Audio guide for mountainous Ingushetia

Throughout the beginning of time, drought-related public prayers for rain have been most common in Ingush communities and clan shrines. . Praying for rain was most commonly done on Table Mountain, where pagan rituals were performed in the sanctuary temple dedicated to Myat-Seli, the deity of fertility and general well-being.

The Myat-Seli temple-sanctuary has straightforward, minimalist architecture. The structure has a rectangular plan and a gable-stepped roof. The building’s total height is 4.93 meters. The presence of two doorways with lancet arches in the western and eastern walls distinguishes the structure. . Inside, the longitudinal walls are slightly inclined. The lancet arch divides the interior space into two equal parts. Prayers in the temple were held only on Wednesdays. The priest led a procession of residents of nearby villages climbing the holy mountain to the shrine of Myat-Seli, which was revered not only by the Ingush who lived nearby, but also by many people from North Ossetia, mountainous Georgia and Chechnya. The procession was led by a sacrificial bull with horns wrapped in white cloth. It was placed at the top of the mountain with its head facing east. . Then the high priest, also facing the east, said a prayer in which he asked God for rain and a large harvest. . Following the conclusion of the prayer, the bull was slaughtered, the meat was boiled in massive cauldrons, and the worshippers also brought cheese, wine, and ritual bread. According to contemporary evidence, such ritual prayers were practiced until the beginning of the twentieth century. It is known that in 1925, during a strong drought, the inhabitants of Jeirakh Gorge prayed for rain and arranged sacrifices in the shrine on the Table Mountain.

Beini (Bein) is a tower village at the foot of Mount Mat-Lam, northeast of Kashiet. It consists of a semi-ruined or badly damaged late mediaeval semi-combat tower, eight residential towers with various outbuildings and stone defensive walls. Moreover, each tower was part of a separate complex of structures. The semi-combat tower, rectangular in plan, had 4 floors, flat roof with parapet. In height it was preserved at 11.30 m. There are 3 vaulted doorways in the long northern wall, one above the other, which lead to the 1st-3rd floors of the building. There is no support pillar between the floors at all. The walls of the 2^nd and 4th floors have numerous niches of various kinds for defense and utility purposes, narrow embrasures for gunfire and observation, and vaulted window apertures. They tapered towards the top.

The semi-combat towers are neatly made of lime mortar. The walls are polygonal. The walls are of light yellow plaster on the inside and outside. Local dwelling towers, of two or three stories, have a rectangular base, a flat roof, and a parapet. Most of them have preserved original design central stone pillars of interstory floors ceilings, large cone-shaped “sacks” – compartments for storing agricultural supplies, vaulted door and window apertures, different types of niches, loopholes, horse stalls, feeders for horses, etc. Linear petroglyphs and tamgas (crosses, triquetres, figures of people, etc.) can be seen on the walls and doorways of 2 dwelling towers.

The Shoukhalovs, Murzabekovs, Keligovs, Bersanovs, Mestoevs and Yekarovs came from that settlement. The famous temples-sanctuaries on the top of Mount Mat-Lam (Myatsil, Myater-Dyala, Suson-Dyala) were usually served by experienced priests of the present settlement. The last “chaste” priest here was Munk Mestoev. There are interesting legends about Beini.

The Falkhan aul located in the Dzheyrakh district has been abandoned by people for a long time. At present  the tower complex consists of half-destroyed bastions and dwellings. There were twelve towers and four combat and semi-combat towers before the start of the 20th century. There was also a mosque on the territory of aul Falkhan. Unfortunately, the religious building has not been completely preserved –   only its remain,  including the minaret, are visible near the necropolis. The mosque was built after the Ingush people accepted Islam  – this was at the end of the XIX century. There was also a madrasah.

Also, near the Falkhan tower complex you can see 12 ancestral graves. The crypts in Falkhan are located a little further  from the towers,  on the northwest side of the Myat-Loam mountain and the remains of the dead can still be seen in some of them. It is one of the largest ancient grave complexes in the Caucasus. According to ancient Ingush beliefs,  it was believed that even at night the deceased had sunshine, moreover, the afterlife seemed to be a certain continuation of the earthly life. Thus, various household items and fragments of clothing could be found in the underground vaults.

As the aul was a kilometer from the neighbouring settlement of Lyazhgi, a tall signal tower was erected between the settlements to serve as an observation post and to warn of impending danger. This was practiced between almost all neighboring sharks, so they built tower complexes no further than a kilometer apart.

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According to folk etymology, the name Lyazhg originated from the word “lyazhg” – so called the leather bag designed for storing grain. The settlement got this name because its land gave good yields – from a small piece of land they collected a whole “lyazhg” of grain.

The Hutieffs’ tower, of all the towers in the settlement, is the tallest and slimmest, with a step pyramidal slate top topped by a protruding white stone spire. It has a four-sided stone false vault, not only on the 2nd and 6th floors, but also on the 3rd. It strengthened the construction of the tower and increased its defensive capacity.

According to legend, the Khutievs’ tower, 30 m high, was built by the famous Ingush builder Khano Hing.

A high stone barrier wall of the Late Middle Ages adjoined the settlement on its southern side. The wall had a broad gates that can be locked. Near it, local guards watched day and night, controlling a segment of the most important trade, transport and military road. Nowadays, only some parts of this wall survived.

There was a sanctuary of its own in the village of Lezhg – the Tusholi Shrine (there was a similar one near the villages of Shuan and Kok). It was dedicated to Tusholi, the Vainakh goddess of fertility and childbearing. It was celebrated in spring, with worship attended not only by the villagers of the nearby gorges but also by those in far-off gorges. The rites were led by a man, the last priest being Khaziev from the village of Koshk. At Tusholi shrine they prayed for a good harvest, increase in livestock and general abundance; barren women begged for children. Apparently, a thick stone slab with a round hole through which sheep were driven to protect them from disease was also connected to the cult of goddess Tusholi.

According to tradition, in the vicinity of the village, the local population was actively mined copper ore, from which various products were made. The goods were then sold even in the mountainous regions of Georgia and North Ossetia.

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In the deep woody gorge, in the place of its greatest narrowing water is steeply overthrown by 3 cascades from 20 meter heights, forming a picturesque Lyazhgi waterfall. The emergence of a ledge in line with the river Lyazhgi is connected with the activity of a powerful glacier which filled all valley Armkhi in the distant geological past. This glacier formed the deep and narrow valley. The small side little glacier departing from the main glacier also created the superficial valley. After thawing and the retreat of glaciers, the valley of a side glacier from where the river Lyazhgi follows, appeared above the main Armkhinskaya and breaks in it ledges. On these ledges subsequently the Lyazhgi waterfall was also formed.

The falls at noon when the sun gets to the bottom gorges are especially beautiful, and myriads of splashes shine of a multi-colored rainbow. The falls represent a magnificent show at all seasons of the year and make salutary physical and emotional impact. The Lyazhgi waterfall is available to visit of tourists of any age.

Erzi, one of the largest medieval castle complexes, is located on the top of the high hill and includes 8 combat towers, 2 semi-combat, 47 residential towers with various extensions, and extended stone defensive with wide gates which were built during High Middle Ages. Combat towers have 5 and 6 floors. Erzi means The Eagle.

According to the local myth eagle’s nest had been found on the place where that village was settled. The eagle was considered to be sacred and was identified as the deidy of thunder and lightning – Cela.

Therefore, people named their village Erzi. Also in a bad weather, when the valley Armkhi is covered by clouds, Erzi towers looked like a nest that available only to eagles.

Legends says that the man Itar, the ancestor of Evkurovs clan, built the first tower in Erzi. Then he moved to Olgetti and erected the tower there, Itar was the famous and accurate hunter, they said Itar hit the target before you heard the sound of the shot. Erzi is the ancestral area of many well-known Ingush clans, whose descendants were brave soldiers, talented architects, smiths, jewelers and gun makers.

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There is a tower of the same name on the slope of Myat-Lam Mountain in the village of Byalgan. Byalgan (Belkhane) is a 16-meter combat tower with a flat roof and a crenellated completion. According to legend, the tower was built by a native of Georgia, who became the ancestor of the Khautievs. There are 4 more residential towers nearby. It is an architectural monument of the IX-X centuries, but the construction of the battle tower itself dates back to the XVII century. In 1944 – the year of the deportation of the Ingush people – the towers were destroyed. The Byalgan Tower was restored in 2013.

Ingush combat towers with a pyramidal-stepped roof were erected in the period from the 16th to the 18th centuries, according to some experts. This is explained by the fact that the loopholes in these towers are adapted for rifle shots. Guns in the arms of the Highlanders are marked from the 16th century. There are other expert opinions on this matter. The earliest towers were considered to be flat-roofed and the first residential towers, they also served at first as combat towers surrounded by fortress walls. Residential towers were quite massive, had several floors and reached a height of more than 10 meters. They date from the 12th – 14th centuries. What circumstances prompted the construction of combat towers, history is silent.

Magote (also spelled Magate, Magogali, or Magat) is a tower settlement located southeast of Salga on the wooded, pointed mountain peak of Zagal-Duk. There is a half-destroyed four-story combat tower there, as well as the foundations and parts of the walls of eight dwelling tower structures that run down a steep mountain slope in several tiers. In the past, the top of the ridge provided a stunning view of the four gorges, allowing residents to exert control over their surroundings. However, more than 300 years ago the village was abandoned (according to some mountaineers, the deaths of the inhabitants caught up with them suddenly; allegedly well-preserved mummies were found here directly in the towers), and now the top is overgrown with deciduous and coniferous trees.

According to legend, Magote was named after Mag1o, the highly revered Ingush deity of knowledge and magic, whose temple is half a kilometer from the tower village, on the edge of a massive cliff. This is the Temple-sanctuary of Mago-Yerda. Until the second half of the nineteenth century, Mago descendants observed the summer and winter solstices with pagan rituals and sacrifices.

An extensive cryptic necropolis, consisting of more than 100 underground and semi-subterranean group tombs from the XIII–XVII centuries that were carved into the stony earth, spans across the ridge between the sanctuary and the tower complex. There were many and various funerary objects discovered, including pottery with inscriptions, weaponry, beads, pendants, rings, and earrings. F. I. Gorepekin, the famous historian and educator who compiled the first alphabet in the Ingush language, believed that the Ingush had the oldest written language but had lost it about 500 years ago.

A massive temple sanctuary of Mago Yerda with a rectangular base and stepped roof stands on the ridge of the mountain 0.5 km east of the settlement of Magote. The structure is 4.5 meters tall. The building’s west wall contains the vaulted doorway. It has two tiny niches above it, one on each side. On the west wall above it is a little window. An expansive stone-paved walkway along the north wall reveals a set of steps along the exterior wall that once functioned as seating for the feast. The south wall has four windows that are evenly spaced apart.

A projecting arch divides the sanctuary temple’s interior into two equal halves as follows: east and west. Beams of varying heights run across the structure. According to legend, the beams were intended for storing darts that were thrown by prayers during feasts held near the construction.

A prismatic altar formed of stone and covered with copious plaster may be found in the eastern portion. The cult monument was meticulously constructed using lime mortar. The stones are also noted for their good polish and their size, which is very substantial. A thick layer of plaster that is a pale yellow color covers the walls both inside and out.

A leveled area surrounded by a stone wall adjoins the sanctuary temple’s northern wall. The latter is preserved to a height of 1.5 meters and is made of lime. Both the eastern and western sides of the enclosure have vaulted doorways. The latter has a semicircular arch wooden door. A bolt was used to lock the door. A big niche in a stone fence also existed, and at feasts, a kettle filled with beer was placed there.

A number of specialists date Mago-Yerdа as the 11th–14th centuries.

The history of the Salga tower complex is amazing. The ancient settlement is arranged so even   a mountain eagle can fly past it unnoticed. Till nowdays , 12 buildings have survived on that territory, two of them  are military towers and the rest residental ones.

Long time ago, it was a busy and popular place, where people were engaged in numerous crafts. Especially popular at that time were gunsmiths, who made bows, slings and crossbows. On the territory of the village worked mighty blacksmiths, women weaved linen, pottery was produced  (as evidenced by the results of archaeological excavations).

Also there were some  priests on the territory of the aul, conducting ceremonies in the local shrines, and healers, because the surrounding meadows were full of healing herbs in spring and summer.   Salga was the center of cultural and economic life in the region: there was an active trade and  they even organized mining, in particular, the residents of the complex mined saltpeter (the locals used these mines until the end of the 19th century). What was it minned for? The gunpowder for firearms was made from saltpeter.  It was made directly in Salgi village.

The name of aul means  “a place for rest”. This is not surprising, it looks like  a piece of Alps, accidentally lost in Ingushetia. However, this tiny republic is all consists  of magnificent places.

The exact date of construction of the Salgi tower complex is unknown – it dated to the late Middle Ages. This castle complex has become the birthplace of many Ingush clans. The Solgievs, Solgireevs, Dzaurovs, Marzievs and Dudayevs came  from here. Some scholars think that natives of the village of Magote were involved in the construction of the Salga tower complex. This is quite probable because the castle complex on Zagal-Duk Mountain, 1,100 m from Salga, is connected with the mentioned aul territorially and mentally. By the way, the settlements constantly gave each other alarm signals from special towers, when it was necessary.

Strageticaly , the Salga tower complex is ideally situated, as mentioned above, it is   closely  to the entrance to the Chulkhoi Canyon, which is also  known as the Salga Gorge.

Khani (Khyani, Kheni) is a tower settlement on a mountain slope in the center of the Salga Gorge, by the Chulkhi River. It has three well-preserved castle complexes of three combat, three semi-combat and 11 dwelling towers, connected by long stone walls. The Khani combat towers, up to 30 metres high, are marked by the highest peak of construction development and prosperity in Ingushetia and the neighbouring areas.

The Khani tower village is the cradle of the Ingush Kha ni family. In the past, local hereditary versatile builders were rightly renowned for their consummate mastery of many types of stone structures not only in Ingushetia but also in the entire Central Caucasus. There were also renowned artisans of bows, arrows, crossbows and slingshots (e.g. Alpi Khaniev).

In 2011-2012, the Khani complex was repaired, a gravel road was built to it, and now it is one of the main attractions of the Salga Gorge

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Lyalakh situated quite far from the central mountain road linking the Jeirakh gorge with Assin Gorge. To get to Lyalakh, one has to climb a steep winding road up from the village of Khuli, then turn onto a narrow country road – there is no road here, just a track – and follow it south to the Chulkhoi Gorge, where Lyalakh and other tower complexes are situated.

Lyalakh is a major castle-type tower settlement. There are three combats and twenty-two tower structures. According to a description by D. Chakhkiev, a doctor of history, the combat towers of Lalakh are the key reference points of separate but closely interconnected complex castles, which are 26 m high. All combat towers had stone “sacks” – compartments for storing supplies – in the first floors. There are numerous narrow embrasures for gunfire, and stone machiсles encircling the upper stories to protect greater embrasures from below. On the whole, the towers differ from analogous structures in proportions, layout and novelty of form.

According to tradition, Arsamak, the renowned master builder who erected towers not only in Ingushetia but also in the neighbouring parts of Georgia and Ossetia, lived in Lyaly. It is said that skillful gold and silver embroidery masters and skilled seamstresses lived here. D. Chakhkiev and other scientists who have examined the Lalakh castle complex have noted that there are 8 collective crypt tombs of the late Middle Ages scattered around Lalakh settlement, on the northern and eastern sides. The tombs are heavily damaged or half-destroyed. Two pillar-shaped sanctuaries are also mentioned here.

A damaged three-story Magoi-Jel combat tower with a flat roof and a crenellated finish that is still standing to a height of 14 meters can be found in the Salginsky gorge of mountainous Ingushetia, northwest of the village of Lyalakh, between two enormous blocks of rock. Its walls strictly in the cardinal directions oriented the tower. The tower walls are supported by a rock, and the south-facing wall’s foundations protrude from the ground. Under a rock on the tower’s right wall is a small passageway for sheep. Because of this, the tower is also known as a shepherd’s hut. In the lower part, there is a large cave. It has two entrances, one of which was designed for sheep. According to locals who have lived here for a long time, there was a deep pit here. After shearing the sheep, the wool was put in this pit and trampled. If the pit was filled – well, then there are offspring and the herd has increased, if not, the number of animals has decreased.

For access to the second level, there is an opening in the first floor ceiling. The walls narrows significantly, as they rose. The tower is neatly laid with lime mortar. On the exterior, the walls are plastered a light yellow color, while on the interior, masonry seams have been grouted. The tower, which was built in the 17th century, is said to have belonged to the Cheborzievs of Lalakh. Interesting folklore and historical tales are associated with it. Legend has it that the heroic warrior Borz resisted the enemy’s attack from the tower of Magoi Jel.

The ancient inhabitants of the Caucasus worshiped stones, rocks, mountains, and each nation had its own cult features.

The rocky inaccessible slopes of the sacred mount of Tsey-Loam (3171 m) are often hidden clouds or shrouded in clouds – this gives it a mysterious gloom and ominous appearance. Perhaps the changeable appearance of the mountain, its moods in the eyes of medieval Ingush gave it an aura of sanctity and mystery. In the ancient Ingush mythology, Mount Tsey-Loam was identified with the throne of the deity of Sela, the heavenly thunder-god and patron of natural phenomena.

The life of the highlanders was always full of danger and hardship and depended on the whims of nature. Inexplicable natural phenomena, diseases and devastating epidemics – all this caused superstitious fear and horror on the highlanders. Feeling powerless over the forces of the elements, people gradually began to “populate” the mountains with gods, good and evil spirits, souls of died ancestors, from whom they sought  the help and protection.

If someone saw a flying eagle at Tsey-Loam, he offered him a prayer, since it was believed that the Sela sometimes flies across the sky in the form of an eagle, the fastest and most powerful of all birds hovering high in the sky. The courage and speed of the eagle’s flight were associating with thunderstorms and fire arrows-lightning – manifestations of the will of the deity Sela.
One of the spring months, May, was named after Sela, and one day of the week, Wednesday,  is devoted.

Bisht (Besht, Egol-Kas) is a castle-type tower settlement at the beginning of a small Tumgo gorge, directly adjacent to the Tsey Lam mountain pass from the south. As a result of the reconstruction, which hundreds of people worked on: historians, archaeologists, builders and architects, the buildings were restored to their original appearance.

Almost three thousand objects found during excavations on the territory of the fortress were transferred to the Museum of Local Lore.

Currently, here you can see 2 combat, semi-combat and 9 residential tower buildings, as well as 2 stone defensive walls of the late Middle Ages. The battle towers were located in independent, but closely interconnected castle complexes. These towers, having an almost square base, had 5 floors, a flat roof with a crenellated completion and reached a height of 22 meters. They had no mashikuli balconies at all.

On the 1st floor of each tower, large stone cone-shaped “bags” are arranged -compartments for storing various supplies and keeping slaves, and the overlap of the 2nd is in the form of a four-sided stone false vault with herds.

The semi-combat 4-storey tower, rectangular in plan, had a flat roof with an extensive loggia and reached a height of almost 16 meters. It also had hinged stone mashikuli-balconies that protected the archways and approaches to the building. In the walls of this tower there are various types of vaulted door and window openings, utility and defensive niches, narrow loopholes for firearms, hitching stones, hiding places. The walls narrow noticeably upwards.

Local residential towers had a rectangular base, had two and three floors, a flat roof and a high parapet. The remains of their walls housed door and window openings, niches, loopholes, horse feeders and other details.

Bishtoevs, Kazilyovs, Chemurzievs, Hampievs, Sadakievs and other Ingush surnames originate from this settlement. The residents of Bisht were considered in the past to be good specialists in processing wood, bone, horn and leather.

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The Kartoev’s Tower is one of the tallest and most beautiful in mountainous Ingushetia. Judging by D. Chakhkiev’s work, it is a 6-storey tower, more than 28 meters high. The second – exactly the same 6-storey tower was blown up during Rosen’s expedition of 1832. These two castles complexes (Kkhart and Upper Kkhart) were connected by a thick barrier wall, of which nothing has remained, as well as of the majority of residential towers and other structures. Above the Khart is the clan sanctuary – Dyalite (half-destroyed), which was one of the main spiritual centers of the GIalgIaiche. Also, before moving to Kog (Kok) village, the center of Tusholi cult was in Kkhart village.

Every settlement of highland Ingushetia had its own craft specialisation – jewellers, architects, skinners and so on, while the people of Kkhart specialised in the manufacture of firearms and bladed weapons. There was a major arms store in the village in the Late Middle Ages, and rifles, pistols, sabres and daggers made there were sold not only in Ingushetia but also in the neighbouring parts of Georgia and Chechnya. Dudik Amkhadov, one of the most renowned Kkhart rifle makers, first moved to the neighbouring village of Doshkhakle. After he moved far to the west, to Khuli, where he built his tower. He gave his name to the Amkhadovs of the clan of Khulkhoi.

One more surname can be added to the list of surnames: the Ortskhanovs, also of the clan of Kartoevs, from Bazorkino-Mayskoye.

Galushpi is a tower settlement on a wooded mountain slope in the Tumgoy Gorge, Southeast of Kashtin and Southwest of Tumga, in the Jeirakh district of Ingushetia.

Only the bases and parts of the walls are extant, with the exception of the paramilitary tower, which is almost entirely intact but is in a critical condition.

Dwelling towers have survived various types of vaulted door and window apertures, service and defensive niches and loopholes.

There are also preserved burial vaults in the area of the village.

It lies within the boundaries of Jeyrakh-Assa Museum-Reserve and is subject to state protection.

Persons who caused damage to an object of cultural heritage bear criminal, administrative and other liability in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Nyakist is a large castle-type tower settlement on a wooded mountain peak near the Georgian border, close to the villages of Toumgi and Tsoli. Only 2 combat and 11 dwelling towers, connected by two stone defensive walls of the late Middle Age have been preserved here up to now.

The combat towers are located in separate but closely interconnected strong castle complexes. The towers have an almost square base, had five floors, a flat roof with a crenellated end, and reached a height of 20 metres. They had no machicolations at all. They faced east, with vaulted doorways leading to the second floor. The first floor of each tower had big stone cone-shaped “sacks” – compartments for storing agricultural supplies and keeping prisoners, and the second floor was a closed four-sided stone vault with projecting gurts. In the walls of 2-4 floors,  you can see rare vaulted window apertures, numerous narrow loopholes for gunfire.

The remains of the original water supply system made of clay pipes and stone troughs are noted in the Nyakist settlement, in the thick of the ground.

Nyakist is in visual connection with the Khashtyr, Tsoli, Tumgi, Gappi, Evli, Pyaling and Nii tower complexes.

The Nakostoevs, Gaisanovs, Tsokovs and other Ingush surnames came out of this settlement. In the past, local men were considered good horsemen and hunters, and girls were famous as skilled seamstresses who could perfectly embroider  with gold and silver threads.

The temple of Gurmte (House of God) is an unrestored temple in mountainous Ingushetia.  According to the elders, various Ingush families gathered here, including mountain Georgians, according to other information, the Teipa Khel Tribal Court sat near the temple.

The temple-sanctuary of Gurmte is located near the village Guppy, on a rocky and woody ridge of Gurma mountain.

Inside the building, at the eastern wall, there is the ALTAR, a stone ledge with traces of white facing with a small step. There are numerous rectangular niches in the walls. The room had three cross beams. The internal height of the sanctuary temple is 3.30 m. The floor is rockу. The sanctuary temple was carefully built  with lime mortar. The masonry of the walls is polygonal. From the outside and inside the walls are plastered white.

This cult monument belongs, in all probability, to the XVI-XVII centuries. It has not been archaeologically excavated. It is interesting that up to the beginning of our century, prayers and sacrifices were made here by all the inhabitants of the neighborhood.

Leymi is a castle-type settlement on the spur of Mount Tsei-Loam. A five-storey combat tower and half-destroyed dwelling towers, which together with the defence wall formed a single late mediaeval castle complex, have survived to this day.

The settlement consists of different complexes with presumably different settlement and development history, as well as surnames and time of origin. The settlement in question is based on two independent complexes: Upper Leumi, which is a group of towers located along the spur ridge; Lower Leumi, which is a detached manor house occupying a vast terrace south of the ridge on which Upper Leumi stands. From the terrace with the buildings of the Lower Ley estate begins a ridge on which the remains of cyclopean structures are located in the northwest-southeast direction. Beyond this is a vast necropolis of aboveground and underground crypt burials, currently belonging to the Leymi complex, but located about 200 m away from the Lower Leymi buildings and towards the Tetrtsikali River. Higher up the ridge on which Upper Leymi is located, on the upper terrace of the spur is the tower settlement of Kog. On the other side of the gorge, on the long gentle descent of the terrace below the Rocky Ridge, is a huge complex of residential towers, cryptic structures of various types, as well as religious buildings. Its belonging to one or another settlement, as well as its historical name could not be found out. However, the road there goes through the lower necropolis of Upper Leymi.

In the complex, it is possible to distinguish 2 main ensembles. One of them is situated at the foot of a mountain spur and consists of 9 relatively well-preserved constructions: a combat tower; 8 dwelling towers with household outbuildings; a household yard with an outer stone wall uniting dwelling towers into one fortification complex; more than 9 household buildings; 6 ground and 8 half-underground vaults and cyclopean structures. The combat tower is relatively well preserved. The dwelling towers are half-destroyed and ruined. The crypt burial ground is in semi-ruined condition. The second ensemble consists of a castle, consisting of 4 dwelling towers, outbuildings, a farmyard with an outer stone wall, 11 aboveground and semi-basement vaults, a core mausoleum and cyclopean buildings. The dwelling towers are in a semi-destroyed state and the vaults are in a semi-ruined state.

Lower Ozdik is situated on a high, rather steep mountain ridge surrounded by pine forests, with a small mountain stream flowing below. According to D. Chakhkiev, Candidate of Historical Sciences, it consists of a long stone rounded defensive wall, one combat tower, two semi-combat towers, nine residential towers, as well as various outbuildings and storage facilities. Together, these structures make up a historical and architectural complex.

The castle complex, which was comprised of the fight, semi-combat, and residence towers, was located in the center of the settlement. The six-story fighting tower has a square base, a pyramidal roof, and six floors. Tower height is 28 meters.

That tower settlement gave rise to the Barkinhoevs, Khamchievs, Kotievs, Tochievs, and many other later splinter Ingush surnames. They now have more than 17 surnames. However, they are all Barkinhoi.

The Barkinhoi family of Ozdik, Galgays, used to bring armed Lezgins from Dagestan and demand tribute from Ossetians, Khevsurs, and Georgians, according to the information in the B. Dalgat and D. Chakhkiev reports. The Galgays did not grant their neighbors any rest for their reluctance to pay tribute; instead, they stole them, captured them, and sold them as slaves. At Ozdik, there were master craftsmen and expert hunters. Native girls were regarded as expert dressmakers and masters of gold and silver stitching.

Gadaborsh is a tower village on the spur of Mount Tsei-Loam. It is located in a clearing deep in the forest, which can be climbed on foot along a barely visible forest path.  The clearing is flat, but there is a small level hill in the middle of it, on which the castle is built, consisting of one combat tower and six dwelling towers, which are in a semi-ruined state.

The dwelling towers are two or three stories high, rectangular in plan, once having a flat roof with a parapet and reaching a considerable height (often up to 12.00 m). One of them has huge stone “bags” built into the corners of the second floor for storing all kinds of agricultural supplies and keeping slaves (this is a very rare case of buildings of the region). Another one semi-ruined residential tower is situated 40 metres to the west of the castle complex. It has a rectangular base. It has two stories and a flat roof with a high parapet. In the preserved parts of the defensive wall, you can see special battle pads, niches and loopholes. The wall was also carefully built with lime mortar. On the whole, this castle complex has a complex constitution, with numerous narrow passages, dead ends, caches and trap pits. The Gadaborshevs originate from here.

Barkhane (Barkhin, Barkhim, Barkim) – is a large castle-type tower settlement at the foot of the Tsey-Loam Mountain, located north-east of Nizhny Leimi. It dates from the XVI-XVII centuries. It includes 2 independent but closely interconnected, powerful late Medieval castle complexes. The first, consisting of combat, semi-combat, 6 residential towers with outbuildings and a stone defensive wall, is located in the northern (upper) part of the settlement. The second one has one combat tower and eight residential buildings with various outbuildings and defensive walls and it located in the southern (lower) part of the settlement.

Local residents of this settlement in the late Middle Ages specialized in the construction of the most advanced technically complex stone buildings. N. F. Yakovlev also wrote: “Todays Ingushetia knows almost no artisans or Ingush craftsmen, but in the old days there were whole clans in the mountains engaged, for example in the construction of a towers made of stone. Such is the surname of the Barkhinoevs (Barkhanoevs), residents of the Barkhin village in highland Ingushetia, who have been master stone-cutters, or “artisans of stone” for generations. Legends link the construction of 16 combat towers in the Ingush highlands with the architects of that surname, including magnificent buildings with a pyramidal-stepped structures in the villages of Targim, Egikal, Ozdik, Pyaling, Niy, Meller, Lyazhg. Monuments of their work are also known in neighboring North Ossetia and mountainous Georgia.

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Egikal is  the largest medieval tower complex in the mountainous of Ingushetia. It was  the administrative  cultural and economical center of  Targim in the Middle Ages. The castle complex is located  on the southern slope of Mount Tsey — Loam, in two kilometers from the  River Assa.  It was a powerful settlement hundred years ago. And now you can see hundreds structures which are scattered around the southern slope of Mount Tsey-Loam in the Assinsky gorge. From the  high hills you can see  the most picturesque valley of the river Assa.  Further  you can see the other tower complexes of Hamhi, Targim, Pui and the Thaba-Yerdy thousand-year-old Christian temple.

People  lived in the village of Egikal before the Ingush deportation in 1944. Today, Egikal is an uninhabited tower complex, an open-air museum, a preserved ancient city, on some streets of  you can still walk  along their narrow streets and “touch the Past”.

The village was famous for hereditary handicraftsmen – gunsmiths, blacksmiths, potters, jewelers, as well as brave warriors and experts in traditional medicine. Dozens of famous names  and talented people came from  Egikal, one of them is a classic of Ingush literature Idris Murtuzovich Bazorkin, who  buried here in the family cemetery.

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Khamkhi is one of the largest tower settlements of the mountain Ingushetia of the castle (terraced-tiered) type, located in the center of the Targim hollow on the left coast of the Assa River.River. Administratively part of the Dzheyrakh  district of the Republic of Ingushetia, it is located within the boundaries of the territory of the Dzheyrakh-Assy  State Historical, Architectural and Natural Museum-Reserve and is subject to state protection.

Historically, Khamkhi was the center of the Khamkhi (Galgayevsky) Shakhar. The aul is the ancestral village for the following surnames: Khamkhoevs, Albakovs, Bekbuzarovs, Martazanovs, Katsievs, Adzhievs, Matsievs, Umarovs, Bersanovs, Fatkhilgovs, Kadievs, Gaitukievs and more than 30 surnames.

Khamkhi is distinctive and organic. The towers are in perfect harmony with the landscape. They are the pride of the Ingush, an indicator of the strength and resilience of the nation, they carry the memory of the heroic past of the people.

Whole families once lived here. The walls of the towers often had a parapet above the roof. It provided the convenience of observing the surroundings.

Kinship ties and mutual assistance were greatly valued in those times. Each family had its own vault. Because of the small amount of fertile soil, the dead were buried not in the ground but in graves made of stones. They had a strange, at first glance, name – “solar”. People believed that in the afterlife, the seasons of the day were just the opposite. When it was night for the living, the sun was shining for the dead, and vice versa.

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Gappi (Gapp) is a castle-type settlement at the top of a mountain range, which rises above the Kiahk-Khi River, in the Muzhig Gorge, bordering the Tumgoi Gorge, a few kilometres from the border with Georgia. It consists of a well-preserved five-storied combat tower and six dilapidated dwelling towers united by a broad stone defence wall in a single castle complex. A breathtaking panorama opens up from the village: Mount Gaykomd (Tsei-Loam), you can see the entrance to Assin Gorge, the river Assa and settlement Targim located on it, you can also see the settlements of Tsoli, Niakist, Galushpi, Kashtyn, Kost, Gerity and Kiahk lower. In the morning, when the weather is good, Gappi is perfectly visible from the Tsei-Loam pass.

At one and a half kilometres from Gappi on top of a wooded mountain is a Gurmte sanctuary temple, presumably dating from the XVI-XVII centuries. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, prayers and sacrifices were performed here by all the inhabitants of the area. Nowadays, the temple is very rarely visited and is perfectly preserved. Animal skulls and remnants of utensils are scattered on the rocky floor of the temple. From the top of the ridge is an excellent view of the Tsorey-Lam pass and the towers of Pyalinga, Nia, Ozdiche and Evli.

The Gappi village is the origin of the Ingush families Gaparkhoevs and Tambievs, whose ancestors were skilled hunters and skilled craftsmen in wood, horn and bone processing.

Targim –the  large medieval tower complex of castle type  is on the right  bank of  the Assa. Here  you can see 4 military  and more than 20 semi-military and residential towers with stone extensions of different degree of safety. The military towers are  30 meters high. In the past this  place  was famous for talented builders of military  towers, experienced armories and dashing soldier’s equestrians.

According to the local legend, in ancient times there lived in Egikala a person who is especially esteemed among the people. His  name was Alberd. He  had a big family; three sons: Egi, Hamkhi, Targim and four daughters: Ayset, Bayset, Mislimat and Mislinat, also he was  related to the Georgian noble family. Before his  death Alberd made the will, according to it the eldest son Egi got the family house,  Hamkhi had to leave for Hama, and  Targim  moved to the right bank of  the Assa. After the  father’s  death  Hamkhi married and  moved to place where now the settlement of Hamkhi is located. It’s near the  south of Egikal  where he put the new aul which got his name. His brothers and sisters helped him. Together they made  a residental tower and necessary farm buildings.  After that they did the same for their youngest brother – Targim.

On the right bank  of  the Assa, they built one residentialand one military towers. Having finished Targim with his mother and sisters left father’s house  and moved to a new place which later became Targim village.

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Tkhaba-Erda, one of the most ancient Christian temples in the territory of Russia. Monuments of medieval architecture are concentrated in a large number in the Targim trench. This place is the heart of Ingushetia. Exactly from here gained the distribution ancient architecture across all Ingushetia Mountains and cult monuments of ancient architecture are located here. However, the most famous among them and the most ancient in the territory of Russia and Ingushetia is the Christian temple of Tkhaba-Erda (8th century), different from other temples of the North Caucasus the large size and a rich decor. The temple is located in 4 km. from Targim, on the right coast of the Assy River. The temple repeatedly for over two hundred years was described by the Russian and foreign scientists.

For the first time, Tkhaba-Erda’s temple was opened by the quartermaster of the Russian army Shteder in 1787. Tkhaba-Erda’s temple which arose during the 8-9th centuries – one of remarkable monuments of cult architecture. The architectural composition, ornamental and figured jewelry indicate the high art value of the construction. The monument has been reconstructed and modified several times during its existence.

The type of a monument which reached us belongs to the 14-16th centuries and contains four construction periods. This cult construction was built on that place

where an ancient sanctuary, much revered by the Ingush, used to stand. The temple fencing with the beaten-out pagan symbols and stones with deepening the so-called cup stones inserted under fencing demonstrates to it. According to scientists they could serve for priests as the star chart or could be calendar signs. In architecture of the temple influence of the Byzantine, Armenian, and also Georgian churches is traced. This is evidenced by the different-time and characteristic details of Armenian and Georgian architecture.

The eastern part of a wall, decorated with biblical scenes, speaks about influence of the Armenian Church. The influence of the Georgian church is confirmed by the characteristic Georgian temple architecture of the XII century, decorative details – bas-reliefs and floral ornament.  On the temple to the western front wall there are figures of people prisoners in the arc-shaped acting frame – a tympanum. This sculptural composition is called also “ktitor group”. Such decor was present also at the Georgian temples built during the reign of the King  David the Builder.

In the period of the Middle Ages this temple was legislative body of the time. In certain days residents of the Hamkhi, Galgai, Chulkhoi, Tskhioroi and Fiappiy societies flocked to the temple to perform religious rites and resolve disputes. Also at the temple of Thaba-Erda there was a “Mehka khel” – the court of the country.

The castle Puy complex is located at the point where a large inflow of Guloykhi falls into the river Assa behind Tkhaba Erda’s temple. A “classical” fighting tower with 6 floors and a height of 30 meters is allocated in a complex.

The “Vov” battle towers are the pinnacle of medieval Ingushetia architecture. These towers are at least 25 meters tall and narrow — think spiral staircases in medieval European castles — and there is no space in order to turn around, which benefits defenders more than enemies.

Battle towers were erected in key strategic locations, such as at road intersections and the gorge’s entrance. Before building the tower, it was customary to wet the earth with milk; if it did not soak into the ground, the location was deemed appropriate. There is only one access to the second story of Vov- tower. People would ascend the ladder, which was simple to raise at any time.

The traditional Ingush battle tower has five, occasionally six levels, and its roof is tiered like a pyramid. A conical keystone served as the pyramid’s capstone.

During the conflicts and siege on the first floor, captives were held, and grain was stored in a special stone compartment. The second floor was occupied by well-armed soldiers, and there was a property of defenders in the same location. The third space was set aside for defenders and their families, with only defenders and observers allowed above. People in towers could withstand a months-long siege if they had enough defensive weapons, food, and water.

Yevloy (Lower Yevloy) is a castle-type settlement on the spur of Tsorey-Lam Mountain, south of Old Yevloy. Today there are only badly damaged combat and five residential towers, united by a long stone defensive wall in a single late medieval castle complex. The combat tower is rectangular in plan, 4-storey with a flat roof and a high parapet. It reached 19.00 m in height. Its machicles had no balconies at all. The vaulted door aperture leading to the third floor faces south. Large stone cone-shaped “sacks” – compartments for storing agricultural supplies and water, and for keeping slaves – are arranged on the ground floor. The ceiling of the 2nd floor is in the form of a four-sided closed stone false vault with protruding flying buttresses. Rare small vaulted window apertures and numerous narrow embrasures for gunfire and observation are observed in the walls of floors 2-4. Large rhombic stone vaults are outside of the walls of the 4th floor. The roof of the tower had several rows of special large stones, which were thrown on the besiegers during the storm. The walls are 0.90 m thick at the base. The walls taper significantly upwards (to 10 degrees). The tower is laid carefully with lime mortar. The walls are made in polygonal masonry. The walls are of a lighter yellow plaster on the outside, while the inside has masonry joints to be sealed. According to tradition, this combat tower was erected at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries, which is also indicated by its design features.

The dwelling towers are rectangular or trapezoidal in plan, once 2-3 stories high, with a flat roof and a high parapet. Numerous original door and window apertures, household and defensive niches, loopholes, central pillars of interfloor ceilings, cornerstones, bowl stones, caches and other structural details are preserved. Numerous petroglyphic images and tamgas made by the linear technique (crosses, spirals, swastikas, circles, trefoils, rosettes, letter-shaped signs, etc.) mark on the preserved walls of residential towers.

The defensive wall of the castle was erected neatly, on lime mortar. The masonry of the wall was polygonal, approaching orderly. The wall was covered with a layer of light yellow plaster. It was 0.70 m thick at the base. It was at least 4.00 m high. The wall had special striking platforms for defenders, as well as niches and narrow embrasures for gunfire and observation. Several rows of large stones were laid on top of the wall to give it additional defensive qualities.

Local girls in the late Middle Ages were deservedly famous for their distinctive and original skill in tailoring, and many men (as in Old Evloy) were unsurpassed horse breeders.

Upper Pyaling is a large castle-type tower settlement on a spur of the Tsorey-Lam Mountain, northeast of Old Yevloy. Currently, here you can see the relatively well-preserved 4 combat, dilapidated or already ruined 14 residential towers with various extensions, defensive walls of the late Middle Ages.

The elegant combat towers are housed in separate but interconnected castle complexes. The three square-shaped combat towers have six stories, hinged stone machicolations, a step pyramid roof (13-15 slates with a large conical cap) and reach a height of 27.00-28.00 m. On the south facade walls, 2 of them under the machicolations-balconies (at the level of the 5th floor) are skillfully built up by way of selecting stones one large cross with a “Golgopha”. The vaulted doorway in the vaulted building leads directly to the 2nd floor. Large stone cone-shaped “sacks” for storage of agricultural supplies, water and for keeping slaves were made in the 1st floor, while the ceilings of the 2nd and 6th floors were four-sided closed stone false vault with projecting gurts. Rare small vaulted window apertures and numerous narrow embrasures for gunfire and observation are observed in the walls of the 2nd-5th floors. The embrasures of the upper storey are lancet-shaped. The walls are 0.95 m. thick at the base. The fourth combat tower is of a rectangular layout, with four stories and a flat roof with a high parapet. It was up to 19.00 m high. Its vaulted doorway in the west wall also leads directly to the second floor. The latter has a vaulted stone vault on four sides, with gurts. Conical “sacks” – compartments for storing supplies and holding prisoners, and small arched window apertures in the walls of floors 2-4, and numerous narrow embrasures for shooting and observation are situated on the 1st floor. The upper floor had a fighting platform specially equipped for defenders. The walls were 0.85 m thick at the base. The walls tapered downwards (to 10 degrees). All the above combat towers were made with lime mortar. The walls are polygonal. The walls are covered with light yellow plaster on the outside, while the inside is made of masonry stucco.

According to popular tradition, the towers were built in the late 16th-17th centuries by the Barkinhoevs, renowned architects from the mountain Ingush village of Barkin, who were generously rewarded “for solid and beautifully performed work” by their rich master builders. Dwelling towers, rectangular or trapezoidal in layout, had two or three stories, and a flat roof with a high parapet. Extensive loggias were arranged in the upper parts of three of them. Structurally original door and window apertures of different types, household and defensive niches, pebbles, narrow embrasures, deep caches, cup-forms and other details have survived in these constructions. Each castle had a high defense wall. The masonry of the wall was polygonal, approaching to the order. Large stones were laid on top of each defensive wall in several rows to be thrown down on the besiegers in the moment of assault. The wall also had defensive niches and narrow embrasures for firing and observation. The Polonkoyevs, the Chanieys, the Darsigovs, the Gaitovs, the Tsokhoeys, the Nikarkhoeys and other surnames emerged from that settlement.

The local men were expert cattle breeders and beekeepers, renowned for their wares of wood, horn and bone, while the women were skilled dressmakers and goldsmiths.

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“The Towers of the two rivals” is a genius of architectural skill. On a hill in a picturesque gorge there are little-studied, but striking in their splendor towers, which are commonly referred to as “Towers of two rivals” (“Shin Engara gala”). The fact that they are so poorly known is a consequence of their actual inaccessibility. In other words, the passage to them is extremely difficult and dangerous.

The medieval castle is located on a narrow ridge with steep and precipitous slopes of the Rocky Ridge spur between the Ozdi-choch and Ah-choch gorges. The fortification consisted of two combat towers of four and five floors with a flat roof and protective balconies on the upper floors, united by a stone defensive wall into a single castle complex. The castle was located within visual connection with the tower complexes of the Guloi–hi gorge (Goli, Gant, Ozdi, Vovnushki, Birg) and the Targim basin (Keli, Leimi, Kog, Barkhane, Egikal) and was an important link in the national system of signal and guard communications of mountainous Ingushetia in the Middle Ages. At that time, the cart road led to the tower complex – the only approach to the combat towers, which was carefully guarded by sentries (according to legend, 63 horsemen). This road has not been preserved. It was destroyed as a result of the effects of rain erosion and natural processes.

In terms of originality, the complex “Shin Engara gala” is in no way inferior to the famous “Vovnushki” – defense watchtower.

According to an old legend told by local residents, once there lived a man in the town of Gant who had two wives. Each of them had one son. The wives were famous for their hard work and were very friendly with each other, which was surprising, because they were rivals. They lived richly and happily, and everything was wonderful for them.

One day their husband died heroically in battle, and two rivals were left widows. The villagers, always envious of this family, disliked two decent neighbors. It is for this reason that proud women could no longer live next to them. They managed to hire a well–known builder – a master of the tower business and at their own expense to build two battle towers on an impregnable cliff, combined into one castle.

As you know, it is not easy to build a battle tower in the mountains. Only a strong and wealthy family could do this. Therefore, these dignified women deserve admiration and respect.

Unfortunately, the inaccessibility of these towers makes possible reconstruction very difficult, because the towers are in a deplorable state. A distinctive feature of these towers is the absence of a stone arch with herds. In other words, they had wooden floors. Perhaps the absence of a stone arch with herds is due to the fact that the towers were in a naturally fortified place.

The absence of a stone arch makes these towers similar to the castle complex “Vovnushki”.

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Niy is an ancient Ingushetia town-settlement. It is located in the district of Jeirakh. It is now administratively part of the Guli rural settlement, despite being abandoned. Yovloy, the largest Ingush clan (teip), owned the lands and tower structures of the villages of Yovli, Niy, Niykoate, Pyaling, Musievo, and Akhki-Yurt. There is an architectural complex ” Niy” on the settlement’s territory, which is represented by many historical objects: 4 combat towers, 1 semi-combat tower, 13 half-destroyed residential towers, and 14 vault gravesites. The given Ingush architectural objects, as well as the entire settlement’s territory, are currently protected by the Jeyrakh-Assa State Historical-Architectural and Natural Museum-Reserve.

The buildings are located at the foot of Tsorey-Loam Mountain, in a valley shaped like a trough. The buildings got their names from this location because “Niy” means “trough” in Ingush. The complex is now one of the largest and most well-preserved in southern Ingushetia. Targim, Egikal, Tsori, Vovnushki, and Pyaling are five other nearby attractions. They are all members of the clan towers. This means that the area and structures belonged to a single family, in Niy’s case, the Yevloev family. By analogy with European traditions, the settlement could be referred to as a variant of a manor house.

The old monument sit well with all medieval architecture traditions; the buildings are separated by function and have different exteriors. The structures that were once homes are now in the worst state here, but the battle buildings are much better preserved. The pyramidal-stepped roofs composed of oil shale are visible to tourists This type of roof was stronger and more functional than most, which may have assisted the owners in sheltering and repelling the attack. Next to the towers is a defensive wall. A sort of necropolis is created by fourteen vaults.

The crosses constructed of stones under the roofs are what make the Niy towers unique. Since such symbols were not typically used in the creation of similar complexes, it is unknown what the precise function of these decorative pieces was. Perhaps the crosses served as a means of identification and signify that a building belongs to a particular genera of objects.

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Galu (Golukh, Goli) is a small tower village on the spur of Tsorei-Loam mountain, east of Gyant. At present, you can see only semi-ruined 4 residential towers with various extensions of the late Middle Ages. The towers are rectangular or trapezoidal in shape, once two or three stories high, with a flat roof and a high parapet. A large loggia seems to have been arranged in the upper part of one of the towers. Structures have survived various types of vaulted door and window apertures, economic and defensive niches, narrow loopholes, stones-belts, central stone pillars of interfloor overlapping, large stone cone-shaped “sacks” – compartments for storing agricultural supplies, water and keeping slaves.

Among the ruins of a dwelling tower in the eastern part of the settlement is a rectangular stone block with a linear depiction of the U-shaped sign. A large stone millstone is embedded in the south façade wall of the tower in the west part of the settlement, near the doorway. The tower settlement was the home of the Ozdoyevs, who had done well in the past in stockbreeding, hunting and domestic industries.

The majestic medieval castle Vovnushki complex – is located in the narrow Ozdi-Chozh gorge on extremities of the slate ridges and consists of two separate unapproachable castles, which in ancient times were connected by a suspension bridge. The battle towers four-level, with narrow loopholes, a high parapet and a flat roof. The approaches to the towers and residential outbuildings are blocked by powerful fortress walls which at first are perceived as a natural part of the mountain.

The Guloi-hi River carries its waters along the bottom of the gorge.

Battle towers clearly illustrate the concept of “stronghold”: huge stone structures standing firmly on a solid rock foundation. The castle-fortress “Vovnushki” is a special pride of the Ingush, a symbol of the firmness and perseverance of spirit of the people, the memory of its heroic past. “Vovnushki” — translated from Ingush means “place of combat towers”.

Legends of the deep ancient

There are many legends about “Vovnushki”, but one of them is similar to a true story that tells about the courage and strength of spirit of Ingush women.  Once the two castles were connected by a suspension bridge. When the enemies surrounded the castle and began its siege, the inhabitants moved across the bridge to another one. During the battle, the rope bridge was damaged. A woman who was in the besieged tower, despite the danger that threatened her, saved several babies by dragging cradles with children to a neighboring tower. Even if the castles were connected by a solid suspension bridge, you can imagine what it was like to walk on it: there was an abyss under your feet, bare rocks on the sides.

  In 2008, the “Vovnushki” Towers became a finalist in the “Wonders of Russia” competition, as one of the most amazing man-made attractions of the country. “Vovnushki” is a recognized monument of architectural, part of the Dzheyrakh-Assinsky State Historical, Architectural and Natural Museum-Reserve.

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The Cizdy crypt burial ground (“Town of the Dead”)

Meller is a large castle-like settlement located near Lyazhga on the spur of Tzorei Loam, north-west of Tsharalte, and south of Angheta. It consists of one combat tower and 10 dwelling towers with various outbuildings, united by a stone defense wall into one late medieval castle complex.

The masonry of the combat tower is split from the top to the bottom; there are two vertical cracks in the east wall that extend from the base to the second and fourth floors; a horizontal crack in the west wall that extends from the base to the third floor; and a wall break in the south façade that allows access to the first floor. Rainfall has washed away the room’s masonry, and some tiles are missing. The tower is in an emergency state. The dwelling towers are in a dilapidated and ruined state. Numerous linear petroglyphs can be found on large arched stone blocks and residential tower doorways. The crypts have been partially destroyed. On the settlements southwestern outskirts, there is a tower vault with a well-preserved pyramidal stepped roof. It stands 9 meters tall. It is severely damaged: the northwest corner is destroyed, masonry has fallen out of the southwest corner, and the integrity of the entire structure may be in jeopardy due to the state of the rock face. The crypt is in poor condition.

Before Islam, the Ingush grew bread and drinks for ritual feasts in the surrounding villages in honor of the pagan god Meler-Yerd, the patron of drinks (wine, beer), on the western side of Lyazhga, near “Meler-Glala” in the area of “Melar Khash”.

The Tsori tower complex (15-16th century) is located in the Tsorinsky Gorge, on the right coast Tsorin-hi, on a high mountain ledge. In Tsori there are 3 strongly damaged battle towers also tens half-ruined inhabited towers with extensions and funeral a structures – above-ground crypts. In the Middle Ages towers were adjoined by a stone defensive wall with arched gate, which, if necessary, were locked from the inside. Today, only the foundation stones remain of the defensive wall.  Some constructions are interesting with the patterns made by selection of stones and solar symbols on their walls. In the Middle Ages, Tsori was the administrative, political, cultural and economic center of the entire Tsory society. According to folk legends the ancestor of Mogushkov family, the famous warrior maiden, the skillful equestrian, the amazon Mogushka, who “commanded a squad of 63 healthy men and inspired fear and horror on enemies with her courage and audacity” lived here.

During one skirmish with the opponent, unequal in numbers, Mogushka fell to the death of brave and was solemnly buried at the base of an elevated tomb,  which is which is still popularly referred to as “Mogushka Kash”, which means “Grave of Mogushka” in Russian.