there.

Annuminas

The harpers of Dol Amroth are famous for their art; the memory of the elves is also strong there and their traditions are well remembered.

During the War of the Ring, Dol Amroth sent 800 soldiers to the aid of Minas Tirith, led by the Dol-Amroth prince Imrahil and his knights. In the defense of Minas Tirith, he appeared in the most dangerous places and together with Gandalf the White led the garrison. After the death of Denethor II, Prince Imrahil temporarily assumed (with the consent of Aragorn) power in the city.

Dol Amroth's banner is a silver swan ship on a gold field.

Isengard

Linhir

A town in South Gondor near the fords of the Gilraine River, near the Anduin Delta. The site of a local battle during the War of the Ring.

Lon Dar (Lond Daer)

Translated - "Great Harbor". Numenore port at the mouth of the Guatlo River. Most The Second Age remained an important foothold in Numenor. The full name is Lond Daer Ened. The suffix "Ened" means "middle", "in the middle" and explains the position of the city exactly halfway between Lyndon in the north and Pelargir in the south.

Minas Itil

Eastern twin of Minas Anor, "Fortress of the Moon" of Gondor, capital of Ithilien. Founded by the descendants of the Numenoreans. In the Third Age, it was captured by the Nazgul army, during the occupation by the troops of Mordor it was called Minas Morgul. After the victory in the War of the Ring, it was destroyed to the ground.

Minas Tirith

Originally Minas Anor, "Fortress of the Sun" or White City, capital of Gondor. Founded by the descendants of the Numenoreans. After the capture of the Enemy Minas Ithil, it was renamed to Minas Tirith ("Guardian Fortress"). During the War of the Ring, it was sieged by the forces of Mordor during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, but in the end the hordes of Mordor were defeated and scattered.

Meathlond (Gray Harbor)

Port on west coast Middle-earth, inhabited by elves. It is under the rule of Cirdan Shipwreck. Ships of elves who wish to part with Middle-earth sail from the Gray Haven to the Overseas West. Frodo, Bilbo and Gandalf also sailed from the Gray Haven with the elves.

Michel Delving

The administrative center of the Hobbit Shire. English name sounds like Michel delving, in a number of publications it is translated as Zemleroysk or Mikoryto... The name means "big pits".

Moria

The underground state of the gnomes, consisting of many tunnels and halls. According to the legends of the dwarves of Middle-earth, it was founded by Durin, the First Dwarf. In the Third Age, it was captured by a Balrog, accidentally awakened by the dwarves, and inhabited by orcs under the rule of Azog, then it received the name - Moria (from the elven "black abyss"). Balin made an unsuccessful attempt to retake Moria shortly before the War of the Ring. In the Fourth Age, it was returned to the rule of the dwarf people.

Moria's original Dwarf name was Kazad-Dum.

Nogrod

An ancient dwarf stronghold in the Blue Mountains, south of Belegost. The dwarven name is Tumunzahar.

Osgiliath

Eglarest

The second port city of Cirdan Korabela on the Falas coast in West Beleriand. It was located south of Britombar, at the mouth of the Nenning River. After the War of Wrath, it ceased to exist along with all of Beleriand.

Edoras

Meduseld Palace (still from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers).

Eastern Outpost

A fortress on the eastern border of Mordor. Located on the Sirlit River (eng. Sirlith) on the road to Seregost, departing from the Khand tract.

Durtang

The ancient Gondorian castle, which became one of the orc fortresses around Udun.

Fangs of Mordor (Morannon)

The defensive twin towers of Mordor. In a place called Kirith Gorgor, where the Mountains of Dusk (Efel Duat) join the Ash Mountains (Ered Litui), there is an entrance to the Black Land, blocked by the Black Gate. During the heyday of Gondor, after the first defeat of Sauron, the Gondorians erected two observation towers at the entrance to the gorge in order to prevent the return of Sauron's henchmen to Mordor. But in the end the garrison of the towers fell, they came under the control of the Eye and began to be called Karhost and Narhost, the Teeth of Mordor.

Tower on the pass Kirit-Ungol

A watchtower built by the Gondorians shortly after the conclusion of the Last Alliance and the fall of Sauron, to defend eastern Ithilien from the threat from Mordor. Due to the weakened vigilance of the garrison, or betrayal, the Chief of the Nazgуловl captured the tower. This probably happened in the year of his return (1980) to Mordor or so. The exit through Kirith Ungol was captured by the forces of darkness for many years. After Sauron's return to Mordor, the fortress served to guard the passage through the Kirit-Ungol pass.

Eastern Middle-earth cities

Gundabad

A mountain at the junction of the Misty and Gray Mountains, in whose dungeons the state of the dwarves was located. In the Third Age, the Orcs captured Gundabad and submitted to Angmar. After the fall of Angmar, the foothill fortress was empty for a long time, but by the time of the War of the Ring, thousands of goblins gathered near the mountain at the call of Sauron's ambassadors.

Dale

A trading city at the foot of Erebor, in the headwaters of the Kelduin. For a long time after the invasion of the dragon, Smaug was abandoned. Rebuilt at the end of the Third Age under the leadership of King Bard the Archer. Currently - the capital of the kingdom of the Barding dynasty.

Dol Guldur

The Dire castle in southern Mirkwood, Sauron's stronghold during the Second Age. Was destroyed by the united forces of the Light Council. Before the War of the Ring, it again became a haven for the Nazgуловl.

Karn Doom

Esgaroth

The city of people on Dolgoye Lake, standing on a large wooden platform overlooking the water. Esgaroth was large trade port: from the south, from Dorwinion and from the shores of Lake Run, food and wine were delivered to it, and from the north, from Erebor and the kingdom of the elves in Mirkwood, weapons and jewelry were brought. Its merchants and city governors are renowned for their stinginess and commercial acumen. At the same time, the townspeople can be sympathetic and do not tolerate cowardly leaders. In the year 2941 of the Third Age, Esgaroth was destroyed by the dragon Smog, but soon it was rebuilt anew, already on the shore, because none of the townspeople wanted to live on the lake, at the bottom of which the dead dragon rested.

Kolomna is unexpectedly large and outlandishly entwined with rivers and temples.

The old city or the Kremlin, is very similar to the Moscow one, with birds or check marks of red brick battlements, differing only in simple rounded towers instead of openwork Moscow ones. Unfortunately, the Kremlin wall of Kolomna collapsed to the ground in some places.

This journey was not entirely ordinary for us - we went by bus, not by car, getting up at an incredible early for us and “pilgrims” to monasteries on foot, looking in amazement as other travelers open the doors of their cars.
We unexpectedly liked being pilgrims - encouraging the dust of the country road with our heels through the soles, being baked by the sun and listening to the silence of the fields.
We walked to the Bobrenev Monastery for a long time, and it slowly and majestically grew in front of us like a snow-white unprecedented field stalactite, decorated with blue and black. In the deep blue sky, the black gracefully outlined domes and the tent of the bell tower looked extraordinary and luxurious.

The scent of color, I would say.

And when we looked back, we realized that behind our backs there was no less impressive picture - across the river we could see an elven country - temples and carved aerial bell towers of the Kremlin.

Sharp glare on the water, lush greenery, bell towers illuminated by the sun, and above all this there is a completely bottomless and amazing sky.
This is HAPPINESS.
Isn't it happiness to see, feel, feel like a note woven into the general symphony of the beauty of the world?
Have you felt this way? :)))

The city of elves is very small and quite compact. It is hidden in a forested area south of summit 588 at a slight rise between two gullies. It is clear where else the elves live if not in the forest. From the east, on the side where the gloomy Mordor rises through the cleft, all littered with a dead forest, the city of the elves is closed by a powerful fortress wall. Evil fiery breath extends to the very walls of the fortress, dead trees lie everywhere. But the walls and the warriors on the walls take a hit. And further behind the wall is a peaceful and kind town, where there is no tall buildings rather a stone village than a city. But the elves do not need much, the main thing is the forest.

1. Fortress wall.

2. View from the fortress wall to Mordor.

3. Detachments of soldiers are always on guard at the fortress wall.

4. This expressive character is right behind the wall, if you go around it to the left. He doesn't have a name yet, but someday Tolkien's fans will come and call everything here. But here one can clearly see the separation characteristic of granites, which is sometimes called mattress-like. When weathered, the rock is divided into such separate, somewhat rounded blocks.