"The Ship of the Desert" in the Snow Mirage
February 06, 2018 | 20:14 |1487
Be it a black-and-white photo, it would not have collected thousands of views. But the frame is colored and it shows that the place of barkhans, habitual for a camel, took snowdrifts. The picture itself is also clearly not in the desert, but somewhere in the middle band. It was published by National Geographic Russia Club. A photo of Fedor Lashkov is accompanied by a beautiful signature: "The Snow Mirage." The author made it on the shore of Lake Manych-Gudilo in the Stavropol Region. "With such a coat, frosts are not scary," the photographer writes. Indeed, it's true. It turns out, the camels wouldn't freeze not only between the Black and Caspian seas, where they took a picture for the world-famous magazine, but also further to the north. In the Ivanovo region, the "ship of the desert" left a whole trail of photos in social networks. At first it seemed as if it had appeared from nowhere in autumn on the highway near the city of Privolzhsk, having amused a lot of drivers. Suddenly it disappeared. Is it not a mirage? They saw and see a camel so far, but probably already different, in another city in the same region - Vichuga. Here the pack animal was left for wintering (and this is unfortunate, considering that these days the region is experiencing a "snowfall of the century") right on the street by the circus named the Silk Road. By the way, about the Silk Road. The ancient trade route, of course, did not go so far north. But on its route there is another Russian city, the symbol of which, surprisingly to many, was the camel. Of course, I speak about Chelyabinsk, in the streets of which today you can meet a living "ship of the desert." Snow, too, does not bother it at all, as seen in the photo taken by Alisa Plaksina, a journalist from the local school newspaper Peremenki.Leonid KIYASHKO, Ivanovo, Russian Federation
It does not cause surprise to the Chelyabinsk folk themselves because the image of the camel flaunts on the coat of arms of Chelyabinsk: on the silver shield, as the symbol of purity of thoughts, protection and prudence, one can see part of the fortress wall and a left-loaded camel-a sign that the city is rich in goods and its development depends on success in trade.
The "Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire" for 1830 gives the following explanation regarding the camel with luggage: "A loaded camel is a sign that they are bringing enough to this city with the goods." Such a coat of arms was offered by the famous statesman and traveler Vasily Tatishchev, who also managed the factories of the Urals.
Although the city originally had two options for the symbol: with a dog and a camel. The second option was more pleasing to the Senate, as it reflected the essence of the construction of fortresses on the south-eastern border of the country: the development of trade ties with the peoples of Asia.
Since ancient times trade routes of Central Asia and other regions of Asia have passed through this place, and the camel was the main vehicle at that time. In the Urals, by the way, Kazakhs often bred camels in the middle of the last century. And the very name of Chelyabinsk, perhaps, has Turkic roots. So, the word "chelyabi" or "selyabi" can be translated as "noble". Which is not far from the truth, if you recall the title of the times of the Tatar-Mongols - chelebi or the chelubey. In the Islamic world, they called them "handsome, beautiful, sun-like" gentleman.
... Another guest from the sunny edge in the middle band is chomga. In the Caspian Sea, this bird is called the "May flower" (Mayguli), but in the Ivanovo region, as well as in the Nizhny Novgorod region, these "flowers" are increasingly often staying for wintering not far from the Volga in reservoirs that do not freeze even in severe frost due to drains of urban heat and power plants. Chemga is considered the best diver from all birds of Central Russia. Under the water, it hunts for fish and frogs, collects snails, and hides from danger.
By the summer, beautiful feathers appear on its head, being the reason why its Turkmen name is the May flower. The bird is beautiful in its wedding dress: beams of ocher-red feathers appear above the eyes, which form characteristic "horns", between which a black crest is formed, and around the base of the head there is a black collar. This crest is similar to petals. The courtship of the birds is also beautiful: the gallant "grooms", taking care of the female grebes, present them with bunches of algae in their beaks.
