Warsaw stops for one minute every year. Books about love, from which the heart skips a beat. The lost city of Aztlan - the homeland of the Aztecs
The legend of Atlantis tells of a lost land that disappeared without a trace in the depths of the sea. In the cultures of many nations there are similar legends about cities that disappeared under water, in the sands of the desert or overgrown with forests. Consider the five lost cities that have not been found. /epochtimes.ru/
Percy Fawcett and the Lost City of Z
Since the Europeans first arrived in the New World, rumors have been circulating about the golden city in the jungle, sometimes called Eldorado. The Spanish conquistador Francisco Orellana is the first to venture along the Rio Negro River in search of a legendary city. In 1925, 58-year-old explorer Percy Fawcett delved into the jungle of Brazil to find a mysterious lost city, which he called Z. The Fostt team and he himself disappeared without a trace, and this story became the occasion for numerous publications. Rescue operations failed - Fosset was not found.
In 1906, the Royal Geographical Society of England, sponsoring scientific expeditions, invited Fawcett to explore part of Brazil’s border with Bolivia. He spent 18 months in the state of Mato Grosso, and during his expeditions, Fawcett became obsessed with the idea of \u200b\u200blost civilizations in the region.
In 1920, at the Rio de Janeiro National Library, Fawcett stumbled upon a document called Manuscript 512. It was written in 1753 by a Portuguese researcher. He claimed that in the Mato Grosso region, in the Amazon rainforest, he found a walled city that resembles ancient Greek. The manuscript describes a lost city with multi-story buildings, billowing stone arches, wide streets leading to the lake, on which the explorer saw two white Indians in a canoe.
In 1921, Fawcett embarked on the first of his expeditions in search of the lost city of Z. His team suffered many difficulties in the jungle, surrounded by dangerous animals, people were seriously ill.
In April 1925, he last tried to find Z. This time he thoroughly prepared and received more funding from newspapers and communities, including the Royal Geographical Society and the Rockefellers. In the last letter home delivered by a member of his team, Fawcett wrote a message to his wife Nina: “We hope to get through this area in a few days ... Don’t be afraid of failures.” This turned out to be his last message to his wife and the world.
Although Fawcett's Lost City Z was not found, in recent years ancient cities and traces of religious sites have been discovered in the jungles of Guatemala, Brazil, Bolivia, and Honduras. New terrain scanning technologies give new hope that the city of Z will be found.
The lost city of Aztlan - the homeland of the Aztecs
The Aztecs - the powerful empire of ancient America - lived on the territory of today's Mexico City. It is considered to be the epicenter of the Aztec culture that the missing island of Aztlan, where they created civilization before their migration to the Valley of Mexico City.
Skeptics consider the Aztlan hypothesis a myth similar to Atlantis or Camelot. Thanks to legends, the images of ancient cities live, but it is unlikely that they will be found. Optimists rejoice at the find of legendary cities. Searches for the island of Aztlan extend from western Mexico all the way to the deserts of Utah. However, these searches are unsuccessful, because the location of Aztlan remains a mystery.
According to Nahuatl legend, seven tribes lived in Chikomostok - "the place of seven caves." These tribes represented seven Nahua groups: Akolua, Chalka, Mexico City, Tepaneka, Tlauika, Tlascalan and Sochimilka (sources name variants of names). Seven tribes with a similar language left the caves and settled together near Aztlan.
The word Aztlan means "land to the north; the land from which the Aztecs came. " According to one theory, the inhabitants of Aztlan became known as the Aztecs, later they migrated from Aztlan to the Valley of Mexico City. The Aztec migration from Aztlan to Tenochtitlan is a crucial part of Aztec history. It began on May 24, 1064, the first solar year of the Aztecs.
Seekers of the Aztec homeland, in the hope of finding the truth, undertook many expeditions. But ancient Mexico is in no hurry to reveal the secrets of Aztlan.
Lost Land Lioness - a city at the bottom of the sea
According to the legend of King Arthur, Lioness is the birthplace of the protagonist from the story of Tristan and Isolde. This mythical land is now called the Lost Land of Lyoness. It is believed that she plunged into the sea. Although Lioness is mentioned in legends and myths, it is believed that he sank into the sea many years ago. It is difficult to determine the line between fiction and the reality of hypotheses and legends.
Lioness is a large city surrounded by one hundred and forty villages. He disappeared on November 11, 1099 (although some stories cite the year 1089, and some speak of the VI century). Suddenly, the sea flooded the earth, people drowned.
Although the story of King Arthur is a legend, Lioness is considered a real place adjacent to the Scilly Islands in Cornwall (England). In those days, sea level was lower.
SILY is the most western and southern point of England, as well as the southernmost point of Great Britain. Photo: NASA / wikipedia / Public Domain
Fishermen from the Scilly Islands say that they took pieces of buildings and other structures from their fishing nets. Their words are not supported by evidence and are criticized.
Tales of Tristan and Isolde, the final battle of Arthur with Mordred, the legend of the city that swallowed the sea, stories of Lioness prompted to find a ghost town.
Search for Eldorado - the lost golden city
For hundreds of years, treasure hunters and historians have been searching for the lost golden city of Eldorado. The idea of \u200b\u200ba city filled with gold and other riches tempted people from different countries. The number of people who want to find the greatest treasure and ancient miracle is not decreasing. Despite numerous expeditions to Latin America, the golden city remains a legend. No traces of his existence were found.
El Dorado in the middle of the lake. Photo: Andrew Bertram / wikipedia / CC BY-SA 1.0
The origins of Eldorado originate in the stories of the Muisk tribe. After two migrations - one in 1270 BC and the other between 800 and 500 years. BC. - the Muiski tribe occupied the areas of Kundinamarca and Boyac Colombia. According to the legend in “El Carnero” by Juan Rodriguez Freil, the muiska for each new king was performed by rituals, using gold dust and other treasures.
The new king was led to Lake Guatavita and naked covered with gold dust. The retinue, led by the king on a raft with gold and precious stones, went to the center of the lake. The king washed gold dust off his body, and his retinue threw pieces of gold and precious stones into the lake. The meaning of this ritual was to offer a sacrifice to the god of the Muisk. For the Muiski, Eldorado is not a city, but a king, who was called "he who is gilded."
Although the meaning of "El Dorado" is fundamentally different, the name has become synonymous with the lost golden city.
In 1545, the conquistadors Lazaro Fonte and Hernan Perez de Quesada wanted to drain Lake Guatavita. Gold was found along the coast, which aroused suspicions among treasure hunters about the presence of treasures in the lake. They worked for three months. The chain workers transferred buckets of water, but did not drain the lake to the end. They did not get to the bottom.
In 1580, Antonio de Sepulveda made another attempt. And again, gold items were found on the banks, but the treasures remained hidden in the depths of the lake. There were other searches on Lake Guatavita. The lake is estimated to contain $ 300 million worth of gold.
"Manoa, or Eldorado" on the shores of Lake Parim. Map of Hessel Gerrits (1625). Eldorado was plotted next to Paris from the time of Walter Raleigh (1595) to Alexander Humboldt (1804). Photo: Hessel Gerritsz / wikipedia / Public domain
However, the search ceased in 1965. The Government of Colombia declared the lake a conservation area. However, the search for Eldorado continues. The legends of the Muiska tribe and the ritual sacrifice in the form of treasures eventually turned into the current story of Eldorado - the lost city of gold.
Dubai Lost in the Desert: A Buried Story
Dubai maintains the image of an ultra-modern city with amazing architecture and light wealth. However, in the deserts hidden cities are hidden. History shows how early sand dwellers adapted and overcame dramatic climate change in the past.
The lost city - the legend of Arabia - medieval Julfar. Historians knew of its existence from written evidence, but could not find it. The homeland of the Arab sailor Ahmed ibn Majid and supposedly for the fictional Sinbad the sailor, Julfar flourished for a thousand years, until it turned into ruins and disappeared from human memory for two centuries.
Ahmed ibn Majid is from Julfar. Photo: wikipedia / Public Domain
Julfar was known in the Middle Ages as a thriving port city - a center of trade in the southern Persian Gulf. It was located on the Persian Gulf coast, north of Dubai, but archaeologists discovered its actual location in the 1960s. Traces found on this site date back to the 6th century. Port residents conducted regular trade with India and the Far East.
Symbad. Photo: René Bull / wikipedia / Public Domain
The X-XIV centuries became the golden age for Julfar and long-distance Arab trade, when Arab sailors regularly traveled halfway around the world.
Arabs swam into European waters long before the Europeans managed to cross the Indian Ocean and get into the Persian Gulf. Julfar has played an important role in the Gulf sea adventures for over a thousand years. Arab merchants considered archipelagous 18-month sea voyages to China as usual. The assortment of goods will surprise modern merchants.
Julfar attracted the constant attention of competing powers. In the 16th century, the Portuguese took control of the port. Already 70 thousand people lived in Julfar.
Oman and UAE exclaves Oman Abu Dhabi (UAE) Dubai (UAE) Sharjah (UAE) Ajman (UAE) Umm al-Quwain (UAE) Ras al-Khaimah (UAE) Fujairah (UAE) Photo: Jolle and Nickpo / wikipedia / CC BY 3.0
A century later, the Persians captured the city, but in 1750 they lost it. Then he fell into the hands of the Kawazim tribe from Sharjah, entrenched in the neighborhood, in Ras al-Khaimah, which they continue to rule to this day. And old Julfar gradually fell into decay, until its ruins, located among the coastal sand dunes, were forgotten.
Today, most of Julfar, in all likelihood, remains hidden under the sands north of Ras al-Khaimah.
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If you have never considered Poland as a country that has something to surprise you, it may be time to reconsider your opinion about it. Did you know, for example, that inviting a clergyman to open a supermarket in this country is an absolute norm? And what films in cinemas are usually in the original language, but cartoons are always duplicated?
website decided to find out what surprises tourists in Poland, and its inhabitants seem to be the absolute norm.
1. Religion is very important
Most Poles are very religious and go to church on Sundays. Of course, you can be an atheist, but not all your Polish acquaintances will understand how it is at all.
The Catholic Church greatly affects the lives of people in this country. Recently, thanks to her, a law was even passed prohibiting trade on Sundays, and from 2020 all stores, except very small ones, will be closed on this day of the week. Now on the first and last Sunday of the month you can still go shopping.
On the other hand, religiosity has at least one important plus that impresses even atheists when they find themselves in Poland. Catholic churches, of which there are a lot in this country (there is even a joke that they are like convenience stores), are really very beautiful.
2. It is important to remember religious holidays
If you don’t want to feel like the hero of the movie “28 Days Later” walking along the empty streets of the city, do not plan your trip to Poland at a time when local residents celebrate church holidays. These days, Poles prefer to visit churches and spend time with their families. This also applies to employees of shops, cafes, restaurants and even museums.
A tourist on such days in Poland will most likely have to get bored. Although even a walk along the cobbled streets of cities is already interesting. Just buy food the day before so that you have the strength to get around everything you plan.
3. You can register a marriage in a church
There are two ways to register a marriage in Poland: by contacting the registry office or by going through a wedding ceremony in a church.
If the lovers choose the second option, then they don’t need to go anywhere else. So-called concordant marriage is concluded, which is equated to official and has the same legal consequences: spouses have rights and obligations in relation to each other, and property in the event of a divorce will have to be divided.
4. Losing weight is a very difficult task.
Dishes of Polish cuisine are very tasty and hearty. Many of them are specific (for example, flasks - tripe soup), and not every foreigner dares to try them. But there are many goodies in Polish cuisine that are difficult to refuse. For example, in the Tatra Mountains they cook pork stew in beer, and in Silesia - cartridges, dumplings stuffed with meat and mushrooms.
Polish cafes usually serve simply huge portions of food. Often the main dishes come immediately with a side dish. Small establishments are common in which food is sold by weight: you just choose whatever you want, and then weigh your plate.
5. Borsch can be bought in a coffee machine
In Poland, red borscht is just a beetroot broth. It is served with ears - small dumplings stuffed with mushrooms, meat or even cereals. And sometimes they just drink it from cups or cups. By the way, it can be bought even in some coffee machines.
If you want a hearty and tasty beetroot soup with meat, you should not be upset, because in Poland it is also there. It is served in many cafes and restaurants. Just note that you need to order not red borsch, but Ukrainian.
In Poland, love for pets has reached a new level. In this country there are a lot of dog lovers who walk with their pets in the parks. Bowls of water for animals are often put up near stores in the heat. And this is done specifically for dogs (although, of course, cats or ferrets are also not forbidden to drink from them), who went for a walk with their owners.
Speaking of walks. Cleaning up for your pets in Poland is mandatory, because otherwise you will have to pay a fine. In cities there are special racks with bags and waste bins. And in Warsaw there is even an unusual urinal - a creative column in the photo above.
A homeless animal in Poland is difficult to detect. If you succeed, you need to call a special service - the ecopatrol of the police. His employees will come and take the poor man to a shelter, where they will wash him and feed him, and then they will give him all the necessary vaccinations, chip and sterilize him. Then the animal will wait for the new owner as long as necessary.
By the way, employees of the ecopatrol often have to catch wild animals caught in the city limits. After a veterinary examination, they are released into the natural habitat.
7. You can’t just go to the cinema and watch a movie in Polish
Usually in cinemas, films are in the original language with Polish subtitles. Exception - cartoons and children's films; they are duplicated. So, if you suddenly found yourself in Poland in those days when the rental of a Hollywood movie begins, which you didn’t want to miss, just go to the movies. If you know English well, of course.
8. In winter, the main problem was smog
The huge minus of many Polish cities is that in the winter they are enveloped. The reason is that in old houses there is still stove heating. When the air temperature drops, its quality rapidly deteriorates. Polish authorities say they are trying to solve this problem, but residents admit that so far they have not seen much success.
The most acute problem is in Krakow and Wroclaw. It happens smog in Warsaw. The cleanest cities are Szczecin and Tricity (Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot). The last three settlements are located near the Baltic Sea, and the wind usually just blows away smog, preventing it from accumulating over residential areas.
9. Sirens of emergency vehicles are hard not to hear
Sirens of cars of Polish emergency services (ambulance, police and fire) loud . Very loud. It is possible that when driving they are always passed on the roads. But there is an opinion that this is necessary so that the Poles see, or rather hear where their taxes go.
A week ago, I visited the capital of the Republic of Gorny Altai - Gorno-Altaysk. Actually, the purpose of my visit to this small city with a population of 50,000 people was a master class in photography, which I was offered to read in the walls of the Gorno-Altai State University. Actually, because of this, I could not attend the main task of the project, and the project had to be abandoned (I will write about this later).
For the first time in this city I visited in the late 90s of the last century. Then I was passing to Lake Teletskoye and did not pay attention to Gorno-Altaysk. On this visit, despite a 30-degree frost, I managed to look at the city a bit. Actually, a few pictures with comments.
01. Gorno-Altaisk Gate - the bus station greets those who come here with colorful national panels on the wall and wooden panels on the railing.
02. It seems that they are ready to meet and provide services to foreign tourists. Watch repair stand. The inscription on it is in three languages: Russian, Altai and English. 
03. Billboards in the streets remind that the elections are on September 14th. And among the snow in December they look a little ridiculous. 
04. On the streets of the city at minus 30 not crowded. Many young people were seen at the food court of a local shopping center eating pizza, french fries and other unhealthy foods. 
05. View from the food court of the local mall at the drama theater. Outwardly, for some reason, he reminded me of the mausoleum. 
06. The central square and the tallest building in the city (which I happened to see) is a 9-story house of justice. 
07. For festivities in the warm season there is an inseparable scene. On the day of my stay, a concert poster of a local star hung on it. 
08. In the neighborhood, colorful national wooden sculptures adorn the neighborhood. 
09. And before entering the main building of the Gorno-Altai State University there is a bust of the great Russian poet performed by Zurab Tsereteli. 
10. In the same university, renovations are in full swing, causing minor inconvenience to students and teachers. 
11. In general, my master class was held as part of the three-day school of journalism “Perot”. Actually, based on the results of this three-day school, a special issue of the student newspaper should be published. 
12. And here is the ad that I saw on the front page of the local press. Someone seems to be lobbying for something ...
13. One of the active students of my workshop Vera Pashinina. I recommend subscribing to her instagram.
14. As part of a practical assignment, he organized a mobile photography contest for students. So in VK and Instagram you can find the work of my listeners under the hash tag # photo pen. 
15. As practice has shown, in the age of gadgets, mobile photography captivates students. By the way, Vera won.
The settlement becomes “lost” when the inhabitants leave it. This can happen for a number of reasons - wars, natural migrations or natural disasters, but in each case the time in these cities freezes, plunging it into an endless wait for the moment of exposure. Many of them were found, others were not and acquired mythical status. Regardless of the real or mythical, we have compiled a list of ten lost cities that most excite the imagination of historians, archaeologists and adventurers.
The city of Caesars is also known as the city of Patagonia, the Eternal City is a mythical city believed to be located in South America in the region known as Patagonia in the Andes Valley between Chile and Argentina. According to legend, the lost city of Caesars was founded by Spanish travelers who were shipwrecked. Although not found, it is described as a rich, prosperous city full of gold, silver and diamonds. It is sometimes described as an enchanted city that appears only at certain times.
Troy
In ninth place in the list of ten lost cities is Troy - the legendary city described in Homer's epic poem "The Iliad." It was located in modern Turkey off the coast of the Aegean Sea, near the entrance to the Dardanelles. This well-fortified city was long considered a myth, until in 1870 the remains of the historian Heinrich Schliemann discovered it.
The Lost City of Z is a city with a complex network of bridges, roads and temples, supposedly existing deep in the jungle in the Mato Grosso region of Brazil. This mysterious lost city is mentioned in a document known as “Manuscript 512”, which is stored in the National Library of Rio de Janeiro. The document has 10 pages and describes in great detail how the Portuguese Juan da Silva Guimaraes visited the Lost City of Z in 1753, but the specific location of the manuscript is not mentioned. In 1925, explorer Fawcett, his son Jack and Raleigh Rimell went in search of him, and disappeared, along with several other groups who were looking for this city.
Petra
Petra is an ancient city, the capital of the Nabatean kingdom, located on the territory of modern Jordan in the narrow canyon of Sik. It is known for its amazing architecture and was once considered an important shopping center. After hundreds of years of prosperity, the city fell into decay after the earthquake, which partially destroyed the infrastructure of the city, as well as after the conquest of the region by the Romans in 363 AD. e. As a result, it became an abandoned city, having stood for many years in the desert until it was discovered in 1812 by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burkhardt.
El Dorado
Eldorado is a mythical country of precious stones and gold, supposedly located in the jungle of South America. The first attempt to find the lost city of Eldorado was made in 1535 by Sebastian de Belalcasar, the last - by Nikolai Rodriguez in 1775 - 1780. All attempts to find Eldorado were of great importance, as many expeditions paved new ways deep into South America.
Memphis
Memphis is an ancient Egyptian city on the left bank of the Nile. Founded in 3100 BC e, was the capital, as well as the residence of the pharaohs, a major religious, cultural, political and craft center of ancient Egypt for many hundreds of years. And it maintained its status until the emergence and heyday of Alexandria and Thebes, after it fell into decline and gradually collapsed. The now-lost city of Memphis is an open-air museum.
Angkor
Angkor is a region in Southeast Asia that was the center of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from the 9th to the 15th centuries. It was abandoned after the invasion of the Thai army in 1431. Until the 1800s, until a group of French archaeologists found it, the city of Angkor existed in desolation. The ruins of Angkor are located on the territory of the modern Kingdom of Cambodia among the forests in the northern part of Tonle Sap, near the current city of Siem Reap. Each year, 80,000 to 200,000 tourists visit the ruins of Angkor, and Angkor Wat is considered one of the largest religious sites in the world.
Pompeii
Pompeii is a large ancient Roman city buried under a layer of volcanic ash after the eruption of Vesuvius on August 24, 79. It is estimated that Pompeii was inhabited by 20,000 inhabitants and at that time, it was considered one of the main holiday destinations of high Roman society. It was discovered in 1748, after archaeological excavations at the foot of the volcano. Known as the best preserved ancient city. About 2.5 million tourists visit it annually.
Atlantis
Atlantis is supposedly a legendary island (archipelago or even a continent) and, possibly, an ancient civilization, the location and existence of which was not found. Atlantis was described by the Greek philosopher Plato, as an island-state, destroyed as a result of a natural disaster (probably an earthquake or tsunami) about 9000 years before the era in which he lived - that is, about 9500 BC. e. However, numerous expeditions in attempts to discover the lost city did not lead to any results.
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is the name of an architectural complex in the southern part of the modern state of Peru, built by the Incas in the 15th century. Of all the lost cities that have been discovered and explored, perhaps none is more mysterious than Machu Picchu. In 1532, all its inhabitants mysteriously disappeared. Machu Picchu was forgotten and remained in desolation for almost 400 years until it was discovered on July 24, 1911 by the American explorer Hyrum Bingham. The Spanish conquistadors never reached Machu Picchu. This city was not destroyed. Neither the quantity of its population, nor the purpose of construction, nor even its real name remains unknown.
