UFO ROUNDUP Volume 8 Number 25
Volume 8
Number 25
July 9, 2003
Editor: Joseph Trainor
E-mail: Masinaigan@aol.com
CHINESE BIGFOOT SPOTTED BY SIX NEAR SONGBAI
"An 'ape-like' beast nearly 1.65 meters (5 feet, 5 inches) tall has been sighted in the forests of central China, a media report on Monday," June 30, 2002, stated.
"The greyish 'mythical ape-like animal,' suspected by locals to be a 'Bigfoot,' was reported to have shoulder- length black hair, it said."
"'Bigfoot' is more commonly known as the Yeti, a mythical beast partly human and part animal, and has remained an unsolved mystery of the Himalayas. The name Yeti is derived from the rock-living animal (Yah means rock, and thi means animal in Sherpa) and is popularly known as the Abominable Snowman in the West."
(Editor's Note: Other researchers believe that the name is a corruption of the Sherpa phrase meteh kangmi, meaning snow creature.)
"Chinese wildlife officials have launched an investigation after apparent sightings of the mysterious animal by six people, including a reporter for the local (radio) broadcasting station, in Shennongjia Nature Preserve in Hubei province on Sunday," June 29, 2003, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
"Shang Zhengmin, the reporter, and five others were on their way back to Songbai from Muyu when they sighted the ceature."
"When their vehicle tried a left turn along the mountain road, four of them saw an ape-like animal moving rapidly on the road. But as the vehicle finished the turn, the animal had disappeared."
"The passengers found 30-centimeter (12-inch) long footprints and nearby broken branches in the jungle where the animal was reportedly seen. They claim to have found a three-meter (10-foot) long ditch of foul-smelling urine- like liquid."
"Hundreds of local people have reported 'Bigfoot' sightings over the past decades in the Shennongjia region."
"China had organized several high-profile searches for the unidentified animal during the 1980s and 1990s, but no hard evidence has been found." (See the Victoria, B.C. Times-Colonist for June 30, 2003, "'Bigfoot' sighted in central China." Many thanks to Michael Strainic for this newspaper story.)
(Editor's Comment: Welcome to Creatures and Crop Circles Week here at UFO Roundup. The solstice saw a very sharp upsurge in paranormal activity last week. And now, on to the next creature...)
GIANT SEA MONSTER WASHES ASHORE IN SOUTHERN CHILE
"Chilean scientists were baffled on Tuesday," July 1, 2003, by a huge, gelatinous sea creature found washed up on the southern Pacific coast" of Chile "and were seeking international help in identifying the mystery specimen."
"The dead creature was mistaken for a beached whale when first reported about a week ago, but experts who went to see it said the 40-foot (12-meter) long mass of decomposing lumpy grey flesh apparently was an invertebrate."
"'We'd never before seen such a strange specimen. We don't know if it might be a giant squid that is missing some of its parts, or maybe it's a new species,' said Dr. Elsa Cabrera, a marine biologist and director of the Center for Cetacean Conservation in Santiago de Chile."
"Photographs showed a round, leathery substance like a mammoth jellyfish, about as long as a school bus."
"Giant squid live at a depth of 9,500 feet (3,000 meters) and only rise to the surface when they die. Specimens have been known to be as long as 60 feet (18 meters.)"
"There was speculation that the mass might be a whale skin, but Dr. Cabrera said it was too big and did not have the right texture or smell."
"Dr. Cabrera said she was contacting Chilean and international organizations in the hope that they could help shed some light on the find."
"The Chilean Navy first spotted the mystery specimen along with another large mass, but the other dead animal turned out to be a dead humpback whale." (See the Indianapolis Star for July 1, 2003, "Giant sea creature baffles Chilean scientists." Many thanks to Steve Wilson Sr. for forwarding this newspaper article.)
SUDDEN OUTBREAK OF CROP CIRCLES WORLDWIDE
There was a sudden outbreak of crop circles all around the world during the second half of June 2003.
In Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (population 26,186), located 175 miles (280 kilometers) north of New York City, on Wednesday, June 11, 2003, a witness named Joe "was awakened around 2 a.m. by 'a humming sound' relatively short in duration but having a definite 'harmonic' quality about it. He explained that there were three different 'tones' to the hum."
A few hours later, "Joe went out to take the dog for a walk. On the way, the dog refused to go into the field. Joe then noticed that the waist-high grass was laid down in five different areas. The areas that were laid down were in a perfect east-to-west alignment. Starting on the west edge of the field, the first four 'swirls' were relatively small, a good meter or two in length. The fifth formation (the easternmost--R.C.) was the largest, approximately 100 feet in length and 80 feet wide. (30 meters long and 24 meters wide--J.T.)"
In UK, "a mysterious crop circle has appeared close to one of prehistoric Britain's most important Neolithic sites," near Ripon in Yorkshire.
"The intricately drawn formation, like a chrysanthemum bloom, has appeared in the shadow of three banked and ditched circular enclosures, or henges, at Thornborough, near Masham, which date back 6,000 years. They are part of a concentration of (mysterious prehistoric) monuments stretching southwest roughly parallel with the River Ure."
In Switzerland, a crop circle appeared on Friday, June 20, 2003, just outside the village of Busswil, near Bern. The site was photographed and investigated by Swiss cerealogists Theresa and Bernhard Kuenzler.
In Belgium, according to journalist Jan Bex and cerealogist Robert Boerman, "people living in their neighborhood" along the Borgwormsesteenweg between the towns of Brustem and Mielen-Boven-Aalst "heard a disturbing humming sound that they couldn't place" on Tuesday, June 24, 2003. Bex reported, "I can personally confirm that the night before the crop circle was noticed there were heavy meteorological disturbances: thunder and lightning and a storm. The crop circle is located on the road from Brustem to Mielen-Boven-Aalst."
In Canada, Paul Anderson of Canadian Crop Circle Research Network reported, "Two more 'randomly downed area' formations were found at Georgetown (population 17,600) and Schomberg in Ontario (province)," located about 15 miles (25 kilometers) west of Toronto, "near the locations of the 'pictogram' formation at Georgetown and the 'snow circle' at East Caledon in 2002."
"The formation in Georgetown is in oil-seed rape" and "includes a long pathway approximately 0.9 meters (3 feet) wide by 30 meters (100 feet) long."
"The formation at Schomberg in barley covers an area approximately 90 meters (300 feet) by 45 meters (150 feet) overall, with various roughly-shaped 'squares,' 'rectangles,' 'grapeshot patches' and others with abrupt ends of overlapping and directional lays of crop."
Finally, the most recent crop circle appeared in a wheat field near Suisun City, California (population 26, 118), located about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco, on Friday night, June 27, 2003.
"The farmer stood alone at the edge of his 80-acre wheat field" in Rockville, Cal., just outside of Suisun City, "on Saturday (June 28, 2003) and in the early morning quiet, he stared across a sea of stalks and saw something strange."
"Larry Balestra walked into the field and waded through the waist-high grass and, with every step, it slowly came into view."
"After about 100 feet (30 meters) he stepped inside a massive circle stamped into his field, the (wheat) stalks pushed down--flat. It measured about 140 feet (42 meters) in diameter."
"'What the heck!?' he said and grabbed his cell phone to call his wife. When she answered, he said, 'You won't believe what I'm looking at.'"
"Then he turned his head."
"Across Balestra's wheat field on Suisun Valley and Rockville Roads, he saw more than a large circle had been created by flattened wheat. The series of various-sized shapes formed a symmetrical distant ring and stretched larger than a football field."
"Balestra has farmed the area since 1986 and has never seen crop circles in his field before and has never heard of any other farmer in the area having this problem before, he said."
"'The harvester can't pick them up,' he said, holding a broken stalk, 'This is weird.'"
"Balestra said he believes someone must've vandalized his crops on Friday night (June 27, 2003). However, farm workers who live in a house by the field told him nothing was heard or seen."
"'I guess some people have too much time on their hands,' he said, shaking his head." (A lot of sources contributed to this one, so here they are. Saratoga Springs, N.Y.--Thanks to Ray Cecot of IRAAP. Thornborough, Yorks. --See Yorkshire Today for June 25, 2003, "Crop circle baffles 'friends' of henges," thanks to Robert Fischer. Busswil, Switzerland--thanks to Theresa and Bernhard Kuenzler. Brustem, Belgium--Thanks to Kris Oosterlinck. Georgetown, Ontario--Thanks to Paul Anderson of CCCRN. Rockville, Cal.--See the Fairfield, Cal. Daily Republic for July 2, 2003, "Mystery in wheat field," thanks to Robert Fischer for the newspaper article.)
"DWARF CITY" FRIGHTENS HUNDREDS IN BOLIVIA
"A miniature city found in a 116-hectare park kept hundreds of persons stunned and overcome" with amazement "Saturday (June 28, 2003) in the Bolivian city of Tarija, 958 kilometers (574 miles) south of La Paz," the national capital.
"The city is an agglomeration of small brick and cement buildings," complete with football stadiums, billboard ads, dirt avenues and even an airport, "which covers several ridges of the Parque Las Barrancas" In Tarija.
"The city is characterized by shingled rooftops, ironwork and gardens on a surface measuring 15 to 25 meters (25 to 40 feet). The mini-city, which appeared in Las Barrancas overnight, has become a magnet for curiosity seekers, tourists and occultists."
"Park watchmen doubt that this city could be the work of mischievous children, since they saw no one prowling about. Secondly, given the great detail of the structures, which must have required days--if not weeks-- of preparation, it went unperceived by everyone, including community authorities."
"It is for this reason that some people ascribe the structures to alleged 'Imps.' The hypothesis is based on some small footprints found on one of the shining 'city's' avenues."
(Editor's Note: Los Diablillos, the Imps from Hell, are part and parcel of the folklore of South America.)
"'Look, look, come here--see these footprints. These are the only two. Now, tell me that they weren't done by an Imp,' said a Tarija policeman interviewed by a local newspaper."
"The news spread like wildfire: dwarves (Imps) had built a city in Parque Las Barrancas, complete with dirt roads, stadiums and houses tucked into hillsides, canyons, slopes and spiny bracken."
"The news was known a few days ago, but hundreds of persons have visited the site since Wednesday (June 25, 2003)."
"Upon reaching this site, what draws the attention the most are the precarious and miniscule structures made with cement, wood, brick and all manner of materials to be found. The dwellings are smaller than a shoebox, made of wood and with brick rooftops and give the appearance of being unfinished. The windows lack glazing and are decorated with small branches from the same site."
"Much is left to the imagination, which gives rise to rumors and speculation by some visitors who see each and every construction as being the work of diminutive beings."
"But there is the other side of the coin: skeptics grit their teeth and offer explanations while walking the paths, jumping over rocks and lifting the mud houses' roofs to look inside."
"'I think humans did this, because someone thought it a good prank,' says Marcos Catacora."
"Viviano Ibarra goes a step further and says that it is all an artifice designed to get the kids to visit Parque Las Barrancas. 'This is a good idea by someone. This looks like a mock-up of what the park could look like. One can't believe that there could be Imps or demons in the Twenty-first Century. This looks planned out.'"
"Children are more inclined to believe. 'I think Imps were involved. In such a remote place, no one could get in, and it's not accessible,' said Deivi Vidal, 12, while staring at a structure that could not be fully identified."
"His friend, Javier Gutierrez, 14, shares the same belief."
"Maria Gutierrez, 23, is convinced that she is stepping on the premises of a dwarf (enchanted) city. 'I do believe in these things because I work in a school and they (the Imps--J.T.) can even get in through a crack in the door. I don't think children did this, since it would be so hard for them to walk over such ugly boulders.'" (See the Bolivian newspapers El Mundo-Prensa Mayor for June 29, 2003, "Miniature dwarf city discovered in Tarija;" and El Nuevo Sur and Bolivia Hoy for June 30, 2003, "Tarija: Dwarf city attracts curiosity seekers." Muchas gracias a Scott Corrales y Gloria Coluchi para esos articulos de diario.)
STRANGE CAT MUTILATIONS REPORTED IN COLORADO AND UTAH
"Bugsy was a tough cat who could stare down a fox and run like a rabbit. But one night the tabby met up with something darker and more menacing than a fox, something he couldn't outrun."
"The next morning, Christy Hughes" of Aurora, Colorado (population 276,393) "found her bruising 12-pound cat on the lawn. 'I can't get the visual (image) out of my mind,' a shaken Hughes recalled, looking at the spot where Bugsy died 12 weeks ago. 'It's sick.'"
"The cat had been dissected with near surgical precision. No one heard or saw anything. Bugsy was Number 23. Authorities in Colorado and Utah are desperately trying to catch the person or people behind the killing and mutilating of 45 cats in the Denver (Colorado) area and 10 in Salt Lake City (Utah)."
"Police have not ruled out that the attacks are part of an adolescent prank or initiation rite or even the work of predatory animals. The most alarming possibility, though, is that they could be a precursor to attacks on humans,"
"Cat corpses are turning up almost every day. Baffled law enforcement and animal welfare groups have formed a 10-agency task force to investigate the crimes and a reward of $12,000 is being offered for the capture and conviction of the killers."
"In Salt Lake City, the attacks have occurred in upscale Avenues neighborhood, and five were on the same street. 'It seems odd that no one has seen anything,' said Detective Kevin James, an investigator with the Salt Lake City Police Department. 'It could be an animal; it could be a person. We are not ruling anything out right now.'"
"The Denver suburb of Aurora, with a population of about 300,000, has been the epicenter of the cat killings with 24 since last July (2002). The city's police chief, Ricky Bennett, told reporters yesterday (July 2, 2003) that the evidence, which he did not detail, shows humans, not animals, were responsible for the many deaths. He also said future killings will be treated as crime scenes and fully investigated."
"'I'm going to be tightlipped in the future,' he said, 'We don't want suspects to know what we know. And we don't want copycat situations. This has become a quality of life issue.'"
"A psychologist is working with the task force to help determine the kind of person likely to commit such a crime."
"Temma Martin, spokesperson for the Salt Lake City Animal Service Department, said the killings seemed too neat to have been done by an animal, but did appear to be ritualistic."
"If captured, police say the perpetrators face misdemeanor charges carrying up to 18 months in prison on each count. A District Attorney could elevate those charges to felonies, they said."
"In Christy Hughes' upscale neighborhood, her
daughters have posted signs warning residents to keep their cats indoors. Police said that despite the killings and warnings, people are still letting their cats out at night."
"Hughes is frustrated by the lack of witnesses. 'Someone has to have seen these people,' she said, 'They aren't ghosts. They are out there, and the next time it may not be a cat." (See the Providence, R.I. Journal for July 3, 2003, "Mysterious cat killings plague Colorado, Utah cities." Many thanks to Mary Lou Jones-Drown for this newspaper article.)
LUMINOUS DISC SIGHTED IN NEW ZEALAND
On Saturday, June 28, 2003, at 4:57 p.m., John Snow "was outside walking to my car" at his home in Otaki, North Island, New Zealand "when my wife came running over to me, very excited, and asked me to look between the trees and house to see what she had seen from the kitchen window."
According to Mrs. Snow, "a bright disc-shaped object, very white" was "hovering above the rooftops of the houses about 500 meters (0.3 miles) away from my home."
"She said that it stayed in that position for about four minutes, not moving at all. She said it was not an aircraft, and there was no other light except for one white-light beam coming from the round white light. By the time she got out to me, and I looked in that direction, there was nothing to be seen. My wife was very shaken up about the sighting."
Otaki is located 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Wellington on the North Island. (Email Form Report)
MYSTERIOUS "LIGHT PULSES" SEEN IN ARGENTINA
"Three unidentified flying objects of great size and brilliance were seen on (Tuesday) June 24 (2003) in the location of Cachi, 157 kilometers (94 miles) southeast of Salta," in northern Argentina "and at an elevation of 2,210 meters (7,293 feet) above sea level."
"The strange bodies were videotaped by Antonio Zuleta, an indefatigable researcher of these mysteries, which are exceptionally recurrent in this part of the (Salta) province, after receiving a warning from a teacher who phoned him to give him the details of the peculiar celestial airshow."
"'The time was 7:30 p.m. when I saw it,' said art instructor Maria del Valle Plaza, who teaches at the Payogasta School and the Victorino de la Plaza School" in Cachi.
"Married and a mother of three, she said that the sighting was 'incredible... fantastic. That's why I immediately got in touch with Sr. Zuleta so that he could videotape them. The UFOs appeared behind the western hills. The first one to emerge was enormous in size.'"
"'It gave off lights of different colors and moved slowly, without making a sound. I was coming back from doing my job, all alone along Route 33 between Payogasta and Cachi, from which I was no more than 3 kilometers (2 miles) distant. I pulled my car over, took out my cell phone and called Zuleta, who came to my observation point and brought his equipment along,' said Sra. del Valle."
"'I never thought I'd witness anything like it, despite having been down here,' she added, 'After receiving higher education, I came back here after many years of absence, and to have the privilege of seeing these fantastic and mysterious lights of which I'd heard so many stories since childhood. After the first UFO appeared, it was followed by another two, which also crossed the skies. They suddenly remained still. The light was intense and shifting, but it didn't hurt my eyes. They are there as if within hands' reach. Motionless, as though they were looking at us from their interior. I was spellbound and amazed. At no time did I feel any fear. I only wanted to strain my eyes to see the core of each object, which suddenly, propelled by a strange and powerful force, moved at breathtaking speed over the (eastern) horizon."
Thirteen hours earlier, at 6:10 a.m., eyewitness V.E. said that "south of Buenos Aires," the national capital, he "had seen a pulse of blue light flashing in front of two very large objects, like aircraft of great size, possibly that of a Boeing 747."
Later in the day, at 6:40 p.m., "what may have been a bolide of a white spherical type crossed the sky over Buenos Aires and was seen by dozens of people. It was last seen heading east towards Uruguay."
At 7:10 p.m., two witnesses in La Boca, the waterfront district of Buenos Aires "saw a very powerful 'pulse of light' that generated sporadically in the skies over (the) barrio Villa de Voto (neighborhood). Ufologist Silvia Simondini said she witnessed the same phenomenon at 7:10 p.m. from a suburb south of the city" of Buenos Aires. (See the Argentinian newspaper El Tribuno for July 2, 2003, "Teacher tells impressive story of the exceptional event." Muchas gracias a Scott Corrales, Gloria Coluchi y Ricardo E. D'Angelo para eso articulo de diario.)
WEIRD WHITE GOOP FALLS ON INDIANAPOLIS SUBURB
"The Indianapolis Airport Authority on Monday (June 30, 2003) tested a white substance found on a Hendricks County (Indiana) ranch house to determine if it fell from an aircraft."
"Darryl Roach found a strip of white drops about 8:30 p.m. Sunday," June 29, 2003, "on the roof and deck of his home in the Huntwick subdivision."
"The neighborhood is west of the Marion/Hendricks county line and south of County Road 100 East" just outside Indianapolis.
"He also complained of a foul odor so bad that he left his home for a hotel room Sunday night."
"Indianapolis International Airport spokesman Dennis Rosebrough couldn't say whether the substance dropped from an airplane. While such incidents occur occasionally, aviation officials say they are rare."
"'It's certainly not anything we hear about very often,' he said."
"Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said materials reported hitting houses are seldom proved to have come from an airplane."
"'Certainly when something appears on your house, they believe it is from an aircraft,' she said."
"Often it comes from a neighboring business or the substance has blown onto the house."
"Rarely, Cory said, the falling material is 'blue ice,' a term used to describe human waste mixed with blue chemicals after it's flushed from an airplane lavatory. The waste would have kept its bluish color after impact, which probably would rule out the material on Roach's house as being waste, she said."
"The FAA will look into Roach's complaint, she said." "Roach called the Washington Township-Avon (Indiana) Fire Department on Monday," June 30, 2003, "after getting little response Sunday from the airport authority. Firefighters and emergency management personnel examined
the drops and suggested Roach not touch the substance."
"'When it scared them, it scared us,' Roach said."
"He's certain that the splatters aren't the work of a flock of birds."
"'Absolutely not,' he said, 'Birds ain't gonna do that.'"
"Paul Cunningham, president of the subdivision's resident association, said an airport runway is about four miles (7 kilometers) from the house. He didn't believe the (white) liquid dropped from an aircraft high in the air will land only on one house in such a small area."
"'I'm doubtful that's from an aircraft,' Cunningham said."
"Regardless of whether the white substance came from a plane, there's a mess on Roach's house. Deck chairs, an umbrella, a window and his roof are stained, and he's worried that the white drops might burn his (lawn) grass."
"'You're not going to scrub that off a roof,' Roach said, 'That roof is stained.'" (See the Indianapolis Star for July 1, 2003, "Mystery substance on house undergoes tests." Many thanks to Steve Wilson Sr. for forwarding this newspaper article.)
SUNK BY A USO?
"The unmanned submarine holding the world's deep-dive record disappeared off the Japanese coast" on Thursday, May 29, 2003 "and has not been heard from since."
"The 10-foot-long (3-meter-long) submarine was conducting earthquake research on May 29 when researchers discovered it had snapped its tether."
"Kaiko, the world's only deep-sea probe capable of reaching the ocean's deepest points, is responsible for several key discoveries, including 180 different microorganisms and a similar number of (previously) unknown bacteria researchers hope will yield medical breakthroughs."
"In 1995, the vessel shattered the deep-sea diving record by penetrating Challenger Deep, the ocean's deepest point at 6.8 miles (10,900 meters). The Japan Marine Science and Technology Center, Kaiko's owner, will decide Thursday whether to continue searching for the submarine." (See USA Today for July 2, 2003, "Deep-sea sub missing off Japan," page 8D.)
(Editor's Comment: Something broke that steel cable. It could have been metal fatigue. Or it could have been a very large unknown sea creature--like the one that washed ashore in Chile. Or maybe an unidentified submarine object--USO.)
From the UFO Files...
1437: MYSTERIOUS CRIMEA
Mysterious prehistoric tunnels are not only found in central Asia and in South America. They are also well- known in the peninsula called the Crimea, on the Black Sea.
Crimean ufologist Anton A. Anfalov writes, "During World War II, a group of local boys traveled through the ancient tunnels connecting Simferopol with other parts of the Crimea."
"These tunnels are very old, with walls like polished glass. Obviously, they were formed by extremely high temperatures when soil turns into a glassy-like substance. They definitely not were constructed by human hands, nor by any technology as we know it. The tunnels most likely were constructed during the time of ancient civilizations, perhaps by Atlantis. Some were possibly made by aliens, or were taken over by aliens much later."
The Crimea itself is a very ancient land. It was inhabited during the Stone Age, "and, at the beginning of the First Millenium B.C., here roamed savage tribes of the Taurians, hence the Crimea's old name Taurida. In the Seventh Century B.C., the Scythians came, and on the site of present-day Simferopol stood their capital, Neapolis (Greek for New City--J.T.)"
In 1946, "while they were working on the town, (Soviet) archaeologists found the remains of a coffin thought to have belonged to a queen. To the west of the main gates there was also a stone mausoleum that had never been robbed and held 1,300 golden objects, plus other treasures."
Strangely enough, the ruins of ancient Neapolis are located in the southeastern quarter of Simferopol, which is the location of one of the ancient tunnels.
The World War II refugees "entered the tunnel at the so-called Vernhya Cave west of Simferopol, on Geroyev Stalingrada Street, near the suburb of Dubki."
"One tunnel from the Vernhya Cave goes to the vicinity of Bakhchisarai," 40 kilometers (25 miles) away, "and then to the northeastern quarter of Sevastopol, to a cave near the town of Inkerman."
(Editor's Note: Inkerman was the site of a battle of the Crimean War: 1854-1856.)
"The other underground branch (tunnel) separates from this and goes south, ending somewhere near the southern coast of the Crimea, near the town of Alushta, most likely in one of the caves near the Chatyr Dag (Tatar for Tent Mountain--J.T.), near the famous Ayanskaya Cave."
The tunnel under Bakhchisarai played an important part in the saga of "Crimea's Joan of Arc," the Tatar Princess Dzhanike-Hanym. She was the beautiful daughter of Taktamish Khan, the peninsula's ruler. The Crimea had been invaded by Tamerlane and the Golden Horde in 1392, and Taktamish Khan, eager to secure a treaty, offered his daughter in marriage to one of Tamerlane's junior officers.
What the khan didn't know was that Dzhanike-Hanym was routinely sneaking out of the seraglio, shedding her veil and harem pants in favor of a Kazakh mercenary's leather and armor, mounting a fast horse and riding off to the cave for periodic trysts with her Mongol lover. Much to the distress of Bakhchisarai's imam (Peace be upon him-- J.T.), who found her behavior quite out of step with al- Quran.
The affair became public knowledge, although Taktamish Khan was probably the last to find out. He locked up Dzhanike-Hanym in the old fortress of Chufut- Kaleh. The Mongol prince gallantly rode to her rescue. "When the happy prince returned to join Dzhanike-Hanym, the (Tatar) officer in charge refused her request to hand over command of the fortress to her lover, and the garrison was divided in its loyalty. Fighting broke out and the prince was wounded." Siezing a yataghan (Turkish sword--J.T.), Dzhanike-Hanym "rushed to his aid; they were both stabbed there in the confusion and died there together in each other's arms. The fighting ceased immediately."
The large Moorish mausoleum in Chufut-Kaleh was built by Taktamish Khan as a memorial to his slain daughter.
The tunnels under Simferopol played a role of their own in Crimean history, as well. In 1768, Tsaritza Catherine II declared war on the Turks' Ottoman Empire, and, in 1771, the Russian Army fought its way into the Crimea and captured Ak-Mechet (Turkish for White Mosque-- J.T.), now the "Old City" of Simferopol.
According to Anton A. Anfalov, "Tatar partisans (guerrillas) fighting the Russians in the 1780s used the ancient tunnels, to appear and disappear from the Tsaritza's army."
Curiously, the Russian general who defeated the last Tatar ruler, Ghiri Khan, in 1783 was none other than Prince Felix Dolgorukii, the maternal great-grandfather of Elena Petrovna von Hahn Blavatsky (better known as Madame Blavatsky--J.T.) The prince was the owner of a vast occult library, including manuscripts he picked up in the Crimea, which, unfortunately, is now lost to history.
But, as Anton points out, the tunnels of the Crimea have their secrets, and "some of them are exceedingly strange." (See Crimea Underground by Anton A. Anfalov, Simferopol, Krym Autonomous Region, Ukraine, 2003. Also The Complete Guide to the Soviet Union by Victor and Jennifer Louis, St. Martin's Press, New York, N.Y., 1991, pages 50 to 53 and 474 to 479.)
Well, that's it for this week. Join us in seven days for more UFO, Fortean and paranormal news from around the planet Earth, brought to you by "the paper that goes home- -UFO Roundup." See you next time.
