#altai

Siberian roe deer Capreolus pygargus pygargus

Зимний Курай на Алтае — это суровая, но впечатляюще красивая, «пустынная» степь с резко-континентальным климатом, где морозы и сильные ветры сочетаются с ярким солнцем и чистейшим воздухом, предлагающая туристам невероятные пейзажи, возможность увидеть горы Северо-Чуйского хребта, добраться до Актру или «Алтайского Марса», но требует подготовки к холоду, ветрам и возможным трудностям с логистикой, так как это «штучный товар» для подготовленных путешественников.

Здесь же находится одноименное маленькое село Курай, расположенное на высоте около 1500 метров. Несмотря на то, что население села - это менее 500 постоянно проживающих в нем человек (туристы не в счет), в Курае есть все необходимое для жизни. Это школа, администрация, аптека, больница, магазины, почта. Действует сотовая связь операторов Билайн и МТС.

Само название села переводится дословно как "сухой". И это отлично отражает местный климат, особенности местности. Большую часть года здесь сухая и довольно холодная погода, бывают сильные ветра.Земля здесь действительно засушливая. Осадков выпадает мало, пригодных для обработки земель совсем немного (используется искусственное орошение).Местные занимаются разведением животных, ведут подсобное хозяйство, работают на заготовлении леса и в туристической сфере. Наиболее комфортны для туризма май и летние месяцы.

Село Курай часто становится отправной точкой или перевалочной базой для тех, кто отправляется покорять ледники Актру. От села начинается пеший путь, который сложно преодолеть на машине. А дальше заповедная зона и небольшой оборудованный лагерь. Это тщательно охраняемая природная территория, заповедные места. Поэтому останавливаться в горах и окрестностях нельзя. Необходимый комфорт можно устроить как раз, приехав в село Курай в Республике Алтай. А дальше покорение гор и суровая, но необыкновенно красивая природа.

Winter Kurai in Altai is a harsh but impressively beautiful, "desolate" steppe with a sharply continental climate, where frosts and strong winds combine with bright sun and clean air, offering tourists incredible landscapes, the opportunity to see the mountains of the North Chuisky range, to get to Aktra or "Altai Mars", but requires preparation to the cold, winds and possible logistical difficulties, as this is a "piece of goods" for prepared travelers.

The small village of Kurai with the same name is located here, located at an altitude of about 1,500 meters. Despite the fact that the population of the village is less than 500 permanent residents (tourists do not count), Kurai has everything necessary for life. These are the school, administration, pharmacy, hospital, shops, post office. There is a cellular connection between Beeline and MTS operators.

The very name of the village translates literally as "dry". And it perfectly reflects the local climate and the features of the area. The weather is dry and rather cold most of the year, and there are strong winds.The land here is really arid. There is little precipitation, and very little suitable land for cultivation (artificial irrigation is used).Local people are engaged in animal husbandry, farming, logging and tourism. May and summer months are the most comfortable for tourism.

The village of Kurai often becomes a starting point or a transit base for those who set off to conquer the glaciers of Aktra. A walking path starts from the village, which is difficult to overcome by car. And then there is a protected area and a small equipped camp. This is a carefully protected natural area, protected areas. Therefore, it is impossible to stay in the mountains and the surrounding area. The necessary comfort can be arranged just by arriving in the village of Kurai in the Altai Republic. And then the conquest of the mountains and the harsh, but extremely beautiful nature.

& Leo Rulership

Medieval islamic scholars like Kazvini flat out said “The Turks know war well, and Mars is their patron deity.” Even centuries before that, Ptolemy put the Turkistan region under Mars’ rule, and Abu Mashar put Turkestan under Leo's rule. While Mars explains the warfare, Leo rulership explains political rulership, sovereignty, kingship and imperial identity; Turks are the single race which established the most and biggest empires everywhere they went (Gokturk Khaganate, Timurid Empire, Ottoman Empire, Mughal Empire, Safavid Empire, Seljjuk Empire, Khazar Khaganate, Hunnic Empires, Khazar Khaganate, many more) and are known for the principle of statism. One of the greatest steppe empires Mongol Empire also carried many Turkic influences. Essentially, they were creating empires before Rome or England even existed.

Tongdian (通典) – Du You (8th century, Tang China)

"To chase a Turk is to chase your own death."

it’s believed that Attila Hun carried Mars’ sword into Europe. Hungarian myths say it was gifted to him by a mythic bird named Tuğrul (the name also represents strong warrior spirit).

As for how ancient this Mars symbolism goes, its VERY old. In one of the petroglyphs found in Kazakhstan, we see a tamga that reads as “AT” (means horse) and it's in the shape of Mars iconography.The petroglyphs date back to the early Saka period, approx 2,700-3000 years ago. Horses symbolize motion, battle, wild, untamed energy. Turks are the first to domesticize horses.

Mars personafies as "Kyzaghan/Kızağan Tengri" in Altaian mythology, a war deity which translates to something like "wrathful/fiery god". his clothing is red, his horse is red, the energy surrounding him is blood and battle. The constellation of Scorpio especially has an interesting place in Turkic cosmology - it's more associated with dragon imagery than scorpion. hero on horseback slaying the scorpion (dragon) is a recurring motif. It represents Mars defeating death, time and fate

In the 13th century Arabic astrological manuscript Kitab al-Mawalid, we see a depiction of a warrior on horseback killing a scorpion which deeply resonates with nomadic Turkic cosmology. Kızagan Tengri, associated with war, scorpion and red horse.

Mete Han (aka Modu Chanyu), Turkic ruler, founder of the world’s first professional army in the 3rd century BCE literally INVENTED military ranks, built the blueprint for modern tactics. The great emperor Genghis Khan later on followed his strategies and tactics to conquer the world.

The Cumans, Turkic steppe warriors controlled trade routes, dominated Eurasia and were so feared the Byzantines hired them as mercenaries - though eventually overshadowed by the Mongols, their blueprint for warfare was also Turks. thats a different topic tho

Conclusion speaks for itself, the association is clear: Mars not only influenced Turks but it became part of the Turkic spirit. The saying "Every Turk is born a soldier" reinforces this

From Al-Jāḥiẓ (الجاحظ, 776–868):

"They are a people for whom peace is harmful, and war is beneficial. If the Turk has no enemy, he creates one; and if he has no war, he looks for it."

"Merely the sight of the Turks drawing their bows is enough to shatter the resolve of an opposing army before the first blood is even spilled."

"Their weapons are an extension of their bodies. A Turk does not surrender his weapon even when he sleeps."

"If you blindfold a Turkish soldier and take him into the deepest, trackless desert or the thickest mountain forests where no path exists, he will open his eyes, smell the wind, look at the grass, and instantly point toward his destination. Their senses are not like those of townsfolk; they read the earth as a scholar reads a book."

"A Turk's body is constructed differently from other men. Where an Arab or a Persian grows fatigued in his joints after a day's march, the Turk's muscles seem to harden like iron. He does not sit to rest; he remains standing or mounted, as if his physical form requires motion to survive."

Hassul, Tafdīl al-Atrāk: "If you examine the nations of the earth, you will find none that can rival the Turk in the purity of his courage or the intensity of his strike. The Arab may boast of his raiding, the Persian of his stratagems, and the Byzantine of his walls, but the Turk relies on none of these. He does not raid to flee, he does not plot in the shadows, and he does not hide behind stone. The Turk's wall is his horse, his stratagem is his arrow, and his raid is an absolute conquest from which he does not return until the enemy is crushed into the dust."

Of course, they weren't only warriors, they repeatedly became Khagans, Sultans, Atabegs, military aristocracy, kingmakers, founders of empires and developers of states, carrying its Leonine nature. Traditional astrology also often regarded the oriental planet as especially active. Mars especially prefers being oriental to the Sun.

Mars operating under the Sun gives: military hierarchy, discipline, command & glory through conquest rather than simple destruction which describes the Turkic military organization.

From an Islamic astrology perspective the Sun represents the king, the sultan, the central authority and the qa'im (the one who stands firm). Without the Sun, Mars is a destructive brigand (qattal or plunderer). But when Mars operates under the direct gaze or disposition of Leo, its destructive kinetic energy is alchemized into Nizam-ı Alem (Order of the World). They immediately instituted legal codes (like the Töre of Oghuz Khagan and Genghis Khan). Genghis Khan codified the ancient Turkic törü into the Yassa (Law), binding both the lowest nomad and the highest prince to the same legal code. This reflects the traditional astrological dignity of the Sun.

Kut, Celestial Right to Rule

As I pointed many times while Mars represents the courage to conquer, Leo represents the legitimacy to govern. This distinction mirrors one of the central concepts of ancient Turkic political philosophy "Kut".

Kut was understood as the sacred mandate bestowed by Tengri (the eternal Sky, God) to a ruler, granting him the divine right to govern his people. A khagan who lost his Kut also lost Heaven's approval and, by extension, his legitimacy. This parallels the traditional astrological symbolism of the Sun, Leo's ruler, which medieval astrologers consistently associated with kings, supreme authority, honor and celestial sanction. The repeated emergence of Turkic imperial dynasties across Eurasia from the Göktürks to the Seljuks and Ottomans reflects not only a martial culture capable of conquest, but a political tradition deeply concerned with sovereign legitimacy.

If Mars explains the Turkic genius for war, Leo explains why Turkic warriors so often became kings.

Ergenekon & Greywolf Epics

In traditional astrology and comparative mythology, the wolf is universally bound to Mars, along with Moon. In Turkic tradition, the wolf is not just a forest animal, it is a totemic royal ancestor (Börteçine). The ruling clans (like the Ashina clan of the Göktürks) derived their divine right to rule (Kut) directly from their descent from this celestial wolf lineage. Across foundational Turkic epics like Ergenekon and the legends of the Asena clan (Asena also means she-wolf and is a common name for girls), the grey wolf acts as both savior and royal initiator, nursing the shattered remnants of a nation back to life and guiding them out of mountain prisons to conquer the Eurasian landmass.

Iron Masters

Mars traditionally rules iron as well as people who work with fire and metal tools, such as soldiers, surgeons, and blacksmiths (though Iron is more associated with Saturn in Vedic, it's ruled by Mars in Turkic and other Eurasian traditions as well as in Hellenic astrology).

In ancient antiquity era, the Turkic peoples (particularly around the Altai Mountains, known as the cradle of metallurgy) were globally renowned as master metallurgists and iron-workers. In fact, they revolutionized warfare across Eurasia through their use of iron, from the way they forged and designed weapons and scale armors. Metal/Iron Worker or Blacksmith as a job was especially a sacred position for Oghuz Turks who showed gratitude to Allah for being able to create and forge different types of weapons. Iron was seen as a sacred metal in pre-Islamic Turkic history as well, and it was used by Shamans as a means to connect with ancestors or spirits. Turks kept using it for protection from evil energies well into Islamic times.

In the climax of Ergenekon epic, they realized they had to melt through the iron ore wall of the mountain in order to escape the valley they were stuck in using fires and bellows. This is a direct astrological allegory of Martian transmutation. The tribe uses the very metal ruled by Mars, under the element of fire, to break the constraints of time and fate (Saturn), transforming restriction (confinement in the valley) into total liberation and empire.