September 4, 2010From Belukha with love
I had seen the snow-covered peaks of Mount Belucha from afar. At sunset the mountain seems covered in majestic purple; at sunrise Belucha looks more distant but no less mysterious. Otfen her face is veiled with clouds.
Now I am walking to the foot of the mountain along the white water of Akkem Lake. It is a sunny day--butterflies accompany me as I cross small streams, climb rocks and finally arrive at the small chapel at the foot of the mountain.
Grigoriy Ivanovich Gurkin
Have a brief look into the life of the first Altai painter, the late Grigoriy Ivanovich Gurkin (1870-1937).
On my way to Shambala?
Tyungur is the starting place for treks to Belucha mountain, the highest and most sacred mountain in the Altai. For locals it is taboo to climb the mountain, they wouldn’t dare come so close to the place where an important spirit lives. Foreigners don’t respect the old traditions and locals aren’t at all surprised that many of the climbers die each year on the mountain. "Climb and die," is what Altaians say to climbers.
Goodbye Daniel
A brief glimpse into a ceremony with Daniel Mamyev, the guardian of Karakol valley.
Climate change and paradise
The mountains of the Altai are affected by climate change. To allow snow leopards, bears, ibex and other species to migrate, these animals must be able to move freely along a natural corridor, which implies a huge stretch of unfenced and protected land.
The old man and his tree
The wooden sculptures of Kuzima Izakovich grace museums in Moscow and in the Altai republic. Yet the man who carved the wondrous faces out of trees lived in solitude, far away from the city, in a simple wooden house in the forest along the Katun river. Nature gave him all he needed.
Navel of the earth
Haven’t found Shambala yet but am getting close. I visited Karakol valley, the centre or navel of the world according to Altaians and one of the most sacred places in the Altai. In its centre a ring of kurgans – ancient and circular graves made from thousands of stones – hold the magnetic axis of the world in place.
Save Altai
Altai is a Garden of Eden. Pristine nature, sacred water springs, white capped mountain tops, wild flowers in every shape and colour imaginable. Local people worship nature and pay respect to the master spirits of the mountains, rivers and springs. Unfortunately real estate developers from Russia worship another god. Their holy cow is money...