Several watchtowers from the 13th century will be restored in Karachay-Cherkessia

In the Karachay-Cherkess Republic (KCR), a project for the reconstruction and restoration of several ancient Karachay towers will be implemented. Chairman of the Rostov regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society, co-founder of the Quiet Don Museum Ali Uzdenov spoke about this at the forum “Ru.Location”whose media partner is Kommersant Publishing House.

According to Mr. Uzdenov, the project provides for the creation of the “Krachaevsky Compound” – a new tourist location in the village of Khurzuk (1.8 thousand meters above sea level), where the dilapidated watchtower Mamiya-Kala is located, the construction of which dates back to the 13th-14th centuries. “People from Moscow began to buy houses there and use them as dachas. And to show the identity of the village, we made a program,” said Mr. Uzdenov. “It will be possible to try, look, feel the way of life and the life of the Karachay mountaineers. They were engaged in cattle breeding, protected themselves, grew some crops, cabbage,” said Ali Uzdenov.

The reconstruction of the 35 m high tower will give a start to the restoration of other ancient towers of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, in particular Alan-Kala in Arkhyz. “There is an assumption that the capital of Alanya was in Arkhyz, and the whole family could be hiding in this tower: from below – women and children, from above – men,” Mr. Uzdenov continued. According to him, these towers were built “absolutely intuitively, there were no designs, engineering drawings, on a whim.” “It stood for centuries, very strong, the largest stones and rocks were placed in the foundation. Now, both in restoring Mamiya-Kala and in starting work on the Alan-Kala tower, we have taken into account the experience of our Ingush brothers, who have extensive experience in restoring towers on the territory of Ingushetia. These are the Kharsievs, the Gutsurievs. Many Ingush families do this,” said Mr. Uzdenov.

The reconstruction of the watchtowers “will help preserve both the local population and the local way of life,” Ali Uzdenov is sure. “What else is interesting is the Karachai houses made of wood, which are 200–300 years old, although many are already used for livestock. We buy them from those who want to destroy them, and we plan to restore them at the Karachayevsky farmstead,” explained Mr. Uzdenov. According to him, the project has already attracted interest from both locals and tourists.