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This is a village with a name unusual for the Russian ear. several hundred years stands in the very center of Samara Luke, which on Middle Volga. The founding time of this settlement can be determined only approximately. Anyway, a famous traveler and explorer of Russian open spaces Peter Pallas, who visited these places in 1769, already then wrote about the village of Askuli in his diary how about the “old”.
Batu passed by
Although the first written mention of the village of Askuli in the documents dates back to 1740, experts have no doubt that the settlement was founded much earlier. It is much older than the fortress Samara, which Prince Grigory Zasekin put near the place the river flows into the Volga in 1586. Probably, The first in this place were the Turkic-speaking Volga Bulgars. AND this happened no later than 1236, when along Samara Luka to the west there were hordes of Batu Khan. The word “Askuli” is of Turkic origin and means lower water.
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Then, 800 years ago, the Tatar-Mongol army wiped off the land of the neighboring Bulgarian settlement, located 15 miles from Askuli, which in the archaeological environment is now known as Murom town. During excavations, burnt walls are still found here. ravaged houses, among which there are tips of the Tatar arrows and spears.
Why the aliens ravaged the Murom town, but did not touch neighboring village? This is due to the location of the settlements. First of They were in the open, but Askuli still stand in the ring of dense forest. Therefore, it is safe to say that in In the 13th century, it was the thickets that became the salvation of local residents from nomads.
Olearius Error
In the vicinity of the village of Askuli, two ancient ravines begin valleys that locals call Shiryaevsky and Askulsky gully. These places have long been considered a place of concentration. abnormal phenomena. The peasants here over hundreds of years of communication with the wild Zhiguli nature more than once faced with the mysterious. Memory of such meetings persisted for future generations in the form legends and legends about the so-called underground Zhiguli elders, which most often met people in the upper Shiryaevskaya valleys.
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Local legends have long attracted the attention of Russian writers. For example, how these mysterious underground hermits in the novel by P.I. Melnikov (Andrey Pechersky) “In the woods”: “Kirillov mountains parted … Elders come out moloboobraznye, worshipers are worshiped in the belt, asked to bring them bow, absentee kissing to the brothers of the Zhiguli mountains … “Kirillovs the mountains are in the Nizhny Novgorod region, at the holy lake Svetloyar, which is considered another abnormal zone of Russia.
The river flowing along Samara Luka is mentioned in his notes 1636 traveler Adam Olearius. But here, apparently, he was mistaken in the description, because usually the bottom of the Askulsky gully is always dry, but in the spring, melt waters flow along its channel. Because of this ravine and takes the form of a fairly noticeable and stormy river. In May 1636 this circumstance, most likely, confused Adam Olearia.
English circles
There is still numerous evidence that the fields near the village Askuli is one of those places on Samarskaya Luka, where practically so-called English circles are observed annually. So in ufological environment called areas of agricultural crops, on which unexpectedly for the observer appear visible only with air circles, rings, or combinations thereof.
There is an allegedly miraculous source in the village
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These circles are most often detected in the early morning. Here is a story on this subject Syzran researcher abnormal phenomena Nikolai Novgorodova.
– In the summer of 1991, I was traveling with my family in a car from Tolyatti to Syzran. We crossed the dam of the Volga hydroelectric station, drove through the village Alexandrovka – and suddenly at the edge of a wheat field my brother Boris, traveling with us, exclaimed: “Look, circles! English circles! ”
There were about two dozen, with a diameter of one to forty meters. Caught ellipses and spirals, inside which survived sections of pristine ears – a kind of “patch” with a diameter twenty centimeters. Then we noticed a few on the field triangular bald spots resembling traces of some supports. ”
There is more recent evidence of crop circle observation. not only near Askula, but also near the neighboring villages of Sosnovy Solonets and Birch Solonets, near the village of Mordovo, Churokaik and in some other places. Stories of this locals members of the Samara non-governmental organization Avesta.
Entertainment Mistress Lada
Legends and tales of the inhabitants of the villages of Samarskaya Luka in the second half of the XIX century began to collect a famous writer and folklorist Dmitry Sadovnikov, author of the song “From the island to the rod.” Even then, he drew attention to the fact that most of the local legends and legends converge on the same legendary character – the mistress (or sorceress) of the Zhiguli mountains. According to legend, she lives in mysterious caves deep in the mountains ridge, only occasionally appearing on the surface and appearing to people.
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If at this time she meets a good fellow, then the mistress can invite him to his underground chambers, promising fabulous wealth and eternal life. However, so far all well done, met sorceress, refused these benefits, and therefore underground mistress already. for thousands of years weeps for his longing and loneliness. These tears flow from the rock in the tract Stone Bowl, where is the only water source of the Zhiguli mountains.
The hostess of these places is associated with another phenomenon from here. folklore – the so-called mirage of the Peaceful City, it is Fata Morgana. According to descriptions, sometimes in front of the peasants sat Askuli, Pine Solonetz, Anurovka and some others in the morning the fog presented an extraordinary vision. According to the stories of the villagers, it looked like a fantastic city with old houses, towers and ramparts, as if hanging in the air in the background foggy haze.
Usually this performance lasted only a few minutes, and then it disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. Of course, popular rumor attributed the appearance of such “pictures” to magic the charms of the mistress of the Zhiguli Mountains, which sometimes in this way entertained herself and entertained the locals.
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And in the traditions it is said that they serve as an underground sorceress strange creatures – transparent white dwarfs through which they are visible surrounding trees and bushes. They can suddenly disappear in one place and immediately appear in another. Like elders, dwarfs often suddenly appear in front of a weary pedestrian to get him out right to the house, and then, having done his good deed, in front of everyone as if falling through the ground.
The first settlers of Samara Luke at first were afraid of the ruler Zhiguli dungeons and therefore do not need to wander through the forests took a chance. However, they soon became convinced that the sorceress was different peaceful disposition. She never offended people, and even more so – sometimes helped them in trouble.
According to researchers from the Avesta group, many of the legends Samara Luke have a very real foundation. In particular, at several points of the Volga bend, scientists have repeatedly recorded unexplained surges or drops in electrical levels, electromagnetic and gravitational fields, noted emanating from subsoil flows of radiation or other physical anomalies. But while they have only hypotheses about the nature of all these phenomena, which still require experimental checks.
Valery Erofeev
Water Time Russia
