North Ossetia: Stories, Legends, Tragedies

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North Ossetia is not the most popular destination for tourists. Topaz mountain rivers, so clear that if you dip your hands in them, you can see the white marks on your nails. An endless piercing chain of mountains. Protected springs. And the people — special. Wherever you go for a vacation in North Ossetia, fresh, steaming cheese pies will already be waiting for you upon arrival. A different mentality: you are not a guest — you are a relative who has finally come home. Local guides through stone canyons, cave fortresses, and the Midagrabin waterfalls say that Ossetia doesn’t immediately make you one of its own, but later it will come back to you many times as vivid memories in your dreams, and you will want to return here again.

Jermaine

Cranes - Seven Fates Crippled by War

2CJ8+FF Dzuarikau, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia

In the Footsteps of Literary Characters

North Ossetia: Stories, Legends, Tragedies

They slow down. Above the gray rock by the mountain river Fiagdon, seven white cranes, touching wings, are frozen in eternal flight. The monument is dedicated to the Gazdanov brothers. One after another, Magomed, Dzarakhemet, Khadjismel, Makaerbek, Sozyrko, Shamil, and Khasanbek went to the front during the Great Patriotic War, and one of them did not return. Their mother Tasso died when the third death notice arrived. Three more times after that, the village postman knocked on their door with sorrowful news. When the seventh death notice came, he refused to deliver it to the Gazdanovs. This difficult mission was taken on by the elders. The head of the family, Asakhmat, fell dead when he saw the elders dressed all in black entering his yard…

Jermaine

Memorial Cemetery "City of Angels"

12 Frieva St., Beslan, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia, 363023

North Ossetia: Stories, Legends, Tragedies

Those who died in the terrorist attack were buried in the memorial cemetery "City of Angels," which appeared in Beslan after the tragedy. Previously, the cemetery in Beslan was called the "Children's," the "School Lane," and in 2008 the cemetery was officially named the "City of Angels." Here lie the children, their parents, and teachers who died in the terrorist attack at School No. 1, a total of 266 people. Of the 266 graves, 186 are children's graves. There is also a mass grave where fragments of bodies that could not be identified are buried. The date of death for all is the same — September 3, 2004.

Jermaine

Hetaga Grove - sacred trees, stone table, three pies

375V+9W Suadag, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia

North Ossetia: Stories, Legends, Tragedies

The Hetag Sanctuary... Recently, it has become a pilgrimage site for all of Ossetia. Women and men, the elderly and the youth come here, each with their own troubles and joys, with their own hopes. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the days of honoring Hetag have become sacred for the people of Ossetia.

Jermaine

Tower Ossetia: The Mountain Village of Tsymiti

R7QR+5C Tsimiti, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia

North Ossetia: Stories, Legends, Tragedies

The mountain village of Tsymiti today is an archaeological complex, an open-air museum of medieval history. There are more than 30 architectural monuments here — towers, ruins of residential houses, and crypts.

Jermaine

The Tower of Kurt and Tag

V828+5P Dallagkau, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia

North Ossetia: Stories, Legends, Tragedies

In the village of Uallagsykh, south of the settlement of Dallagkau, on the high mountain Hakun, stands an ancient tower. It is called the tower of Kurta and Taga, and it is a true gem of the Kurtatin Gorge. This old structure not only attracts tourists but also serves as the ancestral castle for a great many Ossetians. According to legend, the castle was built by Kurta and Taga (the stress in both names falls on the last syllable) — two brothers who are revered as the founders of the Kurtatin and Tagaurs societies. More than a hundred family names of North Ossetia trace their genealogy back to these brothers.

Jermaine

Dargavs Necropolis — "City of the Dead"

RCRW+J2 Dargavs, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia

North Ossetia: Stories, Legends, Tragedies

In Ossetia, you can see crypts with roofs that resemble pyramids and have stepped coverings made of slate. The entire necropolis consists of individual memorials, where whole generations of different families are buried separately from others. The structures of the Dargavs necropolis, also known as the "City of the Dead," were built from the 14th to the 18th century.

Jermaine

Balsag Wheel

VC2V+34 Dargavs, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia

North Ossetia: Stories, Legends, Tragedies

In the Ossetian Nart epic, the personified all-destroying fiery wheel is known as **"Æfsatæ"** (Æфсатæ). It symbolizes an unstoppable force of destruction and is often depicted as a blazing, fiery wheel that brings devastation wherever it rolls. This figure embodies the themes of fate, chaos, and the relentless power of nature within the epic's mythological framework.

Jermaine

Monument to Uastyrdzhi in the rock

X656+CH Cement, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia

North Ossetia: Stories, Legends, Tragedies

The monument to Uastyrdzhi in the rock is one of the echoes of ancient legends about the great hero George the Victorious. This figure from the Ossetian pantheon is the most revered deity by the local population, which is why he is the first to greet visitors to the republic traveling along the Transcaucasian Highway. The Ossetian Uastyrdzhi is a tribute to the legend that is still passed down orally to this day. This marvel was created by architect Nikolai Khodov, but perhaps even the author did not anticipate the popularity his creation would later achieve. The monument welcomes travelers on one of the sections of the Transcaucasian route, and it always happens unexpectedly — the sculptural group is so monumental and harmonious.

Jermaine

Mukhtarov Mosque

62 Kotsoeva St., Vladikavkaz, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia, 362008

North Ossetia: Stories, Legends, Tragedies

The mountain peaks of the Greater Caucasus Range, the tamed Terek River at their foothills, and between them — the delicate and airy Sunni Mosque, one of the symbols of Vladikavkaz. Its rare beauty reminds one of eternity… “Allah will admit the believers and those who do good deeds into the gardens of paradise,” promises the inscription on the right minaret. Construction of the mosque began in 1900, after a long correspondence between the worshippers of the Muslim community and officials of various ranks. Obtaining permission to allocate the land plot and start the work was not easy. And finding funds for construction was even more difficult. Here lie the first two mysteries, of which there are many in the history of the Sunni Mosque: “Who paid for everything and who built it?”

Jermaine

Rock fortress Dzivgis

V8G7+PJ, Dzivgis, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia, 363203

North Ossetia: Stories, Legends, Tragedies

One of the largest rock fortresses in the Caucasus is located in North Ossetia, in the village of Dzivgis. Its powerful walls are almost invisible against the backdrop of the rocks. In medieval times, the Dzivgis fortress played an important role in the defense of North Ossetia from invaders.

Jermaine

The village of Khanaz and the Fregat Tower

XRX5+46, Khanaz, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia, 363511

North Ossetia: Stories, Legends, Tragedies

The village of Khanaz and the Fregat tower are located in North Ossetia at an altitude of about 2000 meters. It is very beautiful, but people no longer live here. Khanaz is now a ghost village; previously, at the end of the 19th century, the village had a population of about 3000 people. The village still has ruins of houses, necropolises, and most importantly – the Fregat tower. The tower externally resembles a ship. Hence the name – Fregat (Frigate). The height of the tower is 13–19 meters (4-6 floors). And this was built without cranes or construction machinery. The castle has a basement and underground passages.

Jermaine

Fortress (tower) of the Sedanov brothers

2RCJ+QG Verkhniy Zadalesk, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia

North Ossetia: Stories, Legends, Tragedies

The Rocky Ridge, with its malachite slopes, shelters the true gem of the Digor Gorge – the half-ruined Sedanov Fortress. A touching legend is connected to it, which the Ossetians reverently pass down from mouth to mouth. In a beautiful valley, hidden by the powerful back of the Rocky Ridge, lie the oldest auls of Ossetia. One of the most famous here is the mountain village of Zadalesk, steeped in legends. There are two auls with this name – Upper and Lower. It is above the former that the fortress rises, unparalleled in Digoria.

Jermaine

Zadalesk. Nana Zadaleski House-Museum

2Q6X+4W Nizhny Zadalesk, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia

North Ossetia: Stories, Legends, Tragedies

The history of Zadalesk is connected with the most tragic chapter in the history of the Alans. At the end of the 14th century, Timur’s campaigns against Alania resulted in the near-total extermination of the defiant people. Villages were burned to the ground, cities were destroyed to their foundations, sparing neither the old nor the young. According to a legend carefully passed down from generation to generation, during those dark days for Alania, a woman of the Alans—a nana, as it was customary to call women of her age—walked among the ashes.

Jermaine