Gobi Syndrome. Mysterioius Land of Mongolia.

Those, who have ever visited Gobim return there again and again. And if it is impossiuble physiucally, then thoughts of a globetrotter involuntarily get lost in wind-blown polished rocks and then sink in red sand of its barchans over and over. Scientists call it the Gobi Syndrome among themselves – desire to get back to the desert.Photo toursmongolia.com

Those who were lucky to step on those lands, call themselves charmed. They tell about extraordinarily bright night sky with incredible number of stars that seem to be in a stone’s throw, about shadows tha remind prehistoric animals cast on sand and gnarled rocks, about red sunsets that paint not just land but also thick air of the desert in piercing red colors. Travellers admire its oases full of life and water, are amazed with stamina of animals who have chosen such an unusual habitat and prove words of nomads about singing sands. To some it seems like a dog's bark, others hear a flute, and to some it comes as the sound of a pipe organ. Connoisseurs of the Gobi Desert insist that this way the dead try to confide something in those who wander in the sands. Scientists on the other hand believe that strange sound hallucinations that happen to voyagers in Gobi is nothing else but movement of the sand under the influence of the wind. Visual hoaxes aren’t rare there either. Travelers often see mirages with ghost towns and vegetation. Also, people frequently lose their usual perception of space. While a nearest village seems merely in a couple-of-hours walk and it appears one can even see a donkey browsing by somebody’s house, it may turn out that the village is in fact twenty, sometimes even thirty kilometers away.Photo travelask.ru

The Gobi Desert emerged in the place of the ancient Tethys Ocean 65 million years ago.Today its highest tops reach 3000 meters above sea level. Territory of Gobi falls within the land of Mongolia and China. It occiupies total space of slightly less than fifteen hundred thousand square kilometers. It is always windy there. Sun sets early and nights are so called it feels as if bones freeze. In hot days air gets warmed up to 50 degrees. These aren’t most enviable living conditions however even here many birds and animals have found their home. Saigas, sheep, onagers and goitered gazelles walk there among stone rocks. One can come across wild camels and bears in Gobi. People have settled there, too, back in the days of Genghis Khan. Nomads live in yurts, make fire and tend sheep. Even today certain part of the desert remain a complete mystery. The border between civilization and the rest of the world goes along the Nemeghetti Hollow. Only rare groups of scientists and most daring travelers go beyond it. One of the brightest discoveries on the territory of the desert can be attributed to them. In the Bayanak Canyon scientists dug out world’s largest cemetery of phytophagous dinosaurs and their eggs. The bones were perfectly preserved that allowed assembly of more than one exhibit item for numerous museum. Scientists still ponder reasons for such a mass burial. It is known that lots of iridium was found in those bones, in larger concentrations than it comes in soil. This, according to suggestions of certain experts, invites an assumption of a space disaster.Photo votpusk.ru

Another unsolved mystery of the Gobi Desert is olgoi-khorkhoi. It is a wonder worm that, according to locals, dwells in regions of the desert, unpopulated by people. It is brownish, a meter long. It lives underground and only crawls to surface when sun hots the air to the maximum. Mongols experience mystic dread when it comes to these ceature becuase legends have it that the worm kills from a distance of several meters by spitting venom on its opponent.

Another unsolved secret of Gobiis a skull with horns. Recently on the border of China and Mongolia human remains were found, at it might seem a trifle but there were horns on their skulls. After some analysis scientists suggested that those people were either born with horns or horns were artificially implanted into heads using some sort of magic. Wondorous discoveries were taken to reserve stocks of a museum, but final conclusions were never made public in order not to destroy common ideas of where we came from.

Other explorers of the Gobi Desert discovered fossilated remains of a giant not far from Uulakh town. Those were bones of a humanoid 15 meters high. Studies of the skeleton's composition proved the fact that the creature had brains and could talk.Photo travelask.ru

Mysteries veil stories of nomads about an underground kingdom that is allegedly located beneath the surface of present-day desert. Various sources tell about numerous inhabited tunnels dug under rocks and sands of Gobi. Almost everywhere it is called Agartha. Tales have it that it is a cave complex designed to accommodatemillions of people and that it is there, beneath a thick layer of soil, where all knowledge of the world about humankind is preserved. When talking about origins of this mysterious underworld, old men tell that there were people who were running from anger of Genghis Khan, left to the desert and dug tunnels in the ground to live far from the eyes of blood-thirsty khan. Entrance to Agartha is allegedly located nearby Nogan-Kul Lake. While living under surface, the people reached enlightenment. The word is that the capital of the subterranean kingdom resembles the palace of Lama. It rises on a mountain, densely covered in monasteries and dwellings of gurus. Underground people has many faces, consists of many tribes. There is special lightingin caves that allows growing seeds and vegetables there. Citizens of the mysterious kingdom move along narrow ravines in mountains in chariots. Advocates of the underground kingdom tell that Agartha was actually visited by many people but they all gave vow of silence. Proofs of existence of a state under surface of present-day Gobi can be discovered in ancient Buddhist, Indian and Eropean sources. After all, facts testify in favor of a state on the territory of Gobi. Mongolian scientist and archeologist Avirmeda, who works for Geography Instituteof the Academy of Science of Mongolia, proved existence of sophisticated cave complexes in the desert. Under his supervision over a dozen expeditions were undertaken to hard-to-access regions of Gobi, over a hundred caves were explored. In some of them scientists found fossilated rolls with writings along with petroglyphic drawings. In a number of caves floors decorated with clay tiles, small pyramids and tools of trade were discovered. Exploration of caves goes rather slowly due to the fact that majority of them is situated in significant distance from civilization.Photo travelask.ru

Those who love romance often come to the Gobi Desert. Some are looking for answers to its numerous questions, other seek inspiration and new experience. Year after year its sands are trenched with larger and larger number of boots and wheels of jeeps. Pessimists grumble that this spot, untouched by people, will once be turned into a heavily-visited tourist object with lots of 5-star hotels and paved roads. Optimists on the other hand believe this won't happen any time soon so they keep looking for a way to the legendary Agarta on their own, suffring from Gobi Syndrome more and more.

Cover photo qantas.com