NATURE SCENES
RIVERS
Terek river
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MOUNTAINS
Mountains of the Chechen Republic
About 2/5th of Chechen territory is mountaneous areas. here are some photos that shows the beauty of these Mountains.
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CHECHEN TOWERS
Medieval Stone Towers in Chechnya
The mountainous part of the Chechen Republic boasts stone buildings that tower over the terraced villages. These towers are seen as the highest achievement of Chechen architecture and may also be seen as a stone chronicle of Chechen history.
Most of the towers were built in the period between the 14th and 18th centuries. Although each century left an imprint on their architecture, the towers share some characteristic features.
The towers are cone-shaped and have no groundworks. Slabs of rock were placed in the square-shaped foundation, special cornerstones projected inside the tower and held up the tiers. Ladders were used for communication between the tiers. They were raised at night.
There were three kinds of towers: residential, watch and fortification. Two or three storey residential towers had a flat roof and archways. Watch towers were built at the entrance to a canyon. Towers that served as fortifications had embrasures and were crowned with a terraced pyramidal roof. Their lower part was used as dwelling quarters.The stone towers and adjoining buildings were fenced off from the rest of the world, which turned them into fortresses. Scholars describe them as castle complexes.
A glance at a castle complex reveals whether the man who lived in it was wealthy, what his trade was, and,sometimes, what his social status was. A slave set free by his owner was allowed to build a house and a stone tower on the condition that his tower remain unfurbished.The stone towers are centuries-old monuments to those who made them. Tall as they were, they stood firm, which proves that the Chechen masons were highly experienced engineers. Some of their stones are decorated with petroglyphs. Architects were highly respected people and highly paid professionals. They worked both at home and in the neighboring provinces of the Northern Caucasus because the residents of those provinces also appreciated their
talents.
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