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…

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?”

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.

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.

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.