About 5% of you probably suffer from acrophobia, an unexplained fear of heights. And the remaining 95% will be careful, because the fall, in the end, can be quite dangerous.
However, the human race still strives to build structures in places where just looking up or down can cause dizziness. Throughout history, the slopes of cliffs and mountains have housed everything from works of art to cities. You might be interested in article 10 Vertiginous Structures on Sheer Cliffs.
10. Rock Bandiagara
The Bandiagara Rock settlement in Mali has been home to the Dogon tribe since the 15th century. But this area was inhabited for a millennium before their arrival. By building their villages on the slopes of the cliffs, the Dogon people defended themselves from invaders and supported traditional culture.
Unfortunately, these stone buildings are suffering huge damage from the tourism industry. Most visitors to Mali are eager to see the Dogon settlement, and many local artifacts are sold for money. Due to economic and environmental pressures, indigenous people are forced to leave their homes and descend on the nearby fields.
9. Heavenly Nepalese Caves
In Nepal itself, located next to the Himalayas, there is a gorge that practically eclipses the Grand Canyon. More than 10,000 caves are located on the cliff cliffs almost 50 meters above the ground. They are about 800 years old, and some of them are 8 or 9 stories high, and you can get to them only by climbing up fragile cliffs with the help of climbing equipment.
Once these caves were part of the Mustang Kingdom and were a bustling settlement on the trade route from Tibet to India. Mustangs were scientists, artists, and talented excavators and have flourished for centuries.
No one knows what these caves were made for and how they were climbed.: no footprints, ropes or ladders survived. But researchers did find intricately painted Buddhist murals, ancient writings and skeletons. These findings led to the assumption that they were used for religious purposes. Manuscripts of the ancient Tibetan religion Bon, which dominated before the advent of Buddhism, were also found in the caves.
8. Rider Madara
On a smooth 23-meter cliff in Bulgaria stands a horseman with a dog, carved from the rock, striking a lion with a spear. Since ancient times, the most stunning statues in the world have been carved into the rocks, striking the imagination of tourists. UNESCO describes it as the one and only and ranks it as a World Heritage Site. The relief dates back to the 8th century and represents the recognition of Bulgaria by the Byzantine Empire.
Thanks to the rock's height of 100 meters, the rider can be seen from a great distance. It is very popular in Bulgaria and has also been chosen as the symbol that represents the country in the euro if it decides to join the currency. It is not surprising that he became the main national symbol of the country, because even the inscriptions on the rider are the earliest written information about Bulgaria.
But despite the fact that he is popular, no one knows who he portrays. Some believe that this is one of the first three khans of the country. Others have suggested that he personifies Tangra, a pagan god.
7. Predjama Castle
There are many ways to make a castle impregnable, and building on a 123-meter mountain is one of them. It seems as if the Predjama Castle sticks out directly from the limestone rock. Most of it is located in a large cave. According to today's data, this castle was erected in the 15th century, then the robber baron Erazem Luger was its inhabitant.
Luger made a big mistake by killing a relative of Frederick III, who was the Holy Roman Emperor. Frederick sent his troops to take Predyama, and Erazem Luger was forced into hiding for one year and one day. The military outside the castle walls did not know that it was connected to a nearby cave by a secret tunnel, which the baron used for supplies.
Then the military bribed the servant to give them a signal when Luger would be in the most unprotected part of the fortress - the courtyard. Then, when Luger made an attempt to escape, he was killed with a single cannon shot through the wall.
6. Neptune Monterosso Al Mare
In the village of Monterosso al Mare in Italy, there is Villa Pastine, whose stone terrace juts out over the edge of a large cliff. There is a 15-meter-high statue of the god Neptune.
This 1,700-ton concrete and iron hulk was created by the sculptor Arrigo Minerbi in 1910. Naturally, the mighty god, looking at the sea and holding back the waves, has become the most significant symbol of the city. By chance or by the author's idea, it is about one meter taller than the statue of Zeus, which is considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
To the greatest regret, due to the hit of shells during the World War, both arms and a trident collapsed at the statue. After Neptune lost his arms, the vaults of the terrace were left without support and it turned into a nondescript and overgrown rectangle. Further weathering has partially exposed the rocks on which the damaged Neptune stands.
And although in its pristine beauty it can be seen only on postcards of the early 20th century, now this place looks quite spectacular.
5. Maizishan grottoes
The creation of the 16-meter Buddha is an impressive achievement. The carving of the three figures, about 30 meters above the ground, is just bragging.
This is a very small part of the grottoes in Maizishan in China.... More than 1000 sq. m of the surface of the 142-meter sandy mountain is covered with frescoes. Its slope, in addition, has 194 entrances to the caves, which have accumulated over 7,000 works of art over the centuries.
It is impossible to carve a statue out of soft sandstone, so clay mixtures, wood and even stone brought from other countries were used for this. Previously, the entrances to the caves were connected by a network of stairs made of wood and balconies, now they have been replaced by metal ones. The rock masterpieces trace the history of 12 Chinese dynasties. Some of the statues still retain their original vibrant colors, and uncharted caves promise further treasure discoveries.
4. Chapel of Saint-Michel
The small French village of Egil is located near an 85-meter peaked volcanic rock. In ancient times, the Romans dedicated the basalt peak to Mercury. Now there is a chapel at the top, as if it had grown out of a mountain. This is the chapel of St. Michael d'Eguille, built in 962 and expanded several hundred years later. A millennium has passed, and it still stands out against the background of the surrounding landscape.
The chapel was built to commemorate the return from pilgrimage and has become the starting point for many people on their travels. Now people climb 268 steps to the top to bless their journeys. This is probably necessary in order to return safely.
3. Tunnel Golyan
Until the 1970s, the outside world did not even know about the existence of the village of Golyan, located in the Taihangshan mountains of China. Its population numbered only a few hundred people, and the only way leading to the village was a slippery and narrow staircase.
The Chinese government had no interest in building a more convenient road for residents, and the locals decided to do it themselves. Thirteen workers spent five years digging a cliff edge and manually carving a 1.2-kilometer highway out of the mountain. A stone ledge just a few meters away keeps drivers from falling from great heights.
The tunnel really made it easier to access the village. But its creation has caused a side effect in the form of a large influx of tourists. Thus, tourism has become the new main source of income for the village. The uneven road surface shakes under the wheels of cars - a very unpleasant circumstance, considering that there is an abyss just a couple of steps away.
If you want to visit this place, you will definitely see an open spiral staircase nearby on the slope of one of the Taihangshan mountains. It rises 90 meters and, as it approaches its top, it sways more and more from side to side. People over 60 years old are not allowed to climb, but if the age limit does not apply to you, then before climbing you will have to sign that your health is in order.
2. El-Hadjer
The people of Yemen borrowed the idea from mountain castles and villages, thinking they could do better. They built fortified cities several stories high, just a couple of centimeters from the steep cliffs. The most impressive of these is El Hadzherah in the Kharaz Mountains with dozens of tall buildings proudly towering over the cliffs.
These buildings have stood since the founding of the Ottomans El-Hajeri in the 11th century. It is not difficult to understand why these cities were impregnable, and it is easy to imagine what a nightmare it was to build them.
1. Hanging coffins of Sichuan
A person does incredible things in memory of the dead - it is for this reason that we can contemplate the ancient pyramids. In China, there are places where steep cliffs are full of dozens of coffins. Some of them are set on wooden planks driven into the plumb line of the mountain. Others are housed in specially carved caves. All of them are at least 10 meters above the ground, some even 130 meters.
The coffins were the resting place of the Bo, an ethnic group that inhabited the land for millennia before being destroyed by the Ming Imperial Army in the early 17th century. The weight of these coffins is on average 200 kilograms, and it is not known how they ended up there. Perhaps the ancient people lowered them from above with ropes or made hills from the earth in order to drag them to the required height.
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How about getting to know the creations of modern architecture? These structures seem to personify the future and technological progress. Fancy-shaped hotels, exhibition centers, planetariums, etc.
