Unique places in Russia that you have hardly heard of: Egikal

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Today we will go to the Caucasus to get acquainted with the culture and architecture of the Ingush people. Hardly any of you have heard that there is a medieval tower city among the Caucasus Mountains. Therefore, we invite you on an excursion to Egikal.

Country of towers

In the center of the Caucasian ridge, where peaks, like daggers, sparkle with glaciers, and the slopes are covered with emerald meadows, in the valley of the turbulent Assa River a long time ago lived a man named Ga. He was wise and lived a decent life. He had three sons: Egi, Hamkhi and Tergim. Dying, Ga called his sons to him and bequeathed to them:

You, Egi, settle in the aul where I lived. You, Hamkhi, build your aul. Do the same for you, Tergim.

Thus, three new villages appeared in the Assin Gorge, named after the founders: Egi-keal (now Egikal; keal - "the roof of the house"), Hamkhi and Targim.

Local residents called themselves Galgai, which means “tower builders”. In the auls there were no huts and dugouts that were understandable to the inhabitants of the plains: it was too impractical. Highlanders built high stone towers.

With the beginning of the Mongol invasion, the route of the Great Silk Road "migrated" from the plains to the mountains for security reasons. Egikal, Khamkhi and Targim stood exactly on the path of his following. Local residents actively traded with caravans, and also collected tribute from merchants. The auls grew and got rich.

Gradually, the families living in these places became so influential that they extended the self-name "Galgai" to the neighboring tribes. In this regard, it is believed that the settlement of the Ingush people along the Assinsky gorge began from Egikal.

Later, the Galgai built a large village Ongusht (Angusht, Ingusht) at the exit from the gorge. Russian Cossacks called the people who lived there Ingush, and the place - Ingushetia.

But mountainous Ingushetia, as centuries ago, was a "land of towers", and remains it to this day.

What to see in Egikale?

Historical and archaeological research has established that life in the Assinsky Gorge was in full swing already in the XII century. But the heyday of Egikala, when the aul became a truly significant political, economic and cultural center of mountainous Ingushetia, fell on the late Middle Ages.

At that time, this tower complex on the southern slope of Mount Tsei-Loam consisted of six combat, five semi-combat and 50 residential tower structures with various extensions. The perimeter of the aul was surrounded by a double ring of defensive walls.

The inhabitants were engaged in various crafts: pottery, weapons, and others. In addition, Egikal was famous for its connoisseurs of mountain law and folk medicine. But the main thing is that skilled builders lived there.

The towers were built without cement or clay

Mountainous Ingushetia - the land of towers

The site for the construction of the tower was chosen very carefully.

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Before erecting the tower, the site was carefully prepared. To do this, milk was poured on the selected site: if it did not seep into the ground, construction began; if it leaked, they dug to the rocky base. Why such difficulties? The fact is that the galgai did not fill the foundation, and a reliable foundation is needed for construction.

When choosing a site for the future tower, the soil characteristics and distance from rivers and streams were also taken into account. The highlanders understood that water is life, the closer to it, the safer, and that a fertile piece of land in the mountains is worth its weight in gold. Such lands were protected and never occupied for construction.

The most affordable building material in the mountains is stone. Therefore, all structures in Egikale and the surrounding villages were erected according to the so-called cyclopean technology.

Cyclopean masonry is the construction of walls from large boulders without the use of any binder mortar.

By architecture and purpose, the towers were divided into three types: combat, semi-combat and residential.

Initially, the auls consisted only of residential towers. They were called galas.

Gala is a two- or three-storey rectangular tower with a flat roof and a stone pillar in the center, on which the storey floors were attached.

Each gala belonged to a certain clan (therefore, the towers are now named after the families that lived in them). On the ground floor, as a rule, livestock (sheep, goats) were kept, and on the upper floors several related families lived. Near the residential tower, a semi-underground or overground crypt was necessarily built. Thus, the gala is a kind of family estate, where generations of the same clan succeeded each other.

Life in the tower was very simple. Things were stored in niches of thick stone walls, heated in black, and cooked on an open hearth. At the same time, the hearth and the chain on which the boiler was suspended were considered sacred - all important decisions were made at the hearth, and the chain was a family heirloom.

Several dozen residential towers have survived in Egikala

This is what the galas look like

The height of the residential tower is about 10 meters

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The residential tower had to be built in one year, otherwise the clan was considered weak and lost respect. The builders had indisputable authority. Even if they cheated and the tower built to last for centuries began to collapse, it was believed that the owners were to blame. They were greedy, paid little workers - hence the marriage.

Gradually, relations in the ancient Ingush society changed: civil strife appeared. This, in turn, led to the emergence and spread of a new type of towers - semi-combat. They were also called galas and looked like ordinary residential towers, but were better suited for combat and defense. So, they had niches for archery and "balconies" to throw stones on enemies or pour boiling water.

But the military towers are rightly considered the pinnacle of the Galgai architectural art.

Vouve is a high (no less than 20 meters) square military tower, which, as a rule, had five floors and a pyramidal roof.

There was only one entrance / exit to the vow, leading directly to the second or third floor (prisoners were kept on the first). We climbed there by a ladder, which played the same role as a bridge over a moat in medieval castles: it could be lifted up at any moment.

The width of the last floor of a combat tower is, as a rule, half the width of the first. It was no coincidence that the wows narrowed upwards: during a siege, when the enemy conquered one of the floors, the defenders rose higher and barricaded themselves there. The narrower the walls were, the more difficult it is for enemies to attack.

Thanks to this, with a sufficient supply of water and food, the towers could withstand long sieges.

Battle tower - wow

"Balconies" did not have a floor to throw stones on enemies

Battle towers were located at strategically important points

Photo:,, In addition, the wows played an important strategic role. They were placed along the perimeter of the aul, at intersections of roads, at the entrances to the gorge, etc. The towers were built at the highest points of the valley. Firstly, it made the task more difficult for the enemies, and secondly, it made it easier to transmit signals about the approaching danger from aul to aul.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the wows were practically inaccessible. Even if the enemy managed to capture one tower, its defenders moved to another on the suspended bridges and took up defenses there. But in the 18th century, with the proliferation of firearms, the wows lost their invulnerability - their construction stopped.

Egikal is a large tower complex that has survived to this day. There you will see residential and semi-combat galas, and combat howls. One of the battle towers, 27 meters high, has survived to this day in almost perfect condition. She, like an ancient warrior, still guards her native land. In total, about a hundred different buildings have been preserved in the village, creating a unique atmosphere. Medieval towers seem to bring you back hundreds of years: here people lived according to the laws of the mountains, they paid for offenses in blood, and they gave the best to the guest in the house.

What to do in Egikale?

Egikal today is a unique open-air museum. It is part of the Dzheyrakh-Assinsky State Historical, Architectural and Natural Reserve. Therefore, the main purpose of the trip to Egikal is to see the ancient towers.

Summer is considered the best time for this. Galas and vows are so organically inscribed in the landscape that you can wander around the aul for hours, admire the towers, mountain landscapes and take pictures of them.

Egikal - a large tower complex in the mountains of Ingushetia

Street construction can still be traced in Egikala

Inspection of the towers will take more than one hour

Photos:, 2-3 - photos

In addition, a tour of Egikal can be combined with a visit to a sports or cultural festival that is held there annually.

So, since 2012, the international tournament in mixed martial arts "Battle in the mountains" has been held in the Dzheyrakh region of the Republic of Ingushetia. Fights are held in the open-air rings, and the majestic mountains and medieval towers create a unique atmosphere.

The first tournament took place directly in Egikale, but the second "Battle" was moved to the more spacious neighboring village of Targim: the event gathered too many spectators and participants. The tournament is usually held in early summer.

The competition attracts a lot of spectators

In between battles - folk dances

Mixed martial arts tournament M-1 Challenge, 2014

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Many famous Ingush surnames came from Egikal. In particular, it is the ancestral village of the famous Soviet writer Idris Murtuzovich Bazorkin. His novel "From the Darkness of Ages" is considered an encyclopedia of the life of the Ingush people.

Idris Bazorkin died in 1993 and was buried in the ancestral crypt in Egikale. In this regard, every year on June 15 (on the writer's birthday) commemorative events dedicated to his life and work are held in the village.

In a word, for people interested in the Middle Ages, the culture of the Caucasian peoples, as well as simply loving mountains, Egikal will present more than one hour of exciting adventures.

How to get to Egikala?

Egikal is located in the Dzheyrakhsky region of Ingushetia and is administratively part of the Gulinsky rural settlement. You can get to this mountain tower complex only by car. There are two routes.

Route number 1

The starting point is Vladikavkaz. First you need to get to the regional center Dzheyrakh - route E117, Georgian Military Tract. There is a regular bus from Vladikavkaz to Dzheirakh, but then you still have to change to a private car (for example, hire someone from local residents).

Further, the road follows the republican highway (P109) through the settlements of Lyazhgi, Olgeti and Guli.

This route is considered the most convenient and safest.

Route number 2

The starting point is Nazran. From there you need to get to the village of Galashki, an asphalt road is laid between them. But after the village of Muzhichi, which is 9 kilometers from the village of Galashki, a dirt road begins. Some sections of this route are only accessible by off-road vehicles.

The photo

Why is it worth seeing Egikal?

Ingush towers are an example of human genius. It is hard to believe that these monumental structures were erected without any construction equipment and devices. The highlanders manually worked the boulders and built towers of many meters.

Walking along the streets of this ancient Ingush village, you involuntarily wonder how hard life was for these people. The nature in the mountains is not kind, there are solid stones around, in order to grow bread and raise livestock, you had to work day and night. But they didn't go anywhere until they were kicked out …

Ancient Egikal

One of the wooves is perfectly preserved in Egikala

The construction of the towers dates back to the late Middle Ages.

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Egikal was inhabited until the middle of the 20th century. In 1944, by order of Beria, the Ingush were forcibly deported from their native villages. After Stalin's death, people began to return to their homeland, but they were no longer allowed to settle in the mountains, only in lowland villages.

Given this, it is striking that, decades later, one person did return to Egikal. In spite of everything, he lives in his ancestral tower and even started an apiary. In addition, many Ingush families regularly come to visit their galas. Respect for history and ancestors is one of the features of the Ingush people.

Recently, Egikal and other tower complexes have received a lot of attention: they are an excellent recreational resource. It is likely that soon hotels and restaurants will appear near these ancient mountain castles, and convenient tourist routes will be laid. But until that happened, Egical must see! You will be amazed by its greatness, inviolability and tranquility.