Monday, August 16, 2010

Stone dolls





The “stone town”, is situated by the Kuklica village in the Kratovo area. According to the sources, the stone figures that are called Dolls by the local population are 10 million years old. There are many legends and myths about their existence, but the most famous is the one according to which the stone figures are wedding guests that were cursed by a forsaken bride, and turned into rocks. There are 120 stone figures, one next to another, up to 10 meters high.


The legend has it that once upon a time, one boy from the village of Kuklica (that is above the stone town) who couldn’t decide which girl to marry, asked two girls to be his brides. The wedding with the both of them was planned in a single day. There used to be a tradition that there mustn’t be two weddings in one day, because the brides must not see each other during their wedding - that was considered bad luck. One of the brides, not knowing about this tradition saw that there is another wedding in the same day and ran out of her house to see who is getting married. When she saw her boyfriend with another girl, she cursed all of them: "Let God turns all of you into rocks, even me" and all people turned into rocks.



But the scientists do not agree with the legends. According to them, the stone figures were formed 10 million years ago, by tectonic erosion, from minerals that dissolve in water. As the time passed, nature created masterpieces. The local population says that every 5-6 years new figures appear.


My world Tuesday

19 comments:

Carver said...

Wonderful shots of a fascinating place. I enjoyed learning about the legends as well as seeing the stone and landscapes.

Sylvia K said...

Oh, these are terrific, Dani!! And, yes, what a fascinating place. Love the legends, the history and being able to see it all through your photos! Hope you have a great week!

Sylvia

EG CameraGirl said...

Thanks for sharing this legend. The rocks DO look like people. Hmmm. I know a couple of people I would enjoy turning to stone. Do you think the curse will work for me? ONLY KIDDING! :)

Penelope Notes said...

Both the wedding story AND the scientific conclusions about the figures being formed 10 million years ago by tectonic erosion seem fantastic ways to explain the “artistic” phenomena. :)

Photo Cache said...

fascinating place. i hope this place doesn't get subjected to mass tourism. too precious. thanks for sharing.

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SquirrelQueen said...

While I know that science knows best I really like this legend. I very much enjoyed your photo tour of this fascinating place, thanks for sharing Dani.

eileeninmd said...

It is a interesting place, great post and photos! I loved the story!

ninja said...

That's very interesting! And a lovely blog with all that splashing orange!

Arija said...

What a great post. I am married to a scientist, but give me the myths and legends any day .... I much prefer the local version.

Indrani said...

That is so interesting Dani, what a wonderful story you shared and then brought us back to reality with the scientific explanation. Great post!

Jim said...

How interesting. Great stuff.
Sydney - City and Suburbs

Anonymous said...

Made me a bit wordless. Amazing indeed. And as there are still new people turned into stone, surely a sign, that one should take more care of what one does. Great place, great story. Thank you for sharing ! Please have a good Tuesday.

Rajesh said...

Wonderful shots. Very interesting stone formations.

BraCom said...

Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos

Have a nice week,
Greetings, Bram

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Shey said...

These are fascinating rock formations accompanied with an equally fascinating legend. They really look like people frozen as stones.

Malyss said...

Here, we call those kinds of rocks "demoiselles" (= young maids) . always impressive!

Jenn said...

Beautiful rock formation that do look like humans. Beautiful story.

Clytie said...

Wow, what an interesting legend! They really do look like people too!

Roxxy said...

Oh what an interesting story! great art as well but it's a bit sad if the legend was true.

Good day!