: Today I will show the Uluru rock, recognized as one of the wonders of the world. This is the largest rock in the world, which is a pure monolith, that is, a solid stone measuring two by three kilometers. The height of the stone is about 350 meters, but according to the latest data, this is only the tip of a stone iceberg and most of Uluru is underground. It attracts people's attention not only for its ancient history and size, but also for its bright color, which is due to the large amount of iron in its composition.

The mountain is far from Sydney, almost in the center of the continent. To fly to it decently - three and a half hours. And if in Sydney it was more or less comfortable with the weather, then Uluru met with hellish heat at forty degrees. The heat was not the only problem: in addition to the scorching sun, millions of flies live in the Uluru region. I have never seen such a number of insects per square meter anywhere, even in a pigsty. Vile insects do not seem to bite, but constantly strive to get into the nose and ears. Brrr...

Another famous mountain is known for its feature of changing color throughout the day, depending on the weather and time of day. The range of changes is very wide: from brown to fiery red, from lilac to blue, from yellow to lilac. Unfortunately, it is impossible to catch all the shades of the rock in one day. For example, Uluru acquires a lilac-blue range during rain, which has not been here for more than a year.

About the mountain.

Uluru is located in the desert, but people lived and live near it. The rock paintings of the Uluru rock allow scientists to draw a definite conclusion, the Australian natives lived near this monolith (or maybe not a monolith) 10,000 (!) Years ago. “How can a person survive in a desert where there is practically no vegetation, and the air temperature during the day warms up above 40 degrees Celsius?” Any tourist can ask a question, even on the outskirts of the stone giant. The thing is that near Uluru there is a source from which the purest ice water beats. It is she who helps the Australian Aborigines survive in such extreme conditions. The “discovered” rock of Uluru in Australia was relatively recently in 1892 by Ernest Giles, who spent most of his life traveling around the Australian continent. The rock of Uluru in Australia The word “discovered”, of course, has a certain connotation: it was discovered from Europe, inhabiting Australia.

The Australian Aborigines have long known about the rock, which is a little over three and a half kilometers long, a little less than three meters wide and 170 meters high. So long ago that nothing is known about their history at the moment. It is possible to get an idea of ​​how the tribes lived at the Uluru rock only from rock paintings. The honor to describe the giant monolith fell to William Christine Gross, who did it already in 1893. To say with certainty whether the rock of Uluru is a monolith, like, for example, weathering pillars, or whether it is connected underground with a mountain, until a single scientist decides. More precisely, they decide, however, they have different opinions. One part of the geologists claims that Uluru in Australia is a monolith and does not accept other points of view, while the other part proves that the rock is connected deep underground with a mountain that has a strange name for Australia, Olga. The name is really strange, however, like everything on the smallest mainland.

By the way, the mountain began to be called Olga in honor of ... the wife of the Russian Emperor Nicholas the First!

The official version of the origin of the monolith.

The Uluru rock originated about 700-100 million years ago. Geologists say that the legendary Australian monolith (or not monolith) arose from sedimentary rocks at the bottom of the almost dried-up Lake Amadius. In the middle of the lake, a huge island used to rise, which gradually collapsed, and its parts were compressed at the bottom of the once gigantic reservoir. Thus, over a long period of time, the Uluru rock was formed in the very center of the Australian continent. The opinion, which many consider official and scientifically confirmed, is quite often questioned by modern authoritative experts. To be extremely precise, it is not possible at the moment to say for certain how and as a result of which the Uluru rock was formed. By the way, it is impossible to say why the rock bears such a name.

Linguists suggest that the word "Uluru" in some Aboriginal language (In Australia, almost every tribe has its own language) means "mountain". It is rather difficult to explain the origin of the rock, but how numerous cracks and caves formed on it, in which ancient people probably lived, is as simple as that. By the way, cracks on Uluru continue to appear in our time. This is due to the characteristics of the Australian desert climate. As mentioned above, during the day the temperature in the desert, where the rock is located, exceeds 40 degrees Celsius, but at night real frosts begin in this area: with the onset of darkness, the temperature often drops below zero. In addition, the strongest hurricanes are often observed in the Uluru region and Mount Olga. Such a sharp change in temperature, strong gusts of wind lead to the destruction of the rock and the formation of cracks on it. By the way, the natives fundamentally disagree with a scientific point of view: they argue that the cracks and caves on Uluru appear due to the fact that the souls imprisoned in it are trying to break free.

Tourism

Almost half a million tourists come to see Uluru every year. They are attracted not only by the amazing shape of the rock, but also by its wall paintings made by ancient people in numerous caves. Despite the fact that the Uluru rock became known in the civilized world as early as 1893, tourists have been drawn to it only since the middle of the 20th century. Only in 1950, the Australian authorities, who decided to actively develop the tourism infrastructure in their country, led the way to the mysterious rock. In fairness, it should be noted that even before the construction of the highway, thrill-seekers, accompanied by guides, traveled to Uluru. Until 1950, 22 ascents to the sacred rock for the natives were officially registered. After the opening of the highway to the miracle of nature, a stream of tourists simply poured in: they were not embarrassed by the inconvenience and extreme conditions. The number of people wishing to see how the rock changes its color several times during the day increased every year. By the way, the rock really changes during the day: it all depends on where the sun is at a certain moment.

If the luminary is hidden behind the clouds, Uluru appears to the traveler in brown with an orange tint. The orange hue of the rock stands out due to the huge amount of iron oxide contained in its rock. But as soon as the sun rises from the horizon, Uluru suddenly becomes dark purple. The higher the sun rises, the softer the colors of the Australian rock become. Around 10:30 am Uluru turns purple, then the color becomes more saturated, then for a short period of time the “lying elephant” turns red, and at exactly 12:00 the rock turns into a huge piece of “gold”. In 1985, the rock , which the first European who conquered it called Ayers Rock, was transferred to the private property of the natives belonging to the Anangu tribe, who live near the sacred Uluru. It was from that year that the name "Ayers Rock" ceased to be used, and in all tourist brochures the miracle rock is listed as Uluru. The natives got their place of worship back, but you can only survive in the modern world if you have money.

Animal skins and bone arrowheads are no longer enough, even if your ancestors lived that way. Therefore, the natives decided to earn some money on Uluru: they simply rented it to the Australian authorities for 99 years. During this time, the unique Australian rock is part of the national reserve. For this generosity, the Anangu Aboriginal tribe receives US$75,000 each year. In addition, 20% of the cost of a ticket giving the right to visit Uluru also goes to the tribe's budget. The money for the natives is very decent. And if we also take into account the fact that each representative of the tribe, dressed in a national costume (that is, practically naked), receives several dollars from tourists for a photo next to him, then we can conclude: the Anangu tribe is flourishing.

Like all ancient places of this kind, this mountain is sacred to the local peoples and it is considered sacrilege to climb it. Aborigines revere the stone as a deity, which, however, did not prevent them from renting the shrine to the Australian authorities. For access to Uluru, the natives receive annually $75,000, not counting 25% of the cost of each ticket...

While flying, I took a few shots of Australia from the plane. Below us is a dried-up salt lake:

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Riverbed:

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We fly to Uluru. Those with advanced abstract thinking claim that the top of the stone looks like a sleeping elephant. Well, OK:

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Kata Tjuta is located 40 km from Uluru, we will return to it separately:

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Ayers Rock Airport. Let's land:

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Vegetation from a height resembles duckweed in a swamp (photo through the porthole):

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Not far from the airport there is a resort where tourists and vacationers stay:

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As I said before, hordes of flies live in the Uluru area. On average, a tourist needs 10 minutes to make a decision to buy a special protective net:

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Flies terribly bother with their stomping on the head and face. Many even take pictures without removing protection:

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The guides pretend that they are hardened guys, accustomed to flies, but in fact they are actively smeared with protective creams. By the way, we were not lucky with the guide - the girl worked for the first time, she didn’t tell very interesting things, and she was simply lost in some questions:

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You can’t just fly to the center of Australia, put on a net and not take a selfie:

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Let's get back to Uluru. There are only a few legal shooting points in the vicinity, so most of the photos of Uluru do not shine with original angles:

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All tourist routes are marked and marked, you can walk and drive only on special roads:

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Cave drawings:

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The images are on the walls of the caves. The black stripe is a trace of flowing water during few and rare precipitation:

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Some places are forbidden to shoot according to the beliefs of local natives:

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Caves can hardly be called caves in the strict sense of the word. It's more like a stone canopy. It is very convenient to sit in the shade during the heat of the day:

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The places where water flows are strictly limited by the shape of the rock. Over time, natural reservoirs with water are formed under the drains, where local animals come to drink:

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During the day, animals do not come here, but at night they go in large numbers. Local scientists set up camera traps (on the barrier) to study the Australian fauna.

The black stripes on the stone show that the water level has dropped noticeably:

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Everyone is saved from flies as best he can:

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Tourist bridges over impassable places. Painted red to match Uluru:

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During the tour several times moved from one part of Uluru to another. In general, it was possible to walk around the mountain on foot, but it is extremely tiring in such heat:

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Flies with special pleasure flock to the green color, with something it attracts them:

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Another cave:

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A curious moment: if you look closely, you can see that the lower part of the wall is without drawings and it is noticeable that they are, as it were, erased. Previously, guides, showing cave paintings to tourists, doused the wall with water so that the images appeared more clearly. Ten years later, water destroyed most of the images and the practice was canceled:

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Fortunately, in some places the images have been preserved:

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Another waterhole:

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And at the end of the day we arrived at the sunset shooting point:

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Dozens, if not hundreds of tourists come here every day, uncover their cameras, get a cozy chair and a glass of champagne:

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Every day, thousands of sunset photos of Uluru are born in the world:

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Some hold the camera for a quarter of an hour and shoot a video without moving. Tripods are for the weak:

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It is impossible to resist, it is difficult not to succumb to a single creative impulse and not take a picture!

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In the next post, we will go to the Kata Tjuta rock and take a closer look at the boulders. Stay Tuned!

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Clickable 2000 px

VSN know about the largest processed stone, which is located in Lebanon. And until recently, it was this stone called "South Stone" that was the largest - it lies nearby in a quarry, a ten-minute walk in a south-westerly direction. The dimensions of this stone block are 23 m long, 5.3 m wide and 4.55 m high. She weighs approximately 1000 tons.

It turns out this is not so. The largest processed stone in the world HERE:

The obelisk (entrance 1OLE.) is located on the east bank of the Nile, one kilometer from the center of Aswan. To get to the obelisk, you need to go along El-Bandar Street (el-Bandar St.). Nearby are several round-roofed tombs from an ancient Fatimid cemetery. The obelisk, merged with the rock from which they wanted to carve it, lies all over own weight (1200 t) and full length (42 m) on a granite bed.

The obelisk was intended to be erected by Queen Hatshepsut, but the obelisk was abandoned, left unfinished, because several cracks were found in it. For this reason, it has never been separated from the rock. Had it been erected, it would have been the largest obelisk known to us. It is surrounded by ancient quarries, stretching for almost 6 km, where workers worked to extract huge stone blocks for the construction of temples and palaces.

It was a hell of a job! It was necessary to gouge the rock with a hard stone so that sufficiently wide and deep cracks appeared. Wooden wedges were driven in there and water was poured over them, expanding, the wedges split the rock. The work was carried out from three sides with endless precautions at all stages so as not to split the stone block. In accordance with the intended purpose, the block was turned on the spot. Then he was placed on a wooden sled, which was dragged either by animals or people, lowering him to the water, to a special platform.

It was built from construction debris, on which masons placed several layers of bricks covered with a thick layer of wet mud. The barge, which was supposed to carry stone blocks, was placed at low tide next to the shore. The barge ran aground, and now it was possible to load it. In the next flood, the platform was again on the water and was ready for transportation. Unloading was carried out in the same way.

Considering the primitive soft metal tools of the ancient Egyptians, the North Quarry obelisk shows us an amazing feat of technology. During excavations, archaeologists learned a lot about the methods of stone cutting. And even the mistake that the builders made during its construction did not prevent it from being motionlessly attached to the rock for more than 3000 years!

At the word Ancient Egypt, the vast majority of people naturally associate with pyramids or mummies. But no less famous type of monumental architecture of the ancient Egyptians are obelisks. The word "obelisk" is of Greek origin, meaning a skewer or skewer, and it appeared in the late period, when the Greeks established close contacts with Egypt. The Egyptians themselves designated the obelisk as "ben-ben". This was the name of a pyramid-shaped stone that fell from the sky at the beginning of time, which was installed on a pillar in the sacred capital city of Innu (the Greeks called it Heliopolis). This ben-ben stone, placed on a pillar, was hidden from the eyes of the uninitiated in the temple of the Phoenix, but, as you know, it disappeared in antiquity. The obelisk repeats the shape of the ancient sacred ben-ben in the form of a regular square pillar with a pyramidal top directed to the sky.

It is known that the tops of the obelisks were usually covered with gold or copper, which, of course, have not survived to this day. Almost all known obelisks were made of pink granite, which was mined in quarries located near the first threshold of the Nile, where today lies the modern city of Aswan. Here the Nile cuts through the rocky body of the Nubian Highlands and finally breaks out onto the plain, taking on its usual majestic dimensions. In the Aswan quarries, the Egyptians mined pink granite since the era of the Old Kingdom, and possibly even earlier. Pink granite was undoubtedly a special rock for the ancient Egyptians. The most important architectural and sculptural forms were created from it: temple portals, sarcophagi, statues of kings and, of course, obelisks.

Naturally, far from all have reached our time. And most of them today are outside of Egypt. After establishing their dominance here, the Romans began an active export of obelisks to Rome, not taking into account the physical and financial costs. And today 13 obelisks rise in the Eternal City. In the 19th century, the French and the British staged a real hunt for ancient Egyptian antiquities, not bypassing obelisks weighing several hundred tons. Therefore, today Egyptian obelisks of three thousand years ago can be seen in Paris, London and even New York. According to the surviving sources, the erection of obelisks reached its peak during the New Kingdom (XVI-XI centuries BC). Especially "distinguished" in the construction of granite monoliths, the most famous pharaohs of this time - Thutmose III and Ramesses II.

The latter is believed to have erected 23 obelisks during his reign. The average height of large obelisks was 20 meters, weight exceeded 200 tons. One of the obelisks made under Thutmose III is now in Rome and has a height of 32 m. About a third of the 27 obelisks that have survived to this day do not exceed 10 m in height. Almost all obelisks known today are covered over their entire surface with hieroglyphic inscriptions glorifying the king and his deeds. Obelisks were dedicated to the supreme solar deity and, as a rule, were installed in pairs. The technology for the production of sacred stone pillars included three stages: cutting a monolith from the parent rock and polishing it, transporting it to the place of construction and, finally, installation. All three technological stages are considered quite well known, since a number of written sources have come down to our time, describing the manufacture of obelisks and a set of images from burial structures and temples, which reflect the different stages of this process. It is believed that the cutting of the stone was carried out as follows: at the beginning, holes were cut out in the rock, placing them in a straight line, then wooden wedges were hammered into them and water was poured over them. The tree swelled and broke the rock. The resulting blocks were leveled with saws and, if necessary, polished.

Even the ancient Roman historian Pliny the Elder (1st century AD) mentions that the process of sawing stone was carried out using thin saws, under the blade of which fine sand was constantly poured, which served as an abrasive. Transportation of stone blocks was carried out using wooden skids, under which water or liquefied sludge was added to improve their sliding. Numerous images of such sledges are well known both in fine arts and in archaeological finds. So the stone was moved over short distances. Long-distance transportation was carried out along the Nile using special barges pulled by small rowboats. When transporting large monoliths, there could be several dozen such vessels. The installation of the obelisk was carried out using an inclined embankment, which was a brick structure, divided into numerous compartments, packed with sand and rubble. The embankment had a very slight slope and, accordingly, a very significant length. The obelisk was dragged along it with the lower end forward and erected on a pedestal.

It would seem that this historical issue can be considered well studied and without any doubts. However, facts are stubborn things, especially those that lie, in the truest sense of the word, on the surface. A significant part of the ancient Aswan quarries has already been swallowed up by the territory of the modern city of Aswan. In these granite quarries is the only obelisk in Egypt, which remained unfinished, i.e. not completely separated from the parent rock. And it is he who raises a number of paradoxical questions that modern science cannot answer. First of all, it should be noted that this is the largest obelisk known in Egypt. Its length is 41.8 m! The Aswan obelisk has no inscriptions, so it cannot be dated. But because of its gigantic size, the obelisk dates back to the time of the Old Kingdom, i.e. to the era of the Great Pyramids. The obelisk is located on the surface and lies at a slight angle, following the direction of the layers of the granite massif.

Along the entire perimeter, the monolith is surrounded by a narrow trench less than 1 m wide, which follows the contour of the obelisk. Thus, it turns out that the obelisk was carved into the rock, and the work was carried out from above, and not from the sides. What tool was used here? It is clear that there is no need to talk about the use of saws here. The sides of the obelisk and the surrounding trench bear traces of a large, rounded tool. The width of the track is 27 cm. In the late 80s of the last century, the Italian researcher A. Preti suggested that the tracks were left by a rotating cutter, which the ancient Egyptians used to carve a monolith from the rock. How could the ancients have such an instrument? However, similar traces are found in abundance on the horizontal surfaces around the obelisk. And they look more like traces from a giant chisel. But is it possible to imagine a chisel with a working edge of 30 cm, cutting granite like plasticine? On the monolith itself, by the way, there are numerous traces of cuts and the traditional splitting technique using wedges.

But they were obviously left in later times and these attempts did not cause significant damage to the monolith. It was not possible to split or cut it. It is believed that the Aswan obelisk remained unfinished, since a mistake was made during the work and the monolith cracked. Indeed, the upper part of the obelisk is crossed by a longitudinal crack that violated its integrity. But the reasons for such a break do not necessarily lie in the miscalculations of the builders. It could be, for example, the result of an earthquake. One should not blame the ancient engineers who were able to perform such a volume of work for stupidity or negligence, especially since we do not understand the way to solve this technical problem. Moreover, the problem can be posed in a slightly different way: since the ancients cut out such a monolith, it means that they were going to transport and install it somewhere. And then a number of questions arise. First, how can a monolith located inside a rock and surrounded by a narrow perimeter trench be separated from this rock? After all, the obelisk lies on a rock, only its lower wall remained unseparated. How can saws be used in such a situation? Saw through forty meters of granite rock horizontally without violating the straight plane and avoiding the monolith breaking under its own weight? The literature gives different figures for the weight of the Aswan monolith, but on average they fluctuate around the figure of 1200 tons. This is the heaviest artificial monolith in the world! Although it is not very clear why such a figure appears.

It is clear that no one is able to weigh such a giant and its weight is calculated arithmetically. Although the obelisk remained intact from the rock, its planned dimensions are well known. The height should have been 41.8 m, the obelisk has a square section with sides of 4.2 m by 4.2 m. Its sides stretch parallel throughout, only in the upper part they narrow and form a peak. With an average density of granite of 2600 kg per m3. it is easy to calculate the weight of the monument. And if you do not take into account a slight correction for a narrowed top, the estimated weight of the Aswan obelisk should not be close to 1200 tons, but approximately 1900 tons! It is clear that there was nothing like the Aswan obelisk either in the ancient world or in the modern history of mankind. And the ancient engineers were going to move such a monolith somewhere and then install it.

The Guinness Book of Records is full of examples of single-handed people moving heavy vehicles, airplanes, and railroad cars. But in all these cases, we are talking about huge loads put on wheels and they must be moved on a flat horizontal surface. How can you solve the problem of transporting a solid monolith weighing almost 1900 tons over uneven mountainous terrain? And this is not the end of the mysteries associated with the Aswan obelisk. Ten meters from the obelisk, there are two vertical wells or shafts, punched vertically in the body of a granite rock. Their depth is about 3-4 m, the diameter is about 80 cm. The shape of the holes is something between a circle and a square. Antiquities inspectors working in Aswan explained that the Egyptians hollowed out these wells in order to find out the direction of cracks in the rock mass. Perhaps this explanation is correct, there are not two such wells on the territory of the quarries, but about ten. But the question remains, what tool was used in this? The fact is that the walls of the wells have a smooth, uniform surface without any traces of chips, there is a feeling that the rock was simply taken out using an installation similar to that used for drilling wells.

This is how the obelisk was hollowed out

Only here we are talking about granite. The art of processing this hard volcanic rock reached unprecedented heights in ancient Egypt. And it causes not only respect, but also amazement. Indeed, it is impossible to explain everything by the principle "perseverance and work will grind everything." This is not enough. The samples of ancient Egyptian granite architecture that have come down to us demonstrate not only the highest level of processing and construction technology, but also require that the ancients have sufficiently perfect knowledge in the field of natural sciences. Moreover, the closer we come to the origins of Egyptian civilization, the higher these figures. The construction technology that the monuments of the Giza plateau demonstrate has not been surpassed or improved since. On the contrary, there is a process of degradation of many aspects of the early Egyptian civilization, which we observe in the III millennium BC. during the period of the Old Kingdom.

The very phenomenon of the emergence of such a cultural complex with an ordered system of hieroglyphic writing, a developed calendar, with a developed technology of monumental construction, causes genuine astonishment. And in this aspect, the ideas of those researchers who consider Ancient Egypt the heir of an even more ancient and more developed civilization, of which very few traces have come down to us, are completely appropriate and legitimate. But there are such traces, they just need not to be ignored, to be able to study and correctly interpret.

This is how it should have become in the future:

Well, or here, for example, such as the famous Luxor obelisk, now standing in France.

For comparison, the height of the obelisk reaches 23 meters, the weight is equal to 220 tons, age - 3600 years. All four sides of the monument depict hieroglyphs and drawings that were carved to the glory of Ramesses II. The most important moments of his transportation from Egypt to Paris were also captured on the Luxor obelisk. On both sides around the monument in the middle of the 19th century, graceful fountains were created by the architect Gittorf, which function to this day. In 1999, the peak of the obelisk was dressed in a gold tip, for the casting of which one and a half kilograms of gold of the highest standard were spent.

In the southern part of Aswan, there was once an area where ancient granite quarries were located. It was considered the most valuable stone used for construction in Egypt. Now this square is of interest to tourists with the monument available here, which is still attached to one of the rocks - an unfinished obelisk.

In general, the Northern Quarry itself is a great place to visit for those who are interested in studying ancient technologies. He was famous for his production of granite, which was used in the construction of the burial chamber of the Great Pyramid of Cheops, as well as as facing stone in other pyramids. Each rock in it shows the imprint of ancient stone cutters.

The area of ​​the northern quarry was excavated quite recently. Previously unknown objects made of granite were found here, including fragments of columns and statues. To the south of the obelisk, archaeologists have discovered an inscription dated to the 25th year of the reign of Tuthmose III. Also, niches of seven more large obelisks were excavated near it, which today are in temples in Karnak and Luxor.

The entrance ticket to the open-air museum, as the Northern Quarry is also called, will cost 30 EGP.

The northern quarry is located next to the Fatimid cemetery, in the southern part of Aswan. It is easily accessible by taxi or walking uphill from the Nubian Museum.

More and more hidden corners and previously unexplored places are opening up in Aswan quarries. Here is the bed of the obelisk (s) of Thutmose III can be seen with your own eyes. And why exactly Thutmose III? Because it was his workers who wrote right on the wall of the quarry about the extraction of two obelisks for his majesty

In the 23rd year of his majesty, the mighty Horus “refers to the king” of Kemet” Egypt name” “who is blessed by Nakhebet and Wajet” the vulture goddess of Upper Egypt and the cobra snake of lower Egypt” Eternity to him who is like Ra “ the Sun” in the sky. The living god, master of offerings “and “ structures of the beloved gods , king of Upper and Lower Egypt- (Men-Kheper-Ra), child of Ra of his body, his beloved ( Thut-moses III) master of offerings, he who is given the life as the Sun forever, made with love two great obelisks in the abode of Amun, in the Karnak.”

Aswan- a city in southern Egypt, located on the right bank of the Nile River, about 865 km from Cairo. One of the driest settlements on the planet. Population - 275,000 people (2008).

Aswan has been a trade center on the caravan route for many centuries. Through the city, which occupies the right bank of the river, in ancient times there were trade flows from Nubia and back. Today, ivory and precious wood are not traded on the streets of Aswan, but the third city of Egypt is filled with aromas and spices that arrived from the south. Local markets are reminiscent of Sudanese bazaars with their color and smells.

Numerous tourist boats run between Aswan and Luxor. On the way, they usually make stops at Kom Ombo and Edfe, where they can see the beautifully preserved ancient temples.

Most of the tourists come to Aswan during the winter months. At this time, the city is filled with crowds of tourists.

Aswan has a charming Botanical Garden, the Aga Khan's cottage and mausoleum, the ruins of the monastery of St. Simeon, and the Nubian Museum, which is somewhat on the outskirts. The museum covers an area of ​​50,000 m², and includes not only exhibition halls, but also a library, learning centers, and a green park around.

Today I will show the Uluru rock, recognized as one of the wonders of the world. This is the largest rock in the world, which is a pure monolith, that is, a solid stone measuring two by three kilometers. The height of the stone is about 350 meters, but according to the latest data, this is only the tip of a stone iceberg and most of Uluru is underground.

The mountain is far from Sydney, almost in the center of the continent. To fly to it decently - three and a half hours. And if in Sydney it was more or less comfortable with the weather, then Uluru met with hellish heat at forty degrees. The heat was not the only problem: in addition to the scorching sun, millions of flies live in the Uluru region. I have never seen such a number of insects per square meter anywhere, even in a pigsty. Vile insects do not seem to bite, but constantly strive to get into the nose and ears. Brrr...

Another famous mountain is known for its feature of changing color throughout the day, depending on the weather and time of day. The range of changes is very wide: from brown to fiery red, from lilac to blue, from yellow to lilac. Unfortunately, it is impossible to catch all the shades of the rock in one day. For example, Uluru acquires a lilac-blue range during rain, which has not been here for more than a year.

Like all ancient places of this kind, this mountain is sacred to the local peoples and it is considered sacrilege to climb it. Aborigines revere the stone as a deity, which, however, did not prevent them from renting the shrine to the Australian authorities. For access to Uluru, the natives receive annually $75,000, not counting 25% of the cost of each ticket...

While flying, I took a few shots of Australia from the plane. Below us is a dried-up salt lake:

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Riverbed:

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We fly to Uluru. Those with advanced abstract thinking claim that the top of the stone looks like a sleeping elephant. Well, OK:

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Kata Tjuta is located 40 km from Uluru, we will return to it separately:

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Ayers Rock Airport. Let's land:

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Vegetation from a height resembles duckweed in a swamp (photo through the porthole):

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Not far from the airport there is a resort where tourists and vacationers stay:

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As I said before, hordes of flies live in the Uluru area. On average, a tourist needs 10 minutes to make a decision to buy a special protective net:

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Flies terribly bother with their stomping on the head and face. Many even take pictures without removing protection:

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The guides pretend that they are hardened guys, accustomed to flies, but in fact they are actively smeared with protective creams. By the way, we were not lucky with the guide - the girl worked for the first time, she didn’t tell very interesting things, and she was simply lost in some questions:

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You can’t just fly to the center of Australia, put on a net and not take a selfie:

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Let's get back to Uluru. There are only a few legal shooting points in the vicinity, so most of the photos of Uluru do not shine with original angles:

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All tourist routes are marked and marked, you can walk and drive only on special roads:

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Cave drawings:

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The images are on the walls of the caves. The black stripe is a trace of flowing water during few and rare precipitation:

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Some places are forbidden to shoot according to the beliefs of local natives:

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Caves can hardly be called caves in the strict sense of the word. It's more like a stone canopy. It is very convenient to sit in the shade during the heat of the day:

22.

The places where water flows are strictly limited by the shape of the rock. Over time, natural reservoirs with water are formed under the drains, where local animals come to drink:

23.

During the day, animals do not come here, but at night they go in large numbers. Local scientists set up camera traps (on the barrier) to study the Australian fauna.

The black stripes on the stone show that the water level has dropped noticeably:

24.

Everyone is saved from flies as best he can:

25.

Tourist bridges over impassable places. Painted red to match Uluru:

26.

27.

During the tour several times moved from one part of Uluru to another. In general, it was possible to walk around the mountain on foot, but it is extremely tiring in such heat:

28.

29.

Flies with special pleasure flock to the green color, with something it attracts them:

30.

Another cave:

31.

A curious moment: if you look closely, you can see that the lower part of the wall is without drawings and it is noticeable that they are, as it were, erased. Previously, guides, showing cave paintings to tourists, doused the wall with water so that the images appeared more clearly. Ten years later, water destroyed most of the images and the practice was canceled:

32.

Fortunately, in some places the images have been preserved:

33.

Another waterhole:

34.

35.

36.

37.

And at the end of the day we arrived at the sunset shooting point:

38.

Dozens, if not hundreds of tourists come here every day, uncover their cameras, get a cozy chair and a glass of champagne:

39.

Every day, thousands of sunset photos of Uluru are born in the world:

40.

Some hold the camera for a quarter of an hour and shoot a video without moving. Tripods are for the weak:

41.

It is impossible to resist, it is difficult not to succumb to a single creative impulse and not take a picture!

42.

In the next post, we will go to the Kata Tjuta rock and take a closer look at the boulders. Stay Tuned!

The Karnak stones are one of the largest complexes of megalithic structures in the world. It is many structures that were erected at different times. They got their name from the city of Carnac - most of the objects are located on the territory of the commune of Carnac in Brittany, the smaller one is on the territory of the neighboring commune of La Trinite-sur-Mer. In total, the complex has more than three thousand megaliths, including dolmens, burial mounds, alleys of menhirs and individual objects.

However, the exact origin of individual menhirs is not entirely clear, since for a long time these structures were used by local peasants as a source of building stone. So, free-standing megaliths may well be fragments of lost complexes.

The megalithic structures of Karnak were erected in pre-Celtic times, in the period from 4500 to 3300 BC. Although, as in the case of Stonehenge, Celtic legends later appeared, attributing their construction to the legendary Merlin.

Three avenues of menhirs have been preserved on the territory of the Karnak complex: Menekskaya, Kermanyo and Kerleskan. It is assumed that they all formed a single structure, but as a result of the loss of stones, they were divided into three fragments.

The Menek alley consists of eleven converging rows of menhirs (the shape of the building resembles an open fan) about 1200 meters long, the alley is about 100 meters wide. The remains of stone circles have been preserved on the sides. The largest stones have a height of about four meters, as you move from west to east, the height of the stones decreases to 60 centimeters.

The avenue of menhirs of Kermario has the same fan-shaped geometry; 1030 stones have been preserved in it, set in ten rows, about 1300 meters long.

Alley Kerleskan is smaller than the two mentioned above. it consists of 555 stones and is located to the east. The stones are grouped in 13 rows about 800 meters long. The height of the stones also decreases from four meters to 80 centimeters. In the west, next to high stones, a cromlech (stone ring) has been preserved.

The megalithic complex includes several earthen burial mounds. During construction, a passage to the burial chamber was preserved in the mound. The largest of the burial mounds is the Saint-Michel mound, which dates back to the 5th-4th centuries BC. The height of the mound is about 12 meters, its base measures 125 by 60 meters. During archaeological excavations, many funeral gifts were found in it - stone boxes, jewelry, ceramics.

The Karnak complex also includes several dolmens. The most common point of view claims that these are also ancient burials, and the absence of traces of bodies is due to the high acidity of the soil. Dolmens are built from several large stones, supporting one or more upper stones, forming a ceiling. Overhead, the dolmen was covered with earth; few of the earthen hills have survived to this day.

As noted above, it is usually impossible to establish whether the detached objects of the complex are independent structures, or whether they are just surviving fragments of a larger one. But there is one well-preserved object in Karnak that does not belong to any of the above categories. This is the so-called four-sided Manio.

Initially, it was an earth mound with a mound in the middle and stones set in the shape of a trapezoid 37 meters long. The trapezium is oriented from east-northeast to west-southwest. Next to the trapezoid there is a huge single menhir, which has a height of about seven meters.

There is no consensus on the purpose of the building. And if everything is more or less clear with the burial objects, then the purpose of the other structures remains a mystery. Of course, there are numerous astronomical theories, up to the assertion that the complex was a map of the starry sky. A rather exotic theory, based on the assumption that in this region the seismic activity used to be much higher than now, claims that it was an ancient seismograph. There are other theories, but it is unfortunately impossible to verify the authenticity of any of them.

But the Karnak stones are a beautiful, bewitching, mysterious structure. And they can serve as a worthy goal of any trip. So if you are planning a hitchhiking trip in France, then the route from Paris to Brittany deserves the most careful consideration. In addition, France is a very attractive country for this kind of travel.

Today I will show the Uluru rock, recognized as one of the wonders of the world. This is the largest rock in the world, which is a pure monolith, that is, a solid stone measuring two by three kilometers. The height of the stone is about 350 meters, but according to the latest data, this is only the tip of a stone iceberg and most of Uluru is underground.

The mountain is far from Sydney, almost in the center of the continent. To fly to it decently - three and a half hours. And if in Sydney it was more or less comfortable with the weather, then Uluru met with hellish heat at forty degrees. The heat was not the only problem: in addition to the scorching sun, millions of flies live in the Uluru region. I have never seen such a number of insects per square meter anywhere, even in a pigsty. Vile insects do not seem to bite, but constantly strive to get into the nose and ears. Brrr...

Another famous mountain is known for its feature of changing color throughout the day, depending on the weather and time of day. The range of changes is very wide: from brown to fiery red, from lilac to blue, from yellow to lilac. Unfortunately, it is impossible to catch all the shades of the rock in one day. For example, Uluru acquires a lilac-blue range during rain, which has not been here for more than a year.

Like all ancient places of this kind, this mountain is sacred to the local peoples and it is considered sacrilege to climb it. Aborigines revere the stone as a deity, which, however, did not prevent them from renting the shrine to the Australian authorities. For access to Uluru, the natives receive annually $75,000, not counting 25% of the cost of each ticket...

While flying, I took a few shots of Australia from the plane. Below us is a dried-up salt lake:

Riverbed:

We fly to Uluru. Those with advanced abstract thinking claim that the top of the stone looks like a sleeping elephant. Well, OK:

Kata Tjuta is located 40 km from Uluru, we will return to it separately:

Ayers Rock Airport. Let's land:

Not far from the airport there is a resort where tourists and vacationers stay:

As I said before, hordes of flies live in the Uluru area. On average, a tourist needs 10 minutes to make a decision to buy a special protective net:

Flies terribly bother with their stomping on the head and face. Many even take pictures without removing protection:

The guides pretend that they are hardened guys, accustomed to flies, but in fact they are actively smeared with protective creams. By the way, we were not lucky with the guide - the girl worked for the first time, she didn’t tell very interesting things, and she was simply lost in some questions:

You can’t just fly to the center of Australia, put on a net and not take a selfie:

Let's get back to Uluru. There are only a few legal shooting points in the vicinity, so most of the photos of Uluru do not shine with original angles:

All tourist routes are marked and marked, you can walk and drive only on special roads:

Cave drawings:

The images are on the walls of the caves. The black stripe is a trace of flowing water during few and rare precipitation:

Some places are forbidden to shoot according to the beliefs of local natives.

Caves can hardly be called caves in the strict sense of the word. It's more like a stone canopy. It is very convenient to sit in the shade during the heat of the day:

The places where water flows are strictly limited by the shape of the rock. Over time, natural reservoirs with water are formed under the drains, where local animals come to drink:

During the day, animals do not come here, but at night they go in large numbers. Local scientists set up camera traps (on the barrier) to study the Australian fauna. The black stripes on the stone show that the water level has dropped noticeably:

Everyone is saved from flies as best he can:

Tourist bridges over impassable places. Painted red to match Uluru:

During the tour several times moved from one part of Uluru to another. In general, it was possible to walk around the mountain on foot, but it is extremely tiring in such heat:

Flies with special pleasure flock to the green color, with something it attracts them:

Another cave:

A curious moment: if you look closely, you can see that the lower part of the wall is without drawings and it is noticeable that they are, as it were, erased. Previously, guides, showing cave paintings to tourists, doused the wall with water so that the images appeared more clearly. Ten years later, water destroyed most of the images and the practice was cancelled.