Valley of Ghosts (Crimea)

Oudemansiella mucida on Demirci yayla

The valley is symbolised by walnut and cherry trees, lawn, rocks, springs (already partially capped), creeks and small deep lakes. Meadows occur, where fruit trees grow. These are so-called 'chairies', a local name for woodland gardens. These were created by the local population, and are now being replaced by farms with more prolific gardens.[9] There is a relic forest, flora of which includes 420 species, including singular species such as yew, lyadvenets Crimea, sainfoin yaylinsky, pyracantha, and others.[10]

Two horses photographed on the Demirci yayla

Typical fauna comprehends:

• wild pigeons, which feed on the seeds of weeds and fallen fruits
• partridge or chukar, which are safeguarded by law and hunting of them is forbidden
• rock thrush
• northern wheatear
• woodpecker[11]

The Valley of Ghosts is a filming location for some scenes in the film "Hearts of Three" (Russian: Сердца трех, Ukrainian: Серця трьох). This film was based on the novel Hearts of Three. In one scene, company Solano spent the night in the old ruins of the Funa Fortress at Southern Demirci when they were running away from the police. The heroes came across the Indian Maya Rudolph there. Chia's eyes flashed in the middle of the Valley of Ghosts. In the film, it was called "The valley of lost souls".[18]

The Soviet film Kidnapping, Caucasian Style (Russian: Кавказская пленница) used areas in the Caucasus and in Crimea. The song of N. Varley was performed on one of the rocks belonging to the Valley of Ghosts, which is about two meters tall. Also, here grew "The Nikulin nut", with whom the actor fell during the filming. The tree branch cracked somewhere other than where the initial incision was made, and the actor broke his arm. Therefore, the shooting had to be put off until a later time.[19] The primary filming locations are the city center of Alushta, and The Valley of Ghosts. Additionally, in Kidnapping, Caucasian Style, there are scenes shot in Simferopol (a mental hospital), on the top of Ai-Petri and the Caucasus, and in the Adler Microdistrict of Sochi on the Mzymta River.[20]

This legend portrays the story of how Crimean conquerors - nomads - came to the land.[21] The residents named the mountain "Funa" because post-fire steam and lights regularly came out from the top of the mountain. The blacksmith who delegated as the nomad by conquerors set up a huge forge on the mountain which became a workplace to create weapons and start using it to enslave the locals. Strongest men in the village were all taken into the forge.

When people from the village worked to exhaustion and even some died, they went to the blacksmith to ask him to leave the mountain. The blacksmith responded by killing them all by fire. A girl called Maria decided to go to the blacksmith alone again. She quietly snuck into the smithy one night and asked the Blacksmith to leave the mountain. The blacksmith refused and commanded Maria to stay with him. In response, Maria pushed him strongly straight to the furnace. The blacksmith grabbed a dagger and killed the girl. The mountain itself could not tolerate this anymore, so it swallowed blacksmith together with his men (the nomads) and carried people from the valley to their original homes by wind.

When the flames were extinguished and the dust settled, an extraordinary scene was there. Towering stone statues of unknown monsters - they were ugly similarities of a blacksmith and his henchmen - were on the mountain. On the highest point of the mountain, there was a rock, looked like the girl Maria - the latest victim of a brutal blacksmith.

From that time Funa was extinguished, no fire is ever seen over the top. People who knew the story gave the mountain a new name - Demirci, which means "smith".[22]

The Valley of Ghosts

Many years ago, an unknown man who knew the devil and named blacksmith settled on the top of Demirci yayla. Once, the mountain shook and houses within the villages were then destroyed. Villagers gathered together to discuss because the mountain was at peace before the strange man came. They decided to send the most courageous and intelligent ones up the mountain, requesting the stranger to leave, but he refused.

After a while, a beautiful Greek woman came to the mountain and sat down to rest near a spring. In the village, where she was from, the fountains stopped murmuring, and people lost their water. People then realized who was the cult of the disaster and went to demand the return of beauty.

The news was spread that the stranger was the great sinner. People believed that the mountain trembled because it does not want to carry him anymore. Terrified inhabitants of the valley gathered in the ancient temple and begged God to save them from the evil alien but nothings happened for long days. When the holidays horban-Adha come, believers prayed for three days and nights. The flame was raised on Demirci yayla, buzzes and groanings were all around, great stones fell down from the mountain. As everything came to peace, people did not see the terrible alien anymore.

But strangely, they found stone figures of animals, form of people and unseen monsters on the mountainside facing the Babugan yayla. Later, people learned that this was done to make sure that people should never forget the terrible sinner who was responsible of that tragedy.[23]