Alagir Gorge. Uastyrdzy. North Ossetia mountains. Russia. Full HD

0:00 Start of the tour 1:00 Who is Uastyrdzy 2:05 Sculpture of Uastyrdzhy 2:35 Sculptor Nikolai Khodov 2:45 Holy place 3:07 Ossetian feast 4:10 Let’s go further! To Sadon settlement 4:22 About Sadon settlement And so begins our second tour through the mountains of North Ossetia. The first one was already very interesting and full of impressions! You can find the links to the corresponding videos in the description. This time, accompanied by our guide Alan, we want to visit the most interesting places of Alagir and Tsey gorges. The first place is here, in Alagir Gorge, at the beginning of Transcaucasian Highway, the road connecting Georgia and Russia. Here in 1995 the monument to Uastyrji was erected, flying out of the rock on a horse. Uastirdzhy is one of the most important dzuars, that is celestial figures, in the traditional religion of the Ossetians and one of the heroes of the Nart epic. The name Uastirdzhi comes from Wac Gergi “Saint George“. Saint George is a mediator between God and people and is depicted in folk epics as an old man in a white coat on a white three-legged horse, but sometimes appears among people in the form of an old beggar. Numerous shrines are dedicated to Uastirdzhi in Ossetia, and a holiday, Dzheorguba, is celebrated annually in the second half of November in honor of the heavenly being. Saint George is the patron saint of men, travelers and warriors. For women even the name Uastirdzhi is forbidden, they can call him only allegorically Lagty Dzuar, which literally means “patron saint of men“ in Ossetian. The size of the sculpture is very impressive! For example, the hoof of a horse is more than a meter, the height of his head is six meters, and a person can easily fit into the hand of the rider. The monument is made of metal and weighs 28 tons. It is the largest sculpture of a rider on a horse in the world! The monument is placed on a rock at a height of 22 meters. This exceeds the height of a seven-story building. The author of this unique art object is the famous Ossetian sculptor Nikolai Khodov. The place where the sculpture of Uastirdzhi on a horse is placed is also a sacred place. Under the rock from which the divine horseman flies out, there is a special platform where you can leave an offering, usually coins, and ask St. George to intercede. This is a long tradition... everyone who goes to the mountains by car asks for a safe and easy way, for protection from falling rocks on the mountain roads. The eldest sits in the middle, the second eldest sits on his right hand, and the third eldest sits on his left hand. The toast can only be pronounced by the elder. And You can drink only after the elder. The first toast is, of course, thanks to God that everyone is alive and well. The second toast, since only men were sitting at the table, always thanks to Uastirdzhi. After all, they got to this table, which means Uastirdzhi helped ... showed the way ... And only the third toast will be for the birthday man, for the newlyweds ... only the third toast will be on the occasion, because of which they gathered After also asking Uastirdzhi for intercession and a safe road, we headed to the next destination of our trip, the mining ghost village of Sadon. LINKS #travel #travelvlog #traveling #travelblogger #placestovisit #whattosee #russia