Ingushetia: Wild Beauty, People, Towers, Skiing and Moto biking (Part 1)

We planned to ski in Karpaty (Ukraine) and see the New 1213 Year with our friends. Weather forecast (+10 C and rains) made us change our pleasant plans. So, we went to explore Ingushetia and stay in

Armhi, spa resort hotel, high in the mountains

View from hotel

We had never been there before and Ingushetia became a real discovery,

a wild lovely perl with divine air, gorgeous nature,

unexpected ancient architecture

and friendly people. 

Adam Curov, representative of a very ancient Ingush family, rescuer

I was so charmed by Ingushetia and its people, monuments and culture, that I did an extended research. The results will make several articles (posts). I hope you will also enjoy them.

The Republic of Ingushetia (Russian: Респу́блика Ингуше́тия, Respublika Ingushetiya; Ingush: ГӀалгӀай Мохк Ğalğaj Moxk) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic), located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. In terms of area, the republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except for the two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg. It was established on June 4, 1992 after the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was split in two.The republic is home to the indigenous Ingush, a people of Vainakh ancestry. Population: 412,529 (2010 Census).

The name "Ingushetia" is derived from an ancient village of Ongusht (renamed in 1859 to Tarskaya and in 1944 transferred to North Ossetia) and the Georgian ending -eti, all together meaning "(land) where the Ingush live".

Ingushetia is situated on the northern slopes of the Caucasus. It has an area of c. 4,000 km². It borders Republic of North Ossetia–Alania,  Chechen Republic and Georgia (southwards). The highest point is the Gora Shan (4451 m).

A 150 km stretch of the Caucasus Mountains runs through the territory of the republic.

Etymology

The Ingush, a nationality group indigenous to the Caucasus, mostly inhabit the Republic of Ingushetia. They refer to themselves as Ghalghai (from Ingush: Ghal ("fortress") and ghai ("inhabitants", or, according to another Russian interpretation, "citizen"). The Ingush speak the Ingush language, which has a very high degree of mutual intelligibility with neighboring Chechen.

Religion

The Ingush are predominantly Shāfi‘ī Madh'hab of Sunni Islam with some Sufi minority which are often associated with one of two traditional Sufi orders: the Sufi tariqa Naqshbandi, represented in Ingushetia by the brotherhood of Deni Arsanov, and the tariqa Qadiriyyah, associated with Kunta-Haji Kishiev.

To be continued…

Love,

Natalia Levis-Fox