My own efforts are a tiny contribution but, as we progress on our team ultra relay 👏👏👏, I like to seek out pictures of the places we run through (or nearby) and get a sense of where we are. I haven’t found much to post since we were back in Kolyma (tbh haven’t had time to research). Now we are in the Caucasus, I’ve some new finds to share with anyone interested.
Link 1: A travelogue of Ingushetia (which we’ve just entered) and North Ossetia, so the last areas of Russia that we’ll be in. The focus is on ethnic tensions and their history, so sad but important. We will go right through Beslan, which features.
Btw The photo across Magas towards the mountains gives a good idea of tomorrow’s vista as we run ... and a sense of what lies ahead! 😳😬🏔⛰ Once in the mountains, we’ll be fairly close to the Dargavs necropolis too (about 44km away, if I’m right).
Link 2: To balance out - and show that there’s more to the area than conflict - here is a recipe for Ossetian nettle and feta pies (with several seasonal variations) from Olia Hercules’ cookbook Kaukasis. I think I might have a go. As a child, Hercules used to visit the region for family holidays, so much is about cultural memories:
Brilliant - thanks for this ! Oooh, recipes !! Georgian food is one of my absolute favourites - so much variety ! Ossetian pie, yum !!
Continuing the cultural theme, I just posted under John’s update - I’ll repost here.
I’m lagging so far behind in my intention to provide a literary accompaniment !! Now we are in the Caucasus, I had intended to write about Lermontov and his book ‘Hero of our Time’ - but the main character Pechorin is such an obnoxious narcissist I couldn’t bring myself to bother 😜 "Passions are merely ideas in their initial stage." is one of his quotes which Wikipedia decided to highlight - not sure if running can be described as an ‘idea’...... maybe it does help us see ourselves in a particular way...... Anyway - it’s worth a read as an example of Russian literature of the time - the ‘superfluous man’ concept is one worth study today also !
So instead let me share with you a video of Chechen children’s dance ensemble ‘Daimohk’ performing at Sadlers Wells in 2009 - this dance is a Dagestani dance and is performed entirely by girls (which is unusual - normally the boys take the spotlight in Caucasian dances ! The girls tend to just glide along in supernatural splendour). vimeo.com/9492609/description
Haha! I can’t keep up. I’m *still* reading Shalamov - and so glad for the recommendation. I read the Lermontov a few years ago, so know exactly what you mean. It’s definitely worth reading, though, and conveys well the whole exoticising fantasy of the Caucasus and the overlay with gender relations. I read it around the same time as Tolstoy’s war reports from the area.
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Things I have learned part 1!
Topsy-Turvy COGH-y7.5k run
