2022
This spring I visited several cities of the North Caucasus. It was a special week tour on the tourist train. In times when sea cruises are not available and river cruises are very limited, a train cruise is a very interesting travel idea. You live in a train, like on a ship, the train moves at night, and every day arriving in a new city.
My train route was Moscow - Maikop - Nalchik - Grozny - Derbent - Pyatigorsk - Kislovodsk - Mineralnye Vody - Moscow.
But I want to start the story from the Republic of Chechnya, where I visited several cities - Gudermes, Shali, Argun, and of course, the capital of the republic, the city of Grozny.
The Ushkaloy towers, built into a rock cut, are located in the area between the villages of Guchum-Kale and Ushkala on the banks of the Chanti-Argun River. The towers are four-story, about 12 meters high, were built in the 11th-12th centuries. Its have been restored and are one of the main historical sights of Chechnya.
The Pride of Muslims Mosque named after the Prophet Muhammad is a mosque built in the 21st century in Shali. This is the largest mosque in Europe, can accommodate up to 30 thousand people, and up to 70 thousand people at the surrounding area.
The main chandelier of the mosque is made up of many thousands of Swarovski crystals.
Mother's Heart Mosque named after Aimani Kadyrova was built in an ultra-modern style in the city of Argun. The minarets-towers are not of the traditional round shape, but in the form of trihedral stelae. The main hall of the mosque are practically have no walls, it all consists of huge windows.
The Grozny-City Towers is a five-star skyscraper hotel and business centre complex located in Grozny, Chechnya. Located next to the beautiful Park of Flowers.
In the setting sun, a beautiful view of the mosque opens up from the Park of Flowers. It's Heart of Chechnya Mosque named after Akhmat Kadyrov.
To be continued...
@SergeySud your photographs are absolutely incredible! My favorite is the last one. Peeking over the barrier at the towers behind really gives perspective on how small a person must feel next to such majestic architecture.
Before moving on to another city, I want to share a few more photos from Chechnya.
Watchtowers have been built in Chechnya since ancient times. From one tower, two neighboring towers should always be visible, so urgent messages were transmitted from tower to tower with the help of smoke or fire. These towers, just copies of the real ones, were built in the Park of Flowers.
To be continued...
