TXnMA
Posted on 03/11/2019 1:34:23 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
In desperate circumstances people are often driven to perform feats of mythical proportions. In the late 1100s the medieval kingdom of Georgia was resisting the onslaught of the Mongol hordes, the most devastating force Europe had ever seen. Queen Tamar ordered the construction of this underground sanctuary in 1185, and the digging began, carving into the side of the Erusheli mountain, located in the south of the country near the town of Aspindza.
When completed this underground fortress extended 13 levels and contained 6000 apartments, a throne room and a large church with an external bell tower. It is assumed that the only access to this stronghold was via a hidden tunnel whose entrance was near the banks of Mtkvari river. The outside slope of the mountain was covered with fertile terraces, suitable for cultivation, for which an intricate system of irrigation was designed. With such defenses, natural and man made, the place must have been all but impregnable to human forces. Alas, the glorious days of Vardzia didn't last for very long. Though safe from the Mongols, mother nature was a different story altogether. In 1283, only a century after its construction, a devastating earthquake literally ripped the place apart. The quake shattered the mountain slope and destroyed more than two-thirds of the city, exposing the hidden innards of the remainder.
However despite this, a monastery community persisted until 1551 when it was raided and destroyed by Persian Sash Tahmasp.
Today the place is maintained by a small group of zealous monks. About three hundred apartments and halls remain visitable and in some tunnels the old irrigation pipes still bring drinkable water.
(Excerpt) Read more at atlasobscura.com ...
We’ve got that: ;^)
The Longyou caves [China, 1st-2nd c AD]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3708958/posts
underground cities in Anatolia:
http://www.google.com/search?q=robert+schoch+underground+city+anatolia
Sorry, didn’t know. lol Cool stuff there now...
TXnMA
I think that one turned up in a search for something else, too. ;^) It shows two things, one, how transient, really, populations are and, two, that local folklore is often not very deeply rooted.
It would be neat to excavate the busted-down parts, or part of those parts.
“Speak ‘friend’ and enter.”
"Mellon!"
I recognized it immediately, and then [french horns] added a line from the same part of "Fellowship of the Ring". Gandalf had given up, everything was silent for a time, then he started laughing, realizing the translation of Narvi's words were not "Speak, friend, and enter" but "SAY 'friend' and enter". So the word he spoke was "mellon", Elvish for "friend". As a teen, I read and re-read LOTR, but often would just reread the whole part about the Mines of Moria. That stood me in good stead for the dungeons and dragons era in the 1970s. ;^)
ah, here we go, and the graphic appears to be a scan of Tolkien’s own original. He sure loved that imaginary world. It’s even referenced on his gravestone, Luthien and Beren.
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Doors_of_Durin
http://tolkiengateway.net/w/images/e/ea/J.R.R._Tolkien_-_Doors_of_Durin.jpg
one of many pages with pics of the grave:
http://www.thelandofshadow.com/tolkien-week-a-visit-to-professor-tolkiens-grave-site/
Awesome.
I'm surprised none of these have been opened as hotels (bathroom down the hall, Euro-style).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
