S. Upper Balkaria History of my village

18.01.2022

Chegem Gorge- a unique natural object, famous for waterfalls, gorge and historical monuments, in particular ancient villages. In addition, an important section of the Great Silk Road once passed here, connecting Kabardino-Balkaria with other regions of the world. Near the Chegem River there is the village of Upper Chegem, which is divided into two parts by the Dzhilgi-Su gorge. Previously, on the site of the village there was a settlement of the ancestors of the Balkars, which was called El-Tubyu. Literally from the Turkic language it is translated as a village at the bottom of the valley, which indicated its geographical location. A necropolis was opened near the settlement - this city of the dead constantly attracts the attention of guests of the republic and local residents.

The first settlers in El-Tyuby

Archaeologists have found human sites here that are about 15 thousand years old. Traces of life activity were found in the grotto Kala-Tyuby, which became a haven for the first inhabitants of this area. Later - in the 6th - 10th centuries - a wooden city with water supply was built here. Centuries later, wooden buildings were replaced with stone ones. El-Tubyu did not have a special city layout, which was determined by the proximity of the mountains and the need to defend against attacks from neighbors. For this purpose, towers were erected in which the nobility lived. Such buildings were a characteristic feature of many Caucasian villages, but only a few of them have survived to this day.

Necropolis city

The features of the area did not allow burying dead people in the ground, so not far from El-Tubyu Crypts and tombs were built, which gradually turned into a separate city. They were built during the 10th -17th centuries next to an older cemetery. Only eight mausoleums have survived to this day: six of them are very well preserved, the other two are in a dilapidated state. The crypts have a unique shape - rectangular and octagonal cones. They are made of stone. The ancient masonry technique was used - the stones were hewn and fastened together with lime. Outside and inside they are whitewashed and plastered.
According to their type, graves can be divided into mounds (earth and stone), boxes (stone), burial grounds with square windows in the east, and two types of crypts. The first includes the cemetery crypts, which have a high roof and a window on the eastern side. The second type of crypts is represented by octagons, which have a stepped high roof. Keshene were built much earlier than the octagonal crypts.
Graves and crypts They are about six meters high, have a thin cornice, and a false vault. The walls are irregular, convex, with curved edges. There are stone cones on the roofs. Burials in graves and crypts were carried out according to Muslim customs. In the city of the dead, archaeologists found the remains of vessels, metal objects from the 11th and 12th centuries, silver jewelry, and pottery.

Why mountains?

The necropolis is shrouded in secrets and legends. The local population believes that titans who lived thousands of years ago were buried here. The place for their burial was not chosen by chance. It is believed that the mountains are on the border of immortality and health, so the ancient settlers lived for a very long time and practically did not get sick. Similar legends are supported real facts: some descendants of the Alans celebrated their 200th (!) birthday. But residents of the modern village of Upper Chegem try not to go to the necropolis, fearing the spirits of their dead ancestors. According to another legend, human remains were dug up next to the crypts and had a ten-meter skeletal structure, but this has not been confirmed by archaeological research.

How to get to El-Tubyu burial grounds

The Caucasus Mountains have many hiking trails, but the mountainous terrain does not allow walking to the burial grounds. Consequently, it is worth traveling from Nalchik to the Chegem Gorge only by car. Further, the road passes through the mountains - here it is better to walk. Although there is a bus from Nalchik to the mountain village of Bulungu. Settlement Upper Chegem or El-Tubyu is very close - at a distance of five kilometers. It is recommended to visit the necropolis in the warm season, since landslides and glacier convergence often occur in the mountains. In winter, the temperature is not too low (reaches -12 degrees), but serious icing of the paths and roads occurs - this not only makes the trip to the graves much more difficult, but also creates dangers for the visitors themselves!

El-Tyuby is a Balkar village, 337 inhabitants (2002), 296 (2010). Verkhnechegem rural settlement of the Chegem region.
Nearby cities: Argudan, Pyatigorsk, Vladikavkaz
Coordinates: 43°16’3″N 43°9’3″E

Review
The mysterious ancient Balkar village of El-Tyuby is the center of the history of all of Balkaria. Ancient watchtowers, remains of Greek temples and anomalous phenomena attract adventure seekers and connoisseurs of beauty here.

Story
The ancient Balkar village of El-Tyuby in the upper reaches of the Chegem Gorge on the left bank of the Chegem River. This is the birthplace of the great Balkar poet and sage Kaisyn Kuliev.
The Balkarukov Tower in El-Tyuby is also called the Tower of Love. The legend says that Akhtugan Balkarukov built it to defend himself from the relatives of the beautiful Kerime he stole in Dagestan.
Not far from the village, two ancient defensive Greek stairs go up the rocky wall. They rise to a height of about 30 meters and lead to a small area enclosed by walls up to two meters high and about half a meter thick. According to legends, the path could be continued further, along a narrow path leading to a mysterious cave where Christian relics - books and utensils - were hidden. So far no one has been able to find what was hidden. In ancient times, people used stairs to escape enemies into the mountains, and above the stairs, warriors took up defensive positions.
A little higher than the Greek stairs are the ancient Balkar mausoleums, in which local nobility were buried in the 8th–18th centuries.
(c) based on site materials

City of dead
The nature of the Upper Chegem Basin is extremely beautiful. In the south, the peaks of the Side Range (Kurmytau and others), more than four kilometers high, sparkle with eternal snow. Magnificent and impregnable as a citadel, Mount Karakaya (“black rock” - bulk; 3646 meters), the highest in the Rocky Range, rises in the east. In its spur, in the Kyzla-Kyuygenkaya mountain range (from Balkar “Rock of Burnt Girls”), there is the Kala-Tyuby grotto - ancient site humans (13 – 15 thousand years). Not far from the grotto is the ancient settlement “Lygyt”, which dates back to the 8th-10th centuries. AD, with underground wooden water supply.

The Chegem Gorge somehow miraculously combines the beauty of nature and the mysteries of history. This probably inspired filmmakers to shoot the feature film “Sannikov’s Land” here (dir. A. Mkrtchyan, L. Popov; 1973). A significant part of the film’s action takes place in the upper reaches of the Chegem - near the village of El-Tyuby, the Chegem waterfalls, and the Andai-Su waterfall. Episodes of S. Rostotsky’s film “A Hero of Our Time” (1965-1966) were filmed in the gorge, including near the waterfalls. In 1975, the film “Horseman with Lightning in Hand” was filmed in the village of El-Tyuby.
The village of El-Tyuby resembles a museum under open air. When this village appeared, no one knows now. Literally translated, “El-Tyuby” means “the foundation of the village.” Its name suggests that it was founded on the site of some even older settlement. When the current village was founded, there were already collapsed foundations of some more ancient buildings. The spirit of antiquity reigns everywhere here. Stone houses several hundred years old have been preserved. In the center of the village we can see an ancient tower, which was built by invited Svan masters at the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th centuries. This tower belonged to the local princes Balkarukov, who were related to the Tarkov shamkhals in the 18th century. This tower is also called the “Tower of Love”. According to legend, it was built by Akhtugan Balkarukov to defend himself from his relatives, the beauty he stole in Dagestan - the Kumyk woman Kerima. One of the sacred relics of the family was the 14th century Koran brought from Dagestan. At the end of the 19th century. a mosque with a minaret was built in the village (unfortunately, it has not survived), and there was a school attached to it, where local children studied the Koran. At the beginning of the twentieth century. The Balkarukovs owned the only cheese factory in the gorge.

Right there, by the bridge, there is a “stone of shame” with a hole made in it (according to legend, criminals were tied to it in the Middle Ages. There is also the Avsoltu stone, which was previously worshiped, seeing in it the patron saint of hunting Afsati; and the “sacred” stone of Bayram-tashi , and a strongman’s stone weighing three hundred kilograms (the winner in the competition was the one who lifted it from the ground)…

Near the village, along the rocky wall, two ancient defensive Greek stairs go up, leading to a cave in which, according to legend, ancient Christian relics were buried, which are still being sought.
In ancient times, when the enemy was advancing, people went up the stairs into the mountains, and the warriors took up defensive positions above the stairs to rain down stones and arrows on the enemy. Climbing stairs today, in Peaceful time, you understand how hard it was for the attackers.
In the center of the village, near the bridge, there is a monument to K. Kuliev in the form of a bust. Not far from here you can see ancient saklyas made of stone with flat turf roofs. Due to the lack of arable land, barley and oats were previously grown on these roofs, and after harvesting a meager harvest, goats were released to graze. These ancient buildings of the village became a natural backdrop when A. Balabanov’s feature film “War” (2002) was filmed here.
At the foot of another interesting natural object- the volcanic massif Kum-Tyube (“sand hill” - ravine) with a height of more than 3500 m. The “Town of the Dead” is located. This array has been included in the list anomalous places Russia as anomalous zone"Alpha". Mysterious night glows were observed above its summit in the 1980s.

So, the “Town of the Dead” - a historical and cultural monument - is located a few hundred meters from the village of El-Tyuby. The “houses of the dead” or “keshenes” of the early Middle Ages (X-XII centuries) and later Muslim mausoleums of the late 17th and early 18th centuries have been preserved here. The ancient "Keshene" are called "Christian", although they undoubtedly represent the result of the layering of a variety of cultural influences on each other. Similar tetrahedral houses of the dead with gable roofs and a small window on the front facade are found in the mountains of Ossetia, Ingushetia, in the Cherek Gorge of Kabardino-Balkaria and even in the upper reaches of the Kuban River near the Karachay village of Kart-Dzhurt. There is an opinion that the custom of burying the dead in such “houses of the dead” is one of the remnants of Zoroastrianism, which became somewhat widespread among the population of Alania-Caucasus in the early Middle Ages. According to Zoroastrian rites, dead body it should not have desecrated the sacred element of the earth, so it was forbidden to bury it in the ground. Cremation was also excluded, since fire is also sacred. Same with water. So we had to isolate the body using special structures. In Persia these were “towers of silence”, and in the Caucasus – dry caves, burials in ossuaries (special vessels for collecting bones) and “houses of the dead”. When Zoroastrianism was supplanted by Christianity, and then paganism, which revived with renewed vigor (due to the decrease in the influence of Byzantium), traditions for a long time continued to persist.

At one of the El-Tyuby mausoleums, a stone “bump” has been preserved, which indicates that the men of the clan to which this mausoleum belongs are still alive, although no one has been buried in this mausoleum for a long time.

Here is what, in particular, L.I. Lavrov writes: “ Visual inspection The Verkhnechegemsky burial ground makes it possible to distinguish seven types of graves in it: 1) an earthen mound lined with stones at the edges; 2) stone embankment; 3) a stone box, made of smoothly fitted stones and filled with stones inside. That is, the same stone embankment, but with reinforced walls; 4) a cemented stone box with a steep gable roof; the inside of the box is filled with stones; this grave differs from the previous one only in that it is better protected from destruction; 5) a grave with the same box as the previous one, differing from it in that, firstly, it is empty inside and, secondly, “it has a small square window on the eastern side. That is, it is a small crypt, as if repeating the external forms of a cemented stone embankment; 6) a large quadrangular crypt (keshene) with a high gable roof and a window on the east side; “7) a large octagonal crypt with a pyramidal (also octagonal) high roof, turning into a cone at the top.”
further: “Already one simple list of seven types found suggests that the crypts of the North Caucasus do not repeat the architectural tradition of certain, in the past, more cultured peoples who influenced the highlanders. The crypts are organically linked to the local “architecture” of mountain graves. We see how each type is just a complication of the previous one.
On the road from the village to the “town of the dead” you can see an irrigation canal - a channel of a mountain stream diverted to the side. This canal was created centuries ago and apparently served to irrigate fields in the lower part of the slope. As soon as a damper was installed in the canal, water began to flow over the low earthen side and irrigated the crops below.

Eltyubyu and the city of the dead in the Chegem River valley
After flights and lunch, it was time “ cultural program“—we went to pay tribute to the ancestors of the current residents of Kabardino-Balkaria. Dmitry took us to the “City of the Dead”.

Up the Chegem gorge from the place where paragliding flights take place, the road passes the village of Upper Chegem, formerly called Eltyubyu (El-Tyuby) - “The village at the bottom of the valley”, where we stopped briefly at the bridge over the Zhilgy-Su, a tributary of the Chegem. The Dzhilgi-Su gorge cuts the village into two parts.

It was impossible to pass by without stopping, since this is also a very interesting place.

Firstly, this is the birthplace of the people's poet of Kabardino-Balkaria Kaisyn Shuvaevich Kuliev.

This monument is the center of the village, people gather around it local residents celebrate holidays and special events.
Secondly, Upper Chegem is an open-air museum. It is of great interest to archaeologists. Stands in the center watch tower XVII century, reminiscent of the towers of Svaneti.

This is the watchtower of the Malkorukov family.

Having stood at the head of Kaisyn Kuliev, examined the tower and the surrounding rocks, we went further and, after a short time, an ancient necropolis, also known as the “City of the Dead,” surrounded by a low wall made of unfastened stones became visible.

In the “City of the Dead,” eight above-ground mausoleums (keshene) have been preserved, four of which are rectangular with a gable roof, and the other four are octagonal with a domed roof, as well as ancient ground family graves without any identification marks, fenced with small stone walls.

The necropolis dates back to the 11th – 14th centuries. ad. The severity and grandeur of the surrounding landscape is striking. You experience sacred awe.

There are keshenes above the village,
between the crypts on the ground
spread out a thick carpet
juniper bushes.
The crypts were apparently plundered, some were destroyed, it is not clear, by people or by raging elements.

Looking inside one of the surviving keshenes through a small window that was not covered by anything, and examining the floor and the space under the dome, you will be convinced that they are empty. The walls from the inside, as you can see, are plastered.

If you think about it, there is a lot of mystery. Whether there was actually anything there, how it was placed there and how it was later removed remains unclear. The windows are very small...

Galina Vladimirovna picked up a couple of stones from the ground, intending to take them as souvenirs, but, according to mature reasoning, she decided that they should just stay where they were, it wouldn’t do to take anything from this place...

Dmitry not only lifted us under the clouds and brought us to this place, but also became our guide.
I can’t find any detailed (or even brief) scientific information about the “City of the Dead” on the Internet, at least I haven’t found it... The experts are silent, so in fact it’s not clear what these keshenes are, so I use paraphrases of other people’s opinions and ideas, possibly erroneous...
Walking around the crypts, we again got caught in the rain. How cold he was! But as soon as we set off on the return journey, we found ourselves at the steam-planodrome, the clouds parted and the sun appeared. Really, unique place! Overall, if you don’t find fault with individual details, the trip was a success. Possible repetitions in the future.

(c) based on site materials

Prepared by: Chaika

The Balkar people formed over centuries in the valleys and gorges of the highlands of Kabardino-Balkaria. The Chegem River Valley is one such place. Of the Chegem villages, the greatest historical and architectural interest is represented by Eltyuby, where monuments of folk architecture for various purposes, belonging to different stages of architectural development, have been preserved. One of the monuments of this interesting village is located a little to the south on the slopes "City of dead", unique in the variety of burial structures dating back to different times.

Photos and text nalchik360

Chegem Gorge. At the entrance to the necropolis:

City of dead:

Virtual panoramas of the Chegem Gorge. (The panorama is interactive, you need to wait for it to load and control the image rotation using the mouse or keyboard buttons):

The panorama is interactive, you need to wait for it to load and control the image rotation using the mouse or keyboard buttons:

The entire necropolis is dominated by several well-preserved monumental tombs - “keshene”. They belong to different periods and are divided into 2 types according to plan and appearance: rectangular in plan and octagonal.

Rectangular:

Octagonal ones are later:

These small stone tombs with one window and a thin cornice, five to six meters high, are irregular convex octagonal pyramidal volumes with smoothly curved ribs and edges, ending at the top with a cone made of solid stone:

The old Chegem builders did not know a real vault, arch, or dome, and in all cases they used only a false vault, that is, a system where each stone hangs slightly over the lower one, gradually reducing the distance between opposite walls:

In addition, the walls of irregularly shaped stones were made thicker at the bottom than at the top. All this creates the unique silhouette that distinguishes keshene:

Multifaceted mausoleums with cone-shaped or pyramidal endings are found in architecture and Central Asia, and Azerbaijan, and in the North Caucasus (in particular in the Chechen regions, almost similar, but, unlike the Chechen ones, these are not plastered), and in the Kabardian regions. All these monuments belong to the monuments of “Muslim” architecture. This gives reason to see monuments of the Muslim period in Eltyubyu keshene and date them no earlier than the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th century.

Constructed with the help of a false vault, the side walls of which become thinner upward, gradually closing, ending in a sharp ridge, the rectangular keshenes look exceptionally monumental and are perceived to be much larger than their absolute dimensions:

The relatively small structure of Baymurza-keshene, with a height of 8 m 60 cm and a volume of about 160 cubic meters, subjugates the surrounding landscape with its monumentality, so that it seems as if it was created not by man, but by nature itself:

It should be noted that the aesthetic impact of all funeral structures is determined not by a clutter of details, but by the composition of the volume, the contrast of the opening spot with the light plastered field of the wall, and the skillful placement of the structure among the landscape. Only one keshene has decorative decoration in the form of several imprints on the fresh solution of either the neck or the bottom of the jug:

The entire territory of such necropolises is covered with wildly flowering mountain grass interspersed with bright barberry bushes:

Birds of prey circle in the hunt for gophers and other living creatures:

Regarding when the Upper Chegem mausoleums were built, scientists today have not come to a consensus. In general, it is generally accepted that they began to be built no earlier than the 13th century and were erected until the 18th century. "City of dead" - favorite place stops for tourists coming to the Chegem Gorge. Most of them are sure that many legends, mysterious stories, and unusual facts are associated with this place.

And no wonder...

Part 1. Taking the treasured letter of recommendation from the expedition worker, I went to Upper Balkaria. Bus
I went there once a week. We left Nalchik around 8 am. Quite quickly we passed the village of Nartan, the Alan fortification and the Kabardian mounds and, after about an hour, we were already sandwiched by a gorge, which was becoming narrower and narrower. About three hours later, the driver stopped the bus at the Blue Lakes. Before that, I watched with curiosity the bridge over the canyon of the Cherek River, after crossing which we found ourselves on the left side of the gorge. On the bus, I asked everyone if anyone knew where the Musukovs lived. Only one girl spoke Russian, and she said that she would take me to the Musukovs’ house. . And she also advised me not to look into the gorge, as it might become dizzy. Indeed, it seemed to me that the back wheel of the bus, sometimes, was almost hanging over the abyss, but what beauty, what exoticism. There were only 8 or 9 people on the bus. The entire back half of it was littered with products - salt, sugar, flour, most likely medicines and individual parcels, newspapers, magazines. It was already getting dark when we entered the village and stopped at the main and only store. The girl, together with her friend, went to accompany me to the Musukovs’ house.

Approaching the house, they rang the bell hanging on the gate post. A girl of about 14 ran out of the house. They said something to her in their language. I gave her a letter of recommendation. She opened the gate and led me into the house, saying goodbye to the girls who saw me off. Her name was Aminat. She was my assistant and translator. She graduated from 7th grade and spoke Russian quite well. We entered the kitchen or dining room or living room through a long hallway or entryway. To the left were long two-story bunks, on which four children’s heads were already sticking out, examining me with questioning glances.

In the middle of the room there was a long wooden table covered with a tablecloth. To the right of the table there was a large oven similar to a Russian oven with an alcove for making lavash. They immediately started treating me to stewed tomatoes with pita bread. During the meal, I talked about myself, Leningrad, and the expedition. Frankly speaking, the road tired me so much that I fell off the stool that was kindly offered to me, although Aminat and her mother, with a child in her arms, were sitting on the raised floor carpets, next to the table. After finishing the meal, Aminat took me by the hand and led me into the hallway, where she sat me on a bench and told me to wait.

After which she appeared with a basin and a jug and, asking me to take off my shoes, began to wash my feet. I could have done it myself, but she told me that this was their custom. After that, through a long corridor, she led me to the kunatsky guest room. When I entered there, I was simply stunned... (to be continued)
Darkness permeated the mountains
The mountains stood like a black fence.
The stars flashed, the stars lit up
I'm in Balkaria. Open the gate door,
Greetings,
Opened
Under a black blanket.
The eyes looked at me
Voices reached me.
The door opened and the girl
She lowered her black eyes,
And the girl extended her thin hand -
“Sala maleikum” - “Maleykum salya”
Leaving the luggage not heavy in the hallway,
I enter, holding the floorboard together as I go,
I sit down on a big, big ottoman.
Untimely old age came to the mistress,
After all, no one interfered with this old age
And four of these mustacheless snot
They wove a running network of wrinkles.
She ran away from the penitent eyes
In which the fire that lit went out.
A minute, four and hanging on the ferry,
I taste aromatic tea when visiting.
Then conversations about our city,
About life, about everyday life... And then, and then
After washing the dead man he slept
And I probably got up at 8 or 9.
The guide was waiting for me in the morning.
He wanted to take me to the mountains.
Yes, here is a guide, a guide
The world you see is so necessary
For the first time I felt
realized-
He's going blind, he's lost his sight
Trying to find wings for a moment
Grow an eagle feather and a wing
……………………………………………………..
First we walk slowly along the river
And Cherek wheezes, breathing in full water.
The rapids are melodious, legato, legato.
The rapids are a billowing stokato.
Gardens - an endless crowd, treats
Smiling fruits – murder is forgiven
They instantly give in and melt in your mouth.
And the towers and saklyas without roofs collapsed
This is how life was spent.
Caves, caves - blinding crevices,
Waterfalls thunder, spillways hum
And the dead bulk of the cliffs are colossi.
Balkaria is the capital of nature
And the lyre writhes, anticipating childbirth
Fiery poetry, golden verse,
But thoughts are powerless, our words are poor.
Or maybe it’s mine, maybe I’m weak in words,
But my heart sings and my head spins.
Dizzy from the beauty and emotions of countless.
Yes! It's good here, thank you for the summer!

[:RU]The Balkar people formed over centuries in the valleys and gorges of the highland part of Kabardino-Balkaria. The history of the Balkar people is a history of struggle with harsh nature and conquerors. The highlanders skillfully used natural conditions and often created defensive structures that made their villages and estates impregnable.
The Chegem River Valley is one such place. Of the Chegem villages, the greatest historical and architectural interest is Eltuby(El-Tyuby) - “The village at the bottom of the valley.” Monuments of folk architecture for various purposes, belonging to different stages of architectural development, have been preserved here. One of the monuments of this interesting village is the “City of the Dead”, located a little to the south on the slopes, unique in the variety of burial structures dating back to different times.

Chegem Gorge. At the entrance to the necropolis.

City of dead

Rectangular:

Octagonal ones are more recent.

In addition, the walls of irregularly shaped stones were made thicker at the bottom than at the top. All this creates the unique silhouette that distinguishes keshenes.

Multifaceted mausoleums with cone-shaped or pyramidal endings are found in the architecture of Central Asia, Azerbaijan, the North Caucasus (in particular in the Chechen regions, almost similar, but, unlike the Chegem ones, unplastered), and in the Kabardian regions. All these monuments belong to the monuments of “Muslim” architecture. This gives reason to see monuments of the Muslim period in the Eltyubyu keshene and date them no earlier than the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th century.

The entire territory of such necropolises is covered with wildly flowering mountain grass interspersed with bright barberry bushes.

Birds of prey circle in the hunt for gophers and other living creatures