The Legend of the Rock of Love. Legends about Lake Aya Some toponyms of the Caucasus

A girl is telling fortunes by the river -
It destroys radiant daisies.
And, like snowflakes,
petals are flying:
Loves - doesn't like - loves.
You know the whole truth
wild flower,
Or did people come up with this?
You are responsible for everything with your own head:
Loves - does not love - loves! From time immemorial, daisies have symbolized Russian nature. The Russian people call chamomile with constant love: sunflower, bachelorette party, belyushka, daughter-in-law, little witch, forest maryasha, matryonka, nivyanik, white flower . Among the ancient Slavs, chamomile was one of the seven sacred plants ( oak, hazel, willow, chamomile, hops, mistletoe, weeping tree).

The name chamomile comes from the Latin word "romana", which translated means "Roman", in medieval medical literature chamomile was called "Romanov flower". And the Greek name for chamomile (Leucanthemum) is translated into Russian as "White flower". In Ancient Egypt, the chamomile flower was dedicated to the sun god Ra.

According to popular belief, it is believed that where a star falls, a daisy blooms. They also say that daisies are little suns that connect many holy petal roads. Daisies are similar in shape to umbrellas, and according to legend, in ancient times they were umbrellas for small steppe gnomes. When it starts to rain in the steppe, the gnome will cover himself with a chamomile, or pick it and walk across the steppe, raising the flower above his head. The rain knocks on the chamomile umbrella, flows off it in streams, and the gnome remains completely dry.

And daisies are like surprised eyes; if you go out into the meadow on a dry, windy day and listen carefully, you can hear a quiet rustle - this is the rustle of white daisy eyelashes. The surprised eyes of the daisy look at the sky, trying to understand the movements of clouds, stars and planets. They look, they look, they get tired, and then they begin to blink their white eyelashes. It seems that bend over to a flower and it will tell you the most secret things. And chamomile has a lot of secrets...

Legends about Chamomile

Once upon a time there lived a Forest Fairy. Where she appeared, nature came to life, trees lifted dried branches, amazing flowers bloomed. People and animals came to her for healing and she refused to help anyone. The Fairy fell in love with the young shepherd. It used to fly to the meadow where he grazes the flock, hide in the crown of a tree and listen to him play the pipe... Once the Forest Fairy came out to the shepherd. He saw her and fell in love with her without memory. They began to meet every day, and the Fairy endowed the shepherd with the gift of healing. She revealed to him the secrets of herbs and flowers, trees and the world of stone.

The shepherd began to heal people. And he took a lot of money for it. He stopped tending the flock and became rich. He comes less and less to the forest clearing, where the Fairy is waiting for him. And then he stopped coming altogether. The Fairy sits in the crown of a tree, waiting for her shepherd. Tears flow from her eyes, the more they flow, the smaller she becomes. So she burst into tears. And where these tears fell, daisies grew there. They stand, stretch out their arms-stalks towards the sun, drop petals-tears: loves - does not love, will come - will not come. They feel people's pain in tears and help everyone who asks for help with a pure soul.

And the shepherd, meanwhile, with each tear he lost the strength that the Forest Fairy had given him. And the day came when all his strength was gone and his luck deserted him. People turned away from him. And then the shepherd remembered his Fairy. He came to the meadow where they saw each other all the time, and lo and behold, the whole field was strewn with daisies. He began to call to the Forest Fairy, but there was only silence all around, only the daisies stretched their heads towards him, as if they were caressing him. He gave up on everything and went back to his cows.

A very touching, and at the same time, sad story tells us where daisies came from on Earth. A long time ago, in a distant village, there lived a girl named Maria. She was beautiful like the morning dawn, gentle like a breath of wind and slender like a birch tree. She had light brown hair and blue eyes, and her skin seemed to radiate a pearlescent glow. This girl was madly in love with a guy named Roman from a neighboring village. Her feelings were mutual, and the young people practically never parted. Every day they walked through the forests, picking berries, mushrooms, and flowers.

One day, Roman had a dream that an old man in some unknown country was presenting him with a hitherto unseen flower - with a bright yellow core and white elongated petals around. When Roman woke up from his sleep, he saw that this flower was really lying on his bed. He liked it so much that he immediately gave it to his beloved. Tenderness emanated from the flower and the girl was delighted with such an unusual gift and decided to call it by an affectionate name - Chamomile. She had never seen such a simple and at the same time delicate flower before. The girl felt sad that not all lovers could enjoy the beauty of chamomile, and she asked Roman to collect a whole bouquet of these amazing flowers. Roman could not refuse his beloved and the next day he set off. For a long time he wandered through the vastness of the Earth and, finally, at the end of the world, he found the kingdom of dreams. His ruler agreed to give his girlfriend a whole field of daisies only if Roman remained in his domain forever. The young man was ready to do anything for the sake of his beloved, and he remained forever in the land of dreams. The girl waited for Roman's return for several years, but he still did not knock on her door. And when one morning, she saw a chamomile field near her house, she realized that her love was alive... So people received chamomile and fell in love with these flowers for their simplicity and tenderness, and the lovers began to guess about them: “Loves or does not love?”

Chamomile has always been used to tell fortunes. In order to find out the answer to a question that haunted me, taking a chamomile in my right hand and tearing off the petals with my left hand, I had to say: “yes”, “no”, “will come true”, “will not come true” - until you will pick the last petal, which will be the answer.

There is a well-known rhyme: “loves, doesn’t love, spits, kisses, presses to the heart, sends to hell, loves sincerely, mocks, waits for a meeting, mocks...” Guess, love and be loved! And trust the chamomile, because it will always confirm that... it loves you!

The guy and the girl loved each other, but their parents did not want them to get married. Then the lovers fled to the mountains and hid under a rock. Their happiness did not last long. The fugitives were quickly found. The young man was killed, and the girl, seeing her lover dead, threw herself off a cliff...

Bogatyr Dombay

There was once a strongman in Ossetia named Dombay. His strength was immeasurable. As they said, there was no one stronger than him. One day, near the village where Dombay lived, some giant buffalo died. It was summer time, and the body of the buffalo began to decompose. The stench could be felt several miles away. The poor people did not know what to do, and in despair they turned to Dombay so that he could somehow save them from such trouble. Dombay went to the body of the buffalo, took it by the...

The mountain is funny, fair

Once upon a time there lived two brothers. When their father died, the younger brother went to bury him, and the older brother stayed at home. He collected everything that was in the house and hid it. The younger brother returned, looked around and saw that there was nothing in the house. He asked: “Tell me, elder brother, where did all our goods go?” But the elder brother replied: “I myself don’t know where our property is.” And the younger brother didn’t say anything to him. Then the elder brother grew bolder and said: “Now we have no father...

Karcha (folk tale)

He who has lost his eyes can hear a song, He who has lost his ears can see a rainbow, He who has lost his arms can dance at a wedding, He who has lost his legs can hug friends, He who has lost everything can lie in his native land. Those who have lost their homeland cannot do anything at all. The wind runs through the trees, and the trees rustle their leaves, but let the wind fall asleep and the trees fall asleep. In the steppe, mares call foals with a sonorous neigh and well-fed horses snore, but let their sounds be hidden by the thick...

The Legend of Mount Sulahat

There is a legend among the people about the girl Sulahat (“Zulichat” in Karachay): “She was born into a hardworking and strong tribe of Alans - the ancestors of the glorious Karchi. The mountain tribe was not deprived of happiness, the sun gave them a lot of warmth, rye and barley were filled with golden juice, herds of steep-horned aurochs roamed along the green slopes of the mountains. But one day happiness turned away from the tribe. Where the Alibek glacier sparkled in the impregnable wall of the mountains...

The Legend of the Shepherd Kara

There is a legend about the shepherd Kara. One day he was riding his horse and saw a lake. He began to wonder what kind of lake this was and wanted to take a dip in the cool water. But on the way he met an old man who warned the shepherd that this lake was dangerous. The old man told him that a mermaid lives at the bottom of the lake and will certainly drag to the bottom the one who dares to swim across it. Kara laughed in response and didn’t believe the old man. He pulled up his horse and swam...

The Legend of the Rock of Love

Moussa-Achitara

The name of the mountain Mussa-Achitara in translation means the cry of Mussa. There is a legend that one day a thief named Moussa stole a huge herd. He drove him along a gentle slope to this mountain and was already beginning to count the money for the sale of the herd, when he saw that on the other side the mountain was rocky. And Mussa realized that there was no way forward, but there was no way back for him either... Then Mussa sat down on the ground and cried bitterly...

Some toponyms of the Caucasus

The belonging of toponyms to a particular language is marked with abbreviations: abaz., abkh. - languages (actually, dialects of one language) of the Abazins and Abkhazians; Circassian - Adyghe; Alano-Oset. - Ossetian language of medieval Alans; Arab. - Arabic; punishment - Karachay; kbal. - Turkic language of the Karachais and Balkars; Osset - Ossetian; Svan - Svan; Turkic - the languages of the Turks, who at different periods of history lived on the northern slope of the Caucasus; cher. - related...

Legends about the creation of Altai...

The Legend of the White Woman
The two guys were strong friends, and they managed to fall in love with the same girl. When asked to choose one, she just shrugged and said that she didn’t know them enough. To test her feelings, the guys invited her to participate in the hike, and she agreed. A misfortune happened in the mountains - stones fell and the girl got stuck in a crevice. There was no way she could get out on her own; she could only call for help. And the guys, in order not to spoil their friendship, decided to leave her to die and left, telling everyone that she died in a landslide... The girl somehow got out and from that time on she has been walking through the mountains and taking revenge on young men. She allegedly makes her sacrifices under the famous Black Birch.
The Legend of Snake Mountain
They say that before there were no poisonous snakes in Altai, but now the copperhead is found here quite often. In one camp only men lived, because the leader of this tribe hated women. But life took its toll and young men fell in love with beauties from neighboring villages and wanted to marry them. The leader was smart enough, he did not want to cause discontent among his heroes, and therefore set a fair condition for them: a young man could marry a girl only if he was able to climb with his bride in his arms to the top of a high mountain. But if the groom could not carry his beloved to the top and lowered her to the ground, then she turned into a snake. Many young men tried to conquer the top of the inaccessible mountain with a bride in their arms, but the path was very difficult and no one was able to fulfill the leader’s condition. Many girls turned into snakes to the delight of the evil khan. But one day a poor shepherd fell in love with a beautiful girl, and she reciprocated his feelings. A young couple came to the khan with a request to allow them to get married. The cruel leader does not mind if they fulfill his condition. The shepherd picked up his bride in his arms and began to climb to the top, and the khan did not take his eyes off them, carefully watching how he tried to achieve his goal. The path up the mountain is difficult, the young man is already losing his last strength. His bride is about to touch the ground and turn into a snake, which is visible and invisible around. But the girl began to help her fiancé. Unnoticed, so that the merciless leader would not see, she began to push off the ground first with her hand and then with her foot. So little by little they moved forward. And now the happy lovers stand at the top. And the evil khan, overcome with anger, himself turned into a poisonous snake - the copperhead.

The legend about Grandma Agapka and the Black Dog
The Peschanaya River is deserted in its middle course, they say that this is no coincidence, and people do not settle there for a good reason.

There was one settlement in these places, people lived there peacefully and calmly. They played weddings, gave birth to children, worked, went hunting and died little by little, everything as it should be among people. But

somehow A family settled in that village, and at first no one paid much attention to them. It seemed like a father and daughter, just unsociable, didn’t really communicate with anyone. And even that is understandable: a widower and an orphan, you never know what kind of grief has befallen them, maybe unnecessary sympathy will be unpleasant for them. They knew one thing about them: the widower’s name was Abramych. and that he is an avid hunter, disappears in the forest all day long, and his beautiful daughter is called Agape, an unfashionable name for a young girl.
It was with this girl that they began to notice strange things. How this beauty will come to the party, although she stands on the sidelines, doesn’t invite anyone to come to her, but still some guy will follow her. Everything would be fine, but soon after the send-off the guys fell ill: their strength quickly melted away, their faces became covered with wrinkles, like old people’s, and soon they died. But people did not immediately associate these strange diseases with Agape. She went to parties no more than two or three times a year; the rest of the time she rarely left the house.
The years fly by unnoticed, ten years, or maybe more, have passed, but Agape does not change at all. Her face is still as beautiful, her waist is still as thin, her long braids are still pitch black. She still occasionally goes to youth celebrations, her guides go with her, and after a while they die. In the village cemetery there are more and more graves of young guys who died like old people. On each such grave an aspen tree grew and fluttered its sensitive nervous leaves in the wind.
Various rumors spread throughout the village, and the people became angry and fearful. The men tried to get Abramych drunk and extract the whole truth from him, but they never succeeded. The more Abramych drank, the gloomier he became. In response to all questions, he kept repeating only one thing: “Don’t touch Agapka, I love her more than life itself.”
So people decided that Agape was not his daughter at all, but his wife. And somehow she got in touch with the evil spirit, and it helps her stay forever young and beautiful. She just needs to be fed with young energy from time to time. So she took this energy from the guys who escorted her.
People began to leave those places, and those who remained did not leave the house, they were afraid of Agapka. The girl began to walk along the empty streets, knock on windows, and invite guys to her. But no one wanted to follow their own death. People see, but Agapka is getting older every day. The black hair was covered with gray, the white face was furrowed with deep wrinkles, the body was shriveled and bent. She runs faster and faster through the streets, prowling like a hungry dog. Soon she really turned into a huge black dog. Now not only young guys, no one has a chance. The last people secretly left the cursed places at night.
They say that a hungry and distraught dog tried to attack his owner Abramych. He threw himself over the rocks across the river from his terrible jaws, but slipped, fell and drowned.
Since then, this threshold has been called Abramych. It is very difficult to pass it, it requires great skill and skill. No one walks along those banks, no one hunts, although there is a lot of game there. Apparently, the black dog overtakes any hunter or tourist on foot. He appears on the shore and watches the watermen passing through the water with a long, attentive gaze.
They say that at the parking lot near the threshold, Abramych, during night duty, an old woman approaches the duty officer and gently calls him to come to her dugout for tea, and if a tourist agrees to go and have tea, then he never returns to his fire.
There is one more sign associated with Grandma Agapka, If
somebody one of the watermen, having heard the story about the grandmother, begins to mock her, expresses distrust of “these children's fairy tales,” then troubles are sure to happen to such an unlucky tourist along the route.
Have you seen
somebody Granny Agapka in reality is unknown, but a huge black dog exists in reality, and the narrator of this legend together with his friends saw him. Moreover, the dog is always on the opposite side of the ship.
And then one day, when the dog appeared among the stones and again froze like a statue, carefully watching the crew sailing past, the team specially crossed to this shore in the firm desire to find the dog and dispel the myth of its elusiveness. The young guys searched all the coastal rocks, but nowhere did they find any crevice where the dog could hide, no caves, no housing. And the places around are simply impassable. Imagine the surprise of the people when, just about to sail away from this damned place, they saw the dog on the opposite bank, he again looked at the tourists and seemed to see off their departure with a grin.

The Legend of the Black Mountaineer
No one knows exactly in which mountains this story took place and whether these events actually happened. But the fact that even experienced climbers disappear without a trace in the mountains remains a tragic fact. Perhaps, for the edification of still inexperienced tourists just starting their first routes, this legend serves as a reminder of simple truths, the need for friendship, mutual assistance, and subordination to a senior, more experienced route leader (instructor) on a hike.

One day a tourist group went to the mountains. And the team turned out to have a guy with a very quarrelsome nature. He constantly whined and was dissatisfied with everything: his backpack was heavier than everyone else’s, and his shoes stung his feet, and it was damp to sleep on the ground, in general, the sun did not shine as he would like, and the whole world For some reason I didn’t want to obey his wishes.

There is also envy of the instructor - it crept into the guy’s soul. Look how clever and skillful he is: he doesn’t get tired on a hike, and he sings songs near the fire, the guys respect him, the girls admire him. And no one wanted to pay attention to the whining and eternal grumbling of the young tourist.

And then this guy decided to climb to the top alone, while the whole group settled down for the night. With pleasure, he imagined pictures of everyone's surprise and admiration when the next day the group climbed to the top, and there they would be met by him - the one who was undeservedly offended and despised.

Night fell, everyone fell asleep, and our “hero” secretly went to the top. After some time, a storm began. The whole group woke up from a terrible hurricane. It was then that it became clear that one tourist was missing. And then people, risking their lives, went in search. They searched for the unlucky traveler all night until the morning and all the next day, but they didn’t even find any traces.

Then the instructor decided to descend. All the tourists were already tired, exhausted, their nerves were on edge, so in the evening two of them quarreled among themselves over a trifle.

When the group woke up in the morning, everyone saw with horror that the quarreling friends were dead.

Since then, people began to see the shadow of the Black Mountaineer in the mountains. And they saw him only before his death. For those who abandoned their friends, pushed them away from themselves, did not offer a hand for help, were overtaken by the shadow of the rejected Mountaineer and killed.

There is nothing in the mountains stronger and more reliable than the hands of a friend. Friendship can never be betrayed. Otherwise, punishment will follow immediately.

The Legend of Lake Aya (1st legend)
The evil spirit Delbegen hovers above the earth. He loves to do his dirty deeds, causing evil and suffering to people.
One day, to do another harm to people. Delbegen stole the Moon from people. Darkness fell on the earth. It has become very difficult for people to live in the dark.
Luna knew that people really needed her, and she managed to escape from Delbegen. Again light and joy shone on earth for people.
But the happier people were, the angrier Delbegen became. He stole the Moon again and this time hid her in a deep crevice in the mountains at the bottom of a beautiful lake with clear, cold water, putting his brother, sister, mother and father to guard the Moon.
But the relatives - the guards - are ashamed in front of the people that Delbegen brings so much evil to people and deprives them of light at night. That's why they hide from people.
Thus, sister Delbegenya, guarding the Moon from the South, hides behind a blue veil. Delbegen's father is a Shaman, he hid in the mountains and can only be seen from three points. Delbegen's mother, Baba Yaga, hid in the rocks and watched with a grin as people searched for her. On the eastern side it can only be seen from one point. Baba Yaga keeps a camel at her head in order to quickly catch up with the Moon if she tries to escape again.
But the most cunning one turned out to be Delbegen’s brother, Babyr. It is located in the north and is so cleverly hidden that it can only be seen for 24 hours on a full moon night.
Until now, these cunning people are guarding the Moon and hiding from people.
Note: Sinyukha is a mountain that is often hidden by clouds and is located in a blue haze. Baba Yaga is a rock that is not visible from the road, but when you enter a certain clearing opposite the village of Katun, you can see Baba Yaga’s profile in the north: forehead, eyes, hooked nose, half-open mouth and one tooth. Camel is a mountain shaped like a lying camel. The head of the Shaman (Devil) is also visible from certain points: 150 m from the bridge in the direction of Souzgi, on the side of the road from the village. N-Kayancha. An attentive traveler will see an Altai profile, a huge hat and a beard that reaches the length of the road.
If you want to see the face of Bobyrgan, you need to climb to the top of Mount Bobyrgan, there is the Tribune rock, from it you need to move 15 meters to the east and only on a full moon night and at exactly 24 o’clock you need to turn back sharply. In front of you will be a huge head of an Altai man. This image is obtained through the play of shadows.
Babyr - this is the name of Mount Bobyrgan (Babyrkhan) in this legend. This mountain is the highest on the face of the Altai Mountains, the absolute elevation is 1008.6 m. Above the level of the Katun River, Bobyrgan rises 700 m. This mountain is located on the border of the steppe and mountain zones, has picturesque weathering forms in the form of towers, the northern slope is steeper than the southern one. Perhaps it is precisely thanks to its original shapes and unusual location that this mountain also gave rise to many legends.
It is believed that Mount Bobyrgan is a former volcano; according to the stories of old-timers, quite recently, 40-50 years ago, there was a lake in its crater at the top, but now only a spring remains there.

The Legend of Lake Aya (2nd legend)
That was a long time ago…
Then amazing animals and kind people lived on earth, but in contrast to them there were also terrible animals and cannibalistic people.
In these parts, among beautiful nature, lived the bloodthirsty cannibal Delbegen. Many good people died from him. He brought a lot of evil and grief to good people.
With sadness and anger, Luna (in Altai - Ai) looked down on Delbegen's evil deeds. One night, when Delbegen was doing his dirty deeds. The moon could not bear it and descended into the valley. The Moon is great and heavy. Where she landed on the ground, a large dent formed. Ai grabbed the cannibal and, rising high into the sky, threw him down into the Katun River. High waves rose and filled the dent that had formed in the place where the Moon had descended.
This is how the lake was formed. The saved human race named this lake Aya in memory of those ancient events.
And on the Katun River, in the place where the Moon threw the cannibal, rapids formed that were difficult to swim through. It is the evil Delbegen who is still plotting against people and trying to destroy them.

The Legend of Lake Aya (3rd legend)
Two sisters lived in the same camp. One married a rich man, the other married a poor man. In one year, children were born in these families: the rich had a daughter, and the poor had a son. Years passed, the children grew up. And then one day a guy hired himself to herd sheep to a rich man.
Here he met a girl and fell in love with her, and she reciprocated his feelings. The poor man wooed his beloved's father, but the rich man did not even want to talk to the shepherd. The father told his daughter to forget about stupid love.
The lovers decided to run away from their native camp and get married in a foreign country. They agreed that as soon as the sun sets and the guy drives the sheep, they will meet the girl on a high rock. But, the guy made a reservation, if he doesn’t come after sunset, it means he’ll never come again, because the girl’s father found out about everything and killed him.
The long-awaited evening came, the girl came to the appointed rock and began to wait. The sun has already touched the edges of the mountains, but still there is no beloved. The girl was afraid that she would never see him again and began to cry. And she cried so much that a whole lake of tears flowed at her feet. Then the sun completely set, the last ray went out. With him, the hope for happiness faded. There is still no loved one.
The girl decided that her lover’s father had killed her, and if so, then she couldn’t live without her beloved. The beauty threw herself into the lake that appeared around the rock and drowned.
And the guy was only a few minutes late. He didn’t find the girl, he saw the lake as clean and transparent as a tear, he understood everything and did not want to live without his beloved. He cried out: “Oh, me!” and threw himself from the rock on which he stood and fell to his death.
That lake still exists, and near it there is a rock with stones red as blood. And that lake is called Aya.

The Legend of Lake Aya (4th legend)
A long time ago, in a village there lived a girl. One day she went into the forest to pick berries and suddenly saw a wounded bear in the raspberries. The girl was very frightened, but the bear looked at her so pitifully that the girl’s fear passed. She took pity on him, bandaged the animal’s wound with her handkerchief, and began going into the forest every day to visit the bear.
This girl had a fiancé, and the scarf that the girl gave to the bear was given to her by him. The groom began to notice that his bride did not have the scarf he had given him, his beloved became cold towards him and often went into the forest. He decided to find out why the girl was in the forest and quickly found her in the company of a bear. The young man did not like that his bride was talking very kindly and tenderly to the bear. He saw his gift - a scarf - on a wild animal, and the young man was overcome with terrible jealousy. He raised his gun and shot the owner of the forest.
The girl’s scarf was stained with bear’s blood. She picked it up, pressed it to her heart, went mad with grief and with a loud, sorrowful cry: “And me?!”, “And me?!” - ran into the forest. A lake stood in her way. But the girl, all in tears, did not notice him, rushed into the transparent water and drowned shouting “What about me?!”
This was a long time ago, but since then, in the places where the girl ran and bear blood dripped from the scarf, a red berry grows, and the lake is called Aya.

The Legend of Lake Aya (5th legend)
A poor shepherd fell in love with the daughter of a rich khan, and the girl fell in love with the young man with all her heart. But this love was sad. The shepherd could not even hope for happiness. A rich khan will never give his daughter to a guy as a wife. And then the girl decided to secretly leave her native camp to visit her beloved.
They agreed with the shepherd to meet on a high cliff near the bank of the Katun. The young man was joyfully waiting for his beloved, he sang happy songs on the cliff. The appointed time was approaching. But the rich khan, sensing evil, did not take his eyes off his daughter. Somehow the girl managed to leave the camp. She hurries to the rocks, but does not make it by the appointed time.
The young man saw the sun setting behind the mountain, but his beloved was not there. He looked at the last ray of the setting sun and rushed down from the high cliff. The girl ran up the mountain and realized what had happened. Bitter tears flowed from her eyes. A deep lake spilled around the rock. “My beloved died, and me?”
With this cry the beauty rushed into the abyss of water. People called the lake that: Aya. And the top of the cliff where the lovers were supposed to meet now stands as an island in the middle of the lake and is called the Island of Love.

Legend about the village of Aya (1st legend)
There are many legends about the valley where the village of Aya is located. There are many versions about the name of this village. Here is one of them.
The people who settled the valley about two hundred years ago could not figure out what to call their settlement. They got together and began to come up with ideas. Noise, din. The argument lasted until the night, but they could not come up with anything suitable. It had already become dark, people began to disperse. Someone tripped in the dark and hit his leg hard, crying out in pain: “Ay!” Then the moon peeked out from behind the clouds, as if it had been called.
It has become light all around, it will be easier to go home. In gratitude, the villagers named their village after the moon - “Ai”, which translated from Altai means “moon” or “month”. Subsequently, for easier pronunciation, the village began to be called Aya.

Legend about the village of Aya (2nd legend)
In ancient times there lived Khan Babyr.
Khan Babyr had a beautiful daughter. She loved nature very much and often walked around the outskirts of her camp.
One day, while walking, a girl became lost in thought and did not notice how she had gone far from her home into the mountains. Waking up from her thoughts, she saw a flower of extraordinary beauty on a high rock. She really wanted to rip it off. After all, this flower was as beautiful as she herself. Only he could adequately decorate the khan's daughter.
And the girl completely forgot about caution. Reaching for a flower, she fell off the cliff and flew down, managing to scream: “Ai-ya!”
This is how the beauty died, and Khan Babyr, from great grief, turned into a block of stone, which still stands near the site of the tragedy.
The people who later settled this valley, having heard the legend, named their settlement the cry of a girl - AYA.
And the wonderful flower that the girl reached for can still be found in these places. Maybe you will be lucky enough to find it. This flower is called edelweiss.

The Legend of the Katun River (1st legend)
This legend tells about those times when there were no large rivers or mountains in Altai. On a vast plain lived the rich Khan Altai, whose most important treasure was his daughter, the beautiful Katun. Numerous suitors sought her hand in marriage, but they were all rejected. Nobody knew that the girl was secretly in love with the young shepherd Biya.
Khan Altai loved his daughter very much, but seeing that she was rejecting profitable suitors, he became angry with her. I began to find out why the beautiful daughter was driving away all the rich and noble young people. They informed him about the love between the khan's daughter and the poor shepherd.
The khan became even more angry and said: “I will marry you to whomever I wish.” I’ll find you a groom myself!”
Katun realized that her father would not change his decision, and she dared to run away to her beloved. In the dead of dark night she disappeared without a trace. And in the morning the khan, having discovered the loss, gathered his army and said that his daughter, the beautiful Katun, would belong to the one who would catch up with her and return her to her father.
The warriors rushed in pursuit, but the Katun turned into a river and quickly rushed to the north, making its way among the stones.
Having learned about the escape of his beloved, the shepherd Biy left the Bai flocks, turned into a fast stream and rushed towards his beloved bride.
The Khan's warriors, no matter how hard they tried, could not catch up with the fugitive. She met her chosen one, rushed into his arms, and so they, hugging forever, flowed together, forming the mighty Siberian river - the Ob.
The Khan became terribly angry. In anger, he turned all his unlucky servants into boulders and stones, and he himself turned to stone from grief, becoming the high mountain Belukha.
The fastest of the warriors, Bobyrgan, ran farthest during the chase and now stands petrified on the plain, far from all the mountains.

The Legend of the Katun River (2nd legend)
Lived in the same village was a poor guy Biy and a girl Katun - the daughter of the rich Babyrkhan.
The young people fell in love with each other, but the evil Babyr did not want to give his daughter to the poor guy. And then they decided to run away. They waited until nightfall and set off on different roads to lead their pursuers astray. They agreed on the meeting place in advance.
Now the agreed upon place was already close, their paths were about to join, but Babyrkhan caught himself, rushed in pursuit, caught up with them and ordered his daughter to return. Katun is stubborn, doesn’t want to leave her beloved, refuses to return home.
Babyrkhan got angry and turned the young lovers into rivers. I thought that now they would never be together. But love turned out to be stronger, Biy and Katun merged together, and the wide, great river Ob flowed on.
When the evil khan saw this miracle, he became petrified from anger and from his own powerlessness and turned into a mountain.
And now he stands there. And if by the full moon at 12 o’clock at night you move 20 steps away from the rock, and then turn sharply, you can see the evil face of Babyr, looking in anger at the singing rebellious daughter Katun.

The Legend of the Katun River (3rd legend)
In the same camp lived the beautiful girl Katun and the hero Babyrgan. They loved each other very much. But Katun’s father did not consent to their marriage, and they decided to run away to get married in foreign lands.
The father grabbed in the morning: there is no daughter. He rushed after them and when he saw them running across the plain, he became so furious that he began to grab large stones and throw them after them. And finally, he grabbed a whole mountain, threw it with all his strength, it fell right on the hero and killed him.
Katun stopped near this mountain and cried.
Then her father caught up with her and ordered her to return. Katun became stubborn. Her father grabbed her sleeve and pulled her along, but the rebellious daughter broke free and ran on. So Katun ran away to foreign lands to look for a better life.
Where the sleeve came off, a duct formed. And the place where Katuni’s beloved remained lying under the mountain began to be called by his name - Babyrkhan

The legend about the Katun River and Mount Bobyrgan
The Khan of Altai had a beautiful daughter Katyng. Her wayward father loved her madly. He understood that sooner or later he would have to give the girl away in marriage, he would have to part with his beloved daughter. But he wanted to keep his Katyng at home as long as possible. So that no one would see her beauty, the khan built a castle for her high in the mountains.
The beautiful Katyng lived alone in her beautiful, impregnable castle. No one could get to these places because there were no roads there. But the birds flying from the east sang songs for Katyng about the beauty and intelligence of a guy named Biy, who lives far away in the steppes.
The winds flying past the castle, which stood proudly in its solitude, whispered to the beauty about Biya’s love for Katyng. Beautiful dreams of happiness with her loved one flared up in the girl’s thoughts. And then one day, having heard enough of the chirping of birds and the rustling of the wind, Katyng decided to escape from captivity and meet the long-awaited love.
A brave girl watched when her mighty father fell asleep, jumped off a high cliff and ran towards her beloved. Waking up, Khan Altai did not find his daughter. Realizing that his beloved daughter had left him forever, he sent the most dexterous and powerful heroes in pursuit with the order to catch up with the fugitive and bring her back.
But not a single one of the khan’s warriors was able to overtake Katyng, who, deftly jumping from stone to stone, winding between the rocks, quickly ran further and further. The fastest and most agile turned out to be a hero named Bobyrgan. He had already grabbed Katyng by the sleeve of her dress, but she rushed, tore off the sleeve and rushed further.
The heroes never caught up with the beautiful Katyng, who met her beloved Biy. and they ran further together, merging into one whole - the Ob River.
Since then, these lovers have been inseparable. And the formidable Khan Altai, in his cruel anger and blind rage, turned the heroes into stones. So they stand in stone masses: Sartykpai, Sarlyk and Babyrgan, which became the last mountain of Northern Altai.

The Legend of Lake Teletskoye (1st legend)
Whether this story happened a long time ago or recently - no one remembers, there are no witnesses left to those tragic events.
In Altai there was lack of money and hunger, people were dying of hunger.
One day, a peasant, digging the ground in his garden, found an ingot of gold shaped like a horse's head. The peasant rejoiced and decided to exchange this gold for bread or meat so that his family would not die of hunger.
But nothing worked out for him, because the people no longer had either grain or meat. This gold turned out to be of no use to anyone.
In terrible anguish and grief, the peasant climbed the highest mountain around which there was a lake and threw that gold bar into the water.
Since then this lake has been called Altyn-Kel.

The Legend of Lake Teletskoye (2nd legend)
It was a long time ago, the people angered the gods and sent the Great Ones of this world a test for them: lean years came, the taiga was deserted, livestock died and barley burned out.
People wandered around in search of food, but found little. Many died of hunger. One shepherd was lucky: he found a piece of gold the size of a horse's head. His joy knew no bounds.
The shepherd went through the villages in the hope of exchanging anything edible gold for this, but people lived so poorly that they could not offer anything in exchange for such wealth. Seeing that there was no use for the precious ingot, the shepherd exclaimed: “How are you different from an ordinary cobblestone?” What is the use of such wealth that cannot satisfy hunger and cannot save you from death?!
And then, in frustration, the shepherd climbed to the highest mountain above the lake and threw this useless wealth into the abyss.
But having gotten rid of his annoyance, he immediately regretted what he had done, he felt sorry for the lost wealth, despite the fact that it did not bring him happiness, and then in despair the shepherd threw himself into the cold lake, indifferent to human passions. Since then, the lake has been called golden, and the mountains around it are called golden - “Altyn”.

The Legend of Lake Teletskoye (3rd legend)
A long time ago, on the site of Lake Teletskoye there was a large plain through which the Chulyshman River flowed. All the rivers that now flow into the lake flowed into Chulyshman.
There was a big valley

Once upon a time there lived a boy. His parents died, and he lived with his older brother. The brother's wife was angry and grumpy. She couldn't stand the boy, and the sight of him ruined her mood. She often attacked him with fists and curses. She didn’t let the boy near the table, fed him scraps, and dressed him in holey rags. The boy slept not in the house, but in the stable, next to the buffalo.
Every morning he drove the buffalo to pasture and only returned home in the evening. The buffalo got used to the boy and often caressed his little friend.
“How can you not look after him? - thought the boy. “He’s affectionate, he’s used to me, he plows the land.”
It must be said that no one knew the boy’s real name, they always saw him with a buffalo and therefore they nicknamed him Shepherd. The shepherd grazed the buffalo in the meadows with lush grasses, and gave him clear, spring water to drink. In the summer, when it was hot, he hid him in the shade of trees, and in winter he took him to the side of the mountain where the cold, piercing wind did not reach. Every day the Shepherd carefully cleaned it, the wool on the buffalo always sparkled and glossed.
The boy sang simple songs, but no one except the buffalo heard them, the boy told his four-legged friend about his little joys and sorrows, the buffalo looked at him carefully with big eyes. He seemed to listen and understand what the Cowherd was saying.
Slowly walking one after another, days, months, years passed. The boy grew up and they began to call him Shepherd.
“You’re already big,” the older brother once said. “The time has come for you to start a family.” I'll give you a buffalo and a cart to boot.
“And leave us now,” added the brother’s wife. - Remember, your brother gives you the most necessary things for the household. You should be pleased.
"That's good! - thought the Shepherd. - It’s good that they gave me the buffalo. I'll harness him to an old cart and go wherever my eyes lead me. But they don't need me anyway. They kicked me out like they threw water out of a jug.”
He harnessed the buffalo to the cart and wandered away from the village. He walked first along a mountain valley, then through an impenetrable forest and finally came to a large mountain. The Shepherd chopped the wood, loaded it into the cart, and went to the city to sell. But then night came, the city was still far away. The shepherd unharnessed the buffalo and lay down in the cart. The next day he reached the city, sold firewood, received money, and began to think about how to start his own farm.
...Many days have passed since the Shepherd left his brother’s house. He built himself a hut and covered
her straw. A small plot nearby was plowed and sown. So the Shepherd lived alone, working in the field, caring for the buffalo.
One day he returned home tired, hungry, sat down on a bench and suddenly heard:
Shepherd!
Who is this? - he was surprised.
Since he settled here, no one came here, and no one knew where he lived. The Shepherd looked around and saw: his faithful friend, a buffalo, was standing next to him and said in a human voice:
“Tomorrow evening, as soon as dusk falls, I’ll go over that mountain on the right.” You will see a lake at the edge of the forest. Fairies will swim in the lake, and they will leave their clothes on the shore. Find a red dress among their clothes and hide it. The fairy who owns this red dress will be your wife.
The next day, as soon as it began to get dark, the Shepherd went behind the right mountain, found the edge of the forest and saw a lake. There was amazing silence all around, only the leaves rustled and warm waves splashed near the shore. Clouds floated across the evening sky and were reflected in the water.
But then a girl’s laughter was heard - fairies were swimming in the lake. The shepherd quietly approached the shore and saw beautiful, unearthly clothes. He found a red dress, took it, went behind the bushes and began to listen to the cheerful chatter of the fairies.
It’s late, it’s time to go home,” one of them said. - After all, when we went to earth, we did not ask the goddess of the sky. If she finds out, she will punish him!
Why rush? - said another. “Will we ever be able to swim in this lake again?” Let's stay here a little longer.
After some time, the Shepherd heard the alarming voice of the same girl:
My dress is missing! Where did it go? The shepherd came out from behind the bushes:
Don't worry, beauty, I have your dress. The fairy got dressed and began to comb her fluffy
hair. The Shepherd told her about his bitter fate. He talked about his childhood, about his older brother who kicked him out of the house, about his faithful friend the buffalo, about the hut he built with his own hands.
The fairy shepherd listened carefully and sympathized with him. When he finished speaking, she told him about herself:
- I am the granddaughter of the all-powerful sky goddess. From morning to evening I weave colored silk fabric, and that is why they call me the Weaver. Every morning and every evening, my grandmother takes the fabric I made and decorates the sky with it. Everyone sees my work: these are clouds shimmering in the sun’s rays. They are beautiful, but the sky goddess is always unhappy. He says that this fabric is not enough. Makes me work without rest, without straightening my back, without letting go of the shuttle. And it doesn’t even allow me to admire how my fabric floats across the sky. Only occasionally, when I manage to produce enough fabric to cover the entire sky, can I go to the window and look through it at the beautiful clouds I have created. And people also say that it’s good in heaven! No. There is no freedom there, nothing can be seen from there. Often on sleepless nights I think: it would be nice to come down to earth and live among people. The land is beautiful, it is very interesting here. Not only me, but all my girlfriends think so. Many times they persuaded me to go to earth secretly from the goddess of the sky, to relax here, to have fun, but I was still afraid: what if the goddess finds out what will happen then! Today we were lucky: the goddess drank ancient aromatic wine after dinner and dozed off on her throne. So we went down to the ground, saw a lake with clear water and decided to swim. We have been locked up for a long time and only today we breathed freely.
If you don’t want to go back to heaven, stay here,” said the Shepherd. - Let's get married, we'll work together.
Well, I agree,” answered the Weaver, “let’s get married and live on earth forever.”
Through the forest, through the mountain, they descended into a valley where there was a hut with a thatched roof.
From then on they began a peaceful, working life. The shepherd worked in the field, and the Weaver worked around the house, occasionally going into the field to help her husband. They lived
soul to soul. They were never lazy and therefore lived not only richly, but in abundance.
Three years passed quickly. The Weaver gave birth to a boy and a girl. As the children grew older, their mother often told them interesting stories about the stars and life in the sky.
“There are beautiful palaces there,” she said, “but there is no freedom.” And if there is no freedom, then there is no happiness.
She also told them about earthly life: about the whisper of leaves, about a babbling brook, about a gentle, refreshing wind. And the children sat on their knees and listened carefully. Sometimes the Weaver was sad, and the children asked what was the matter. But the Weaver could not tell anyone about the sadness that was creeping into her soul. She felt that the time would come, the goddess of the sky would find out where the Weaver lived and would take her to her place. How do you tell your husband and children about this?
One day the Shepherd entered the barn to give food to the buffalo, and saw tears in his eyes.
What's the matter, my friend? - asked the Shepherd.
“I’m dying,” the buffalo answered, “my turn has come.” Apparently, the time has come to part... I’ll die, take off my skin and save it. In difficult times, it will help you: just throw it on your shoulders and the trouble will pass.
The buffalo said so and died. It was a pity for the Shepherd to skin him, but he obeyed the buffalo and did as he ordered. The buffalo herder buried him behind the house at the foot of the mountain.
And the goddess of the sky found out that the fairies descended to the ground and swam in the lake. She got angry, put all the fairies in a dark room and did not let them out until they grew old. The goddess hated her granddaughter, who dared to stay on earth. She decided to return the Weaver to heaven and punish her.
One day the goddess of heaven came down to earth and found out that her granddaughter had married a Shepherd and was living in his house. She entered the house while the Shepherd was working in the field, grabbed the Weaver and dragged her along. But the Weaver's children clung to the hem of her dress and did not let go of their mother. Not. The goddess of the sky took pity on the crying children, pushed them aside and took the Weaver to heaven. But the mother managed to shout to the children:
- Run to your father! Tell him!
And the Shepherd would chase the goddess of the sky in order to free his beloved wife, but how to ascend to heaven? And suddenly he remembered the words spoken by the buffalo before his death: “Take off my skin and keep it, in difficult times it will help you.”
The Shepherd threw the buffalo skin over his shoulders, threw two baskets over his shoulder, put his son in one, his daughter in the other, went out into the yard and immediately soared up. And soon he saw the goddess of the sky, who was carrying the Weaver.
- It's me, dear! - he shouted.
The Shepherd flew closer and closer to the goddess of the sky, a little more - and he would take his beloved wife away from her. But the goddess of the sky took the hairpin out of her hair and threw it in front of the Shepherd. A wide river formed in front of him. High waves rolled along it; the Shepherd could not overcome this obstacle. So the Shepherd remained on one bank of the river, and the Weaver on the other. They only admired each other from afar and could never be together.
And to this day, the “Shepherd” star sparkles on the southern bank of the Heavenly River, and the “Weaver” on the other bank.
This is how the sky goddess cruelly punished her granddaughter for disobedience. Only when the goddess of the sky was completely old and a little kinder did she allow the Weaver to meet with the Shepherd once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month. Every year on this day, magpies from all over the world flock to the Weaver and form a living bridge along which she gets to the Shepherd. There is a popular rumor: on this day you will not see magpies anywhere, they all fly away to the sky. People also say that if you sit by the vine on this day, you can hear what the Weaver and the Shepherd are talking about.

http://www.lit.allpskov.ru/skorodumova.htm

Composition
"Russia begins here."

Even though I don’t live in the capital:
Not in St. Petersburg and not in Moscow.
I will be proud of the city
On a quiet and sleepy river.

It’s so strange to wander through the streets of your hometown without a goal, without direction... I wonder why I said “native”? Is only the city in which you were born called home? No, only what we are used to, what we love, value and respect can be called family. Can I call Porkhov a part of myself? Can. And not just because I was born here. Porkhov is a small drop of a huge ocean called Russia.
The Porkhov region with its entire history can be compared with other great cities and lands, and even surpass them.
A rather strange and interesting definition is “Porkhov region”. Can the Porkhov land really be called the “land”... “the land of Russia?” After all, I have never heard them say “Moscow region” or “St. Petersburg region”. This is probably also related to history.
When Alexander Nevsky founded the “city on Shelon”, he probably assumed that it would be the “edge” that the enemies would reach. The city will not allow them further into the Novgorod possessions.
My city can rightfully be considered a kind of source of Russia. After all, it is from a stream that a huge river originates. So Russia starts somewhere. Probably, every city has its own special places, after visiting which you regret not coming here earlier.
There is such a corner in Porkhov - an old stone fortress. Not many county towns have such value. This is the property of only old border towns. You walk and wander around the fortress, the leaves rustle under your feet, Shelon quietly splashes, and poems are born to me:
Familiar and quiet murmur,
And the gentle splash of your beautiful waters.
Now noise, now peaceful silence
And the cries of birds soar into the sky.
I look and see, as if through the looking glass,
You reflect the sun's rays.
And in the abyss you can hear a sweet murmur
Transparent, gentle water.
Probably, the autumn portrait of the fortress, caressed by the river, will be the most beautiful. You lean against the white stones and listen to them whisper the legends of antiquity:
“Once upon a time, a beautiful girl lived in the Porkhov fortress who fell in love with a shepherd guy. The shepherd also loved her madly. If only they could live and live together, but no, the girl had an evil stepmother who had her eye on her lover. The shepherd did not reciprocate her feelings. Then the evil stepmother decided to use witchcraft. With the help of spells, she imprisoned the young girl in the Pskov Tower, which guarded the fortress from the west. Since then, screams and pleas for help have been heard from the tower. The shepherd disappeared after this incident. After some time, a young man appeared in the town. He learned about this terrible story and freed the girl. They fell in love and lived happily ever after."
How beautiful and romantic this ancient legend is!
True, now the Pskov Tower is not in this place. But in the fortress, surrounded by apple trees, stands the St. Nicholas Church. Its dome rushed into the sky.
I climb the stone steps to the wall and look west...
I am transported back hundreds of years, and pictures of the past appear before my eyes. The brightness of my vision was suppressed by the morning fog rising over Shelon. He covered the city outside the fortress with a thick milky veil, and it seems as if I was really traveling in time. A ray of sun touched the cross on the church. The cross sparkled so dazzlingly that it was impossible to look at it. Probably at that moment the whole city saw its radiance. I heard the murmur of water in the river, muffled by the pain from the blows delivered to the fortress by the battering gun and the “Galka” cannon, which was aimed at “Nikola”. How much did Porkhov see? How much I managed to withstand!
For me, Russia begins precisely with this fortress, this river and this city. There is still a drop of the old, ancient Russia left here.
Everything has its edge. The “edge” does not have to be the end of something, it can also be the beginning. So why can’t the Porkhov region be considered the beginning of Russia? After all, the spirit of antiquity still reigns here, in close contact with the present. This is a kind of gateway to the past, returning us to the beginning of the Russian land.

Skorodumova Daria, Porkhov, Pskov region