And in some other matters. What he writes about in his blog
- The political convictions of a citizen are contradictory and combine etatism, socialism in the form of Titoism, as well as a craving for individual components of the imperial system - in particular, colonialism. Yes, this is such a hodgepodge =)))
- WELL AND THE MOST IMPORTANT!!! What can you read about in this blog? Yes, almost everything!
Interested in the theme of the First World War? - I ask and. Interbellum? ! World War II and the Great Patriotic War? - . Modern Art - . Reviews of any bni also
There are no particular rules for commenting, swearing is ALLOWED (I myself am a sinner, I confess). Particularly stubborn citizens will be painfully beaten with a banhammer (so with a fountain of Russophobic and liberal ideas, it’s clearly not for me). !!!
Well, full speed ahead!
P.S.: yes, I know that the blog is almost two years old and I was honored to write a cap just now. And no, I'm not Estonian =)))
VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE: 
March 30th, 2019 07:25 pm
In addition to Robert McKenzie, there was another officer in the Rhodesian SAS, whose name everyone - from the soldier to the unit commander - pronounced with undisguised respect. He participated in many operations, was awarded the highest orders of Rhodesia, repeatedly risked his life - in general, his contribution to the war against terrorists could not be overestimated. His name was Colin Willis.
A native of Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia), he was forced to leave the country at a young age for political reasons. After independence was granted to Zambia, a cult of personality of the new president, Kenneth Kaunda, almost immediately arose in the country. Once, walking with friends along the streets of Lusaka, Colin came up to a poster with the image of the president for laughs and drew a mustache on it. The police, however, regarded this joke as a political offense and arrested Colin. After a month's imprisonment, he was expelled from the country, declared that he was an undesirable element, and warned that if he appeared on the territory of Zambia, he would immediately be sentenced to a long term. Colin had to move to Rhodesia. 
Colin Willis
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March 30th, 2019, 07:00 pm
COMMON COMPLAINTS
131. A large amount of information about the causes of the disturbance of well-being can be obtained from the words of the victim, for example, what he did before the deterioration began; when he paid attention; where it happened, etc. Whether you will deal with this case personally or not depends on:
a. Knowledge of first aid techniques.
b. Available first aid supplies and medicines.
132. In many cases, all you can do is get the victim to a medical facility as soon as possible or bring qualified medical assistance to him. Always try to write a clear description of what the victim told you and what you saw with your own eyes - this will be of great help to the medical staff who will deal with the victim. Three important factors indicate how serious the condition of the victim is temperature, pulse and respiration (TPR, temperature - pulse - respiration). Be sure to record and record this information. 
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March 30th, 2019 06:45 pm
67. Morphine is the best pain reliever, it also makes the victim feel good.
68. Tablets "Tartrate", dosage 15 mg. Instructions for use:
a. Place the tablet under the tongue and begin to dissolve.
b. Do not chew or swallow.
c. The effect occurs within 30 minutes. If the victim is in a state of shock, the effect may come later.
d. Use only if morphine for injection is not available.
69. Ampoules-tubes with morphine, dosage 15 mg ("Omnopon" 30 mg). Instructions for use:
a. Pull out of the container.
b. Take it in your hand with the needle up.
c. Break the seal by pulling on the wire inside the needle.
d. Press down lightly to release air.
e. Stick into the muscle at a right angle and squeeze out the contents.
f. The effect occurs within 15 minutes.
70. Important!
a. On the victim's forehead, use a marker to write the date, time of injection and the dose administered, for example: "15 mg, 08/11:05". You can also write it down on a band-aid strip.
b. Do not inject more than once every four hours.
c. Metric equivalent: ¼ grain equals 15 milligrams. 
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March 30th, 2019 06:30 pm
RHODESIAN GRAND AND AIR FORCE FIRST AID MANUALS
FOR ADMINISTRATIVE USE
OCTOBER 1971
INTRODUCTION
1. The meaning of providing first aid to victims is:
a. Saving life.
b. Prevent deterioration.
c. Delivery of the victim to a medical facility and provision of qualified medical care to him.
2. To provide effective first aid, you must:
a. Keep calm.
b. Use common sense.
c. Demonstrate to the victim confidence in a successful outcome.
3. Remember that you should always:
a. Look. Make sure you treat the most seriously injured first.
b. Think. What are you doing and in what order.
c. Act. Provide first aid quickly and without panic.
4. Priorities. Remember the ABC rule for all injuries:
a. A (Airway) - respiratory tract. They must be cleaned, provided with fresh air and maintained in this condition.
b. B (Bleeding) - bleeding. It must be stopped.
c. C (Chest Wounds) - chest wounds. With open wounds of the chest, it is necessary to block the penetration of air.
5. Important. Failure to comply with these conditions can lead to the fact that the victim will die without waiting for qualified medical care. Always remember the ABC rule. 
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March 30th, 2019 05:51 pm
Simultaneous overflight of all three types of helicopters that were involved in the Rhodesian Air Force (photo dated around 1979). Alouette II (6 helicopters were "loaned" to the Rhodesian Air Force by the South African Police in 1973 and returned to South Africa in 1980); Alouette IIIB (in total, the Air Force had 42 helicopters (for the period 1965 - 1980), of which 16 belonged to South Africa) and Augusta-Bell AB-205A "Cheetah" (11 helicopters were secretly delivered to Rhodesia in August 1978, believed to be mediated by Israel - sorties began in October of the same year).
This photo appears to be of a training flight - the Alouette IIs were assigned to No. 7 Squadron (as was part of the Alouette III) and were used almost exclusively for training flights.
Well, and the unofficial song of the helicopter pilots of the 7th squadron (to the tune of Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Cleawater Revival):
BAD K-CAR ARISING
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March 30th, 2019 05:48 pm
In Durban, on the basis of the 1st RDO, the saboteurs did not have to rest for long - soon an order was received to depart again for Langebaan. The operational headquarters of the operation was deployed in Donkergat. Based on the results of studying the data collected by Grif's team, it was decided that the sabotage would be carried out by four groups - three groups of demolitionists and a control group. It was also decided not to touch the cement plant - firstly, it was too large, and secondly, there was a risk that civilian casualties would be high. However, Grif proposed a compromise solution - during the reconnaissance, the scouts discovered that there was some kind of cistern on a hill above the plant, which was regularly filled, which apparently made it an important object. The destruction of this tank was assigned to Sam Fourier and two other operatives. Jack Grif and three special forces assigned to him were supposed to blow up a small fuel storage facility. As for Tony, it was his job to escort warrant officer Frans F. and six saboteurs to a large storage facility on the other side of the harbour.
South African-made magnetic mines were chosen for the detonation, painted silver so that they do not stand out against the background of the tanks. The charges were reinforced, and through the efforts of military engineers, the mines turned into a formidable weapon - they were able to ignite even crude oil.
The training schedule in Langebaan did not differ from the previous phase of the operation - in the morning, the special forces were engaged in physical training, shooting, overcoming the obstacle course and studying mines. After lunch, they studied photographs of the area, the paths of approach and departure, the location of buildings, the illumination of objects, etc. In addition, much attention was paid to tactical maneuvers: clash options, emergency evacuation, group movements. Closer to the night, they practiced covert movement and night overcoming obstacles. Each group worked on its own schedule, but paid attention to how the others worked. 
Saboteurs in the mine business
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March 30th, 2019 01:00 am
We have already examined in this blog the work of the special forces of the "white" African states against the infrastructure of neighboring countries that provided assistance to terrorist formations - we are talking about, during which a detachment of the Rhodesian SAS under the command destroyed an oil depot in the Mozambique port of Beira. This post will discuss how the reconnaissance and sabotage detachments of the Republic of South Africa waged their "oil war"
By the early 1980s, the command of the South African armed forces gradually came to understand that special forces units should be engaged in strategic operations. The Battle of Eheki (Operation Kropdoyf) served as a definite impetus for this - then in October 1977, 7 operatives died immediately in the battle. Considering that the number of reconnaissance and sabotage detachments was small, such a huge loss was a serious blow to the special forces. Since a huge amount of time and money was spent on training one operative, it became clear even to the most skeptical officers from the leadership of the South African Armed Forces that it was at least unprofitable to scatter such material.
It should be noted that the South Africans were not alone - almost everywhere where special forces units were created, the army command initially saw in them, first of all, well-trained attack aircraft. Not realizing that special forces are people who are designed to solve jewelry problems, in other words, this is a scalpel, not an ax.
Under strategic operations, the military and political leadership of South Africa understood the following: the operation should cause serious damage to the enemy’s economy or the country that harbors the enemy, should be carried out deep behind enemy lines, its implementation is associated with exceptional risk, and lastly, the leadership of the country that conducted the operation should not to take responsibility.
One of the first strategic operations carried out on the territory of Angola was the Amazon operation - the destruction of the oil terminal in the city of Lobito. It was she who laid down a certain model for the implementation of similar actions in the future. The execution was entrusted to the operatives of the 1st and 4th RMO. From the 1st RDO (1st Reconnaissance Regiment), Sergeant Jack de Valance Grief, Corporal Sam Fourier and a black operative named Tony Vieira were assigned to the responsibility. In the spring of 1980, the military personnel were called to the headquarters of the 1st RDO - they were ordered to pack up and leave for Langebaan, to the base of the 4th RDO (4th Reconnaissance Regiment), which specialized in amphibious assault operations. 
Sam Fourier and Tony Vieira
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March 29th, 2019 , 11:54 am
The story of the Rhodesian SAS captain Robert Cullen Mackenzie about the destruction of the Rhodesian SAS together with the Mozambican RENAMO guerrillas of the oil depot in Beira on March 23, 1979
The Rhodesian SAS was preparing to conduct one of the most daring operations. Moreover, the wine (as well as the laurels) were to go to others (this was required by the interests of the cause) - namely, the RENAMO partisans, the Mozambican National Resistance Movement. After the military coup in Portugal in 1974, Lisbon made it clear that he did not intend to hold the "overseas provinces of the country" (this is how Portuguese West Africa (Angola), Portuguese East Africa (Mozambique) and Portuguese Guinea (Guinea-Bissau)) were designated. After the departure of the Portuguese administration in Mozambique, the left-wing FRELIMO group, focused on building socialism, came to power. The economy was transferred to a Marxist track, and domestic politics began to be modeled after the socialist states, adjusted for local conditions. It is not surprising that in the shortest possible time, Mozambique turned from a relatively developed country into a pale shadow of a once decent state. The dissatisfaction of the population with the constant shortage of everything and everyone resulted in protests and discontent. Later, the RENAMO political movement arose from these dissatisfied people. It should be noted that the Rhodesian Secret Service more than had a hand in organizing the movement. Well, the combat training of the RENAMO partisans took over the SAS.
Mozambique, which until 1974 was a friendly country to Rhodesia, overnight became, if not an enemy, then at least an enemy. Samora Machel's government almost immediately turned its services over to Robert Mugabe's ZANU party and its armed ZANLA wing, militants who aimed to overthrow the government of Ian Smith. Terrorist bases were organized on the territory of Mozambique, from there they carried out raids into Rhodesia, and rested there after the battles with the Rhodesian armed forces. Officially, both Machel and Mugabe stated that Mozambique had placed on its territory refugee camps "who fled from the repressions of the bloody regime of Salisbury." In fact, these were large (sometimes up to several thousand), well-equipped and fortified camps of terrorists who received weapons and the necessary supplies from the countries of the socialist camp, primarily from China. Mugabe once attended more than one course at the military academy in Nanjing, and the most promising cadres of ZANU-ZANLA became frequent guests in Nanjing and Beijing. Basically, there were Chinese instructors in the camps, but Moscow and Berlin also provided some assistance. 
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March 28th, 2019 , 11:53 am
On March 23, 1979, Rhodesian SAS operatives, with the support of the Mozambique National Resistance guerrillas (RENAMO), carried out one of the most significant operations outside the country. Saboteurs managed to destroy an oil storage facility in Beira, the second most important port in Mozambique.
Until that time, RENAMO was limited to attacking the remote garrisons of the armed detachments of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO), stationed in the countryside. Although RENAMO partisans sometimes carried out sabotage at key facilities, such as the power plant in Mavuz, the strategic initiative always remained with FRELIMO. Something had to be done to change this balance of power. The Joint Operational Command of the Rhodesian Armed Forces decided to attack Beira. The target of the sabotage was the huge Munhava oil storage facility, located two kilometers from the center of Beira. More than 40 huge reservoirs with oil, gasoline and solarium were concentrated in Munhava. In addition, in the center of the oil storage there were cylinders with liquefied gas and several thousand 200-liter barrels of gasoline. A successful attack on such a strategically important facility would mean multimillion-dollar losses for the FRELIMO government, which was already experiencing serious economic difficulties, not to mention the propaganda effect.
Examining the maps, SAS and RENAMO operatives came to the conclusion that in addition to the oil storage facility, there are several more strategically important targets in Beira that can be hit: this is a transformer station that supplied electricity to the city, a power line, a port railway line and an oil pipeline leading from Munhawa to the port. In addition to these goals, the Rhodesian command would also like to destroy the warehouse of ZANLA (the armed wing of ZANU, Robert Mugabe's faction), which was packed to capacity with weapons and explosives. However, the head of the operation, Captain Robert Mackenzie, taking into account the time factor, refused to disperse his forces. He selected several targets as secondary, and the rest were crossed off the list after discussion. 
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Africa for white people.
This phrase is not a populist slogan of the apartheid political party, but a description of everything I have seen in a wonderful country - the Republic of South Africa. Indeed, if the north of the African continent - the Maghreb - can be regarded as rather a continuation of the Arab Middle East, then the center and almost the entire south has a pronounced black (actually dark brown) tint. The Republic of South Africa, with its generally Mediterranean climate, has long been regarded as a white European country, somehow miraculously wormed its way into this endless continent. However, since the end of the apartheid policy, the country has increasingly taken on a distinctly darker hue.
Undoubtedly, the most beautiful and well-groomed city in South Africa is Cape Town, and 12 hours (in total) of summer before it, believe me, are worth it. Founded by settlers from Europe, the city has still retained its European architectural development. And the skyscrapers of the business district are somehow organically located exactly in the middle, without destroying the overall appearance of Cape Town. The main attraction of the city is Table Mountain. Its flat "roof" can be seen from anywhere in the city - the difference at the edges is only 11 m, which is imperceptible, which is why it is called the Canteen. You can climb it with the help of a funicular or on foot - but this is for especially interested trekking lovers. Slowly floating in the funicular cabin, I often saw small groups slowly moving along the rocky paths. Table Mountain, by the way, is a chic place for picnics, barbecues and other things. Excellent views from its flat top will allow everyone to overcome indigestion. From above, you can see the entire city, the ocean and Robbin Island ("robbin" - a fur seal in Dutch), an island that was a prison and became widely known after Nelson Mandela was imprisoned there for a long time. Only it is better to climb the mountain in sunny weather, otherwise the clouds hanging near its foot cover all views, and the dank wind from the ocean will quickly expel any lover of picturesque landscapes.
The cutest and most party place in the city is the Waterfront or the promenade. It houses hundreds of tourist shops and eateries, an Imax cinema (with a screen size of a 5-story building and special sound equipment, it shows only special films, for example, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania) and a magnificent aquarium with fish and sea, or rather ocean living creatures from two oceans - the Atlantic and the Indian. Also near Cape Town there is a huge amusement park with attractions and hotels like Disneyland or PortAventura.
Cape Town, if I may say so, is the "whitest" city in South Africa. It is in Cape Town that most of the white population of the country lives. Even on the plane, I noticed girls with South African passports in their hands, real descendants of the legendary Boers, tall and slender, with freckles on tanned ruddy faces, casually dressed and adorned with piercings, mostly blondes.
It must be said that the Boers are not some kind of black population of the country, but the descendants of, first of all, Dutch, as well as French settlers, abundantly, however, mixed throughout the history of the country with local peoples and tribes. Currently, South Africa has neither more nor less than 11 (!) official languages. By the way, even in the UN there are only six of them. One can imagine what is going on at state meetings, for example, in parliament during heated and fierce debates. After all, each delegate can speak any language, including English, Afrikaans (the most common), the indescribable click language of the Xhosa tribe and others. It's hard for translators! They say that Afrikaans is not difficult and no more than 2 weeks of studying it is enough; it is similar in spelling to Old Dutch (and therefore German).
The surroundings of Cape Town are the most picturesque corners of the country, without visiting which it is difficult to get a complete picture of the beauties of the country. Within a few hours drive is the so-called "wine route". It includes several cozy towns, rich in their wine-making traditions. Vineyards stretch for miles around them. The wine of South Africa is considered quite good - the farms that produce wine, champagne and brandy are owned by Europeans, who practically do not take part in the production process, controlling only the financial side of the issue and the distribution of products. I managed to visit one of these farms near the lovely university town of Stellenbosch - in addition to wine, due to its even climate, the city is also known as the best place to spend a cloudless old age. At first, we were taken around the workshops for a long time, showing and explaining the intricate technical process - to get the best taste of wine, you need to select grapes, separate the peel and seeds (they are subsequently used as fertilizers - waste-free production comes out), and then aged for a long time in special oak barrels. After the show, we were taught how to properly taste wine. It turns out that you should not drink wine at all during tasting - you can get drunk and knock down the taste. To prevent this from happening, jugs of water are placed on the tables to rinse the mouth and biscuits - they help to "start from scratch" when tasting each new type of wine. Before tasting, you should first inhale the aroma of wine for a long time, then swirl it in a glass so that traces remain on the walls of the glass - oily wine "legs". By the nature of these legs, one can also judge the wine - for example, long and slender ones indicate a certain lightness of the wine, etc. Some of the most popular varieties are the red Shiraz and Gewurtstramine. All wines cost starting from $4-5 (or from 20-25 rand - local currency).
Also near Stellenbosch is the location of the Huguenot community. Fleeing Bartholomew's night, they arrived in the area and settled down thoroughly, planting vineyards. Currently, there is a Huguenot Museum (the most interesting exhibit there is a hefty moonshine) and a monument to the innocent victims of that memorable massacre.
Every day we learn something new. All this time we mistakenly believed that the whites we meet (very many in Botswana, Namibia) are the descendants of the British colonizers. But this is not true.
In fact, long before the British, ships with families from Holland (and not only) sailed to the territory of present-day South Africa. There are 300 people on one ship and on the second. Families were with money, with all their belongings. Very desperate apparently. Desperate from the first ships went north, from the second south. From the first, they agreed with the Zulus on the purchase of land for farms. In the afternoon we signed a contract. During the night, the Zulus killed everyone, including women and children. The next day, the Zulu leader gathered all the tribes and sent 40,000 people to deal with the remaining 300. What was the unfortunate to do? They put the wagons in a circle and prayed. They promised to make this day a holiday if they survive. When the Zulus arrived, a very thick fog descended. The Zulus could not find the desperate. But they could shoot and defend themselves. None of the 300 people were even injured. Until now, the people of Afrikaans - descendants, celebrate this day. These people took up farming and populated southern Africa. And then the British rushed in when they heard about gold and diamonds.
We did not use Wikipedia, we pass from the lips of people.
Afrikaans is the only white nation in Africa, which during this time was able to form its own culture, language, traditions. Mostly they have farms. Every time we visit an Afrikaans family, we pray before we eat. The Afrikaans language itself is a cross between German and Dutch. They've been here for so long that the Americans have come in large numbers compared to them. Their history is long and rich, full of mistakes and right decisions. And the mentality seemed very similar to ours. They believe that they are very modern, open, travel a lot, but in fact - hold on tightly to their culture and do not let too much inside. You won't hear many foreign songs on Afrikaans radio stations. Afrikaans women, like ours, are not a timid ten. Still, to sail away in such pickles with Zulus and lions, and then still drag a huge farm of 50,000 hectares ...
Now only 5% of the former population of Afrikaans remains. Many parted after the overthrow of apartheid. Those who remain pay their bills. We felt echoes of this even in Tanzania, but the further south we go, the more we see this very racism in reverse. If you are a poor black, then your children can study for free, but if you are white, whether poor or rich, pay. Now more and more often in the newspapers you can see articles that a farm in South Africa was attacked, stolen everything and beaten and abused an elderly white family. In South Africa, there is even a town called Orania, where only whites live. It smacks of Nazism, but we were able to understand them.
Nowadays, Afrikaans people always have a backup plan - a passport from another country, etc. They all love their country, they want to live in it, to develop it, but they all seem to be sitting on a powder keg. There has already been a story in Zimbabwe, when land was taken away from all whites, and when the economy fell, they were forced to buy it back and restore the country's agriculture under pain of prison.
The new government in the southern countries is like a monkey with a grenade - they make more and more strange decisions and ruin the economy - if earlier for 1 African rand you could buy 3 bucks, now for 1 $ you get 10 rand. The Africans were not yet satisfied with the material, they did not have the opportunity. Therefore, you can see rich blacks from a mile away - thick gold chains, huge cars. Yes, just look at any black rapper - this is it.
More tsatsok, less work.
We might have considered this to be selfish white nonsense if we ourselves had not seen abandoned houses and farms in the same Mozambique, which no one is engaged in. Do you know what the African black dream is? It is no time, as they say, to have a big farm and sit on a chair in the evening and drink cold beer. And who will work on this farm will be unknown :)
We mean that the fact that the Africans themselves are lazy is a fact. In the same Mozambique, we visited an abandoned farm that once flourished and grew a lot of fruit there, now the grandson of the former owner lives in a big city and does not work on it. But people still live there for free. Do you think they grow something? No. They eat once a day, sit on the porch and wait for wealth to fall on them from the sky. When we were there, the granddaughters brought food and fed about 70 people. The food disappeared in about ten seconds. Then they asked for more money.
We tell you all this simply to expand your understanding. Not everything in this world is so clear. It is impossible to unequivocally say bad blacks or whites, all are good. But this story strongly influenced us after six months here.
The whites here are definitely not oppressed slaves - they work, pay, go on vacation on weekends in a big jeep with a cool staff. We are now in a campsite for three hundred cars and there are no blacks here, they are not interested.
But the very fact of such different cultures trying to get along together is.
For us hitchhikers, it is not clear which is worse - white Afrikaans who are afraid of everyone and do not stop, rich blacks who do not stop out of contempt or poor blacks who stop but ask for money)
Marshmallow in chocolate :)
Travel .. TE, friends, by all means!
More stories:
"After the Incas, it's time to go to the Zulus," decided Dmitry Vozdvizhensky and Vladimir Khabelashvili, correspondents from the RTR television program Planet Earth. No sooner said than done. The route through South Africa was planned with a meaning: from darkness to the sun. The catacombs of the gold miners of Johannesburg were chosen as the darkness, and the "city of the sun" - Sun City - as the light. The intermediate point was the Sodwana Bay National Park.
Nostalgia for the gold rush
After a long flight to Johannesburg, people usually need some time to rest on the ground. We decided to rest underground, imagining ourselves as miners in the gold mines.
Gold has always been a symbol of wealth and power. But those who personally had to extract the precious metal from the bowels of the Earth are nothing like the rich bathing in gold. And it is unlikely that the life of miners in the gold mines near Johannesburg can be called easy and pleasant. Since gold was found in the area, prospectors have dug up the entire city like moles. It's strange that he hasn't gone underground yet. Without exaggerating at all, we can say that Johannesburg stands on a void, that is, on abandoned gold mines. Maybe someday it will make itself felt again. Some of the gold mines continue to generate considerable income after they have been rid of the precious contents. Around the largest mine in Johannesburg, a real amusement park has arisen, the main of which is a chilling excursion to the former gold mine, where hundreds of tourists descend daily. Our expedition also visited there.
Putting on protective helmets, we went downstairs on an electric lift, which appeared here relatively recently. When it breaks, it takes more than an hour and a half to descend. Exactly so much is required to overcome 1124 steps leading to a depth of 230 meters, to the fifth horizontal level. In total, there are 54 levels in the mine. True, only 19 are available, the rest are completely flooded with water, which they simply stopped pumping out.
Emile Zola once compared miners to worms living in the ground. We, having visited the sinister and gloomy faces, were convinced that this is similar to the truth. During the heyday of gold mining, up to 15 thousand people descended into the mine daily. Far from everyone returned, since collapses happened quite often. Today, only the tourist route is maintained in working condition, from which in no case should you deviate. Everything else can collapse at any moment.
It is even surprising that in 60 years only 15 tons of gold have been extracted from these giant catacombs: an average of 30 grams per ton of rock. The local caretaker, who smelts gold bars here for tourists every day and has thoroughly studied the dungeon, prefers not to stay in it at night. He is sure that there is still someone in the mine. “32 years ago, a young worker disappeared in the mine,” the caretaker told us. “They searched for him for a long time, but the man disappeared without a trace. Since then, strange and mysterious things have happened in the adits from time to time: incomprehensible sounds are heard, steps are heard, and sometimes the lights flicker ".
Sodwana Bay
From Johannesburg, the path of our expedition lay to the east of South Africa through the gloomy ridges of the Drakensberg Mountains to the province of Natal. There, on the coast of the Indian Ocean, on the border with Swaziland, there is the Sodwana Bay National Park. We were provided with a nice little bungalow that looked a lot like a hut on chicken legs. There were no windows in this building, so we did not understand how the clever monkeys got inside (the door was closed). Having arranged a real pogrom, the monkeys committed an act of vandalism, gobbling up several precious cassettes, on which the cameraman captured the cave crypts of the basalt mountain Tshaneni along with its ghosts. Probably, these animals were unleashed on us by the Shangan people who lived in these mountains in ancient times, who do not reveal their secrets to anyone.
But the adventure didn't end there. Maybe it was the inquisitive mind of our operator that was to blame. An ordinary person, seeing a bizarre growth on a tree, will turn his head and go on. But our operator always strives to come closer and look inside. This time, his curiosity almost ended in failure. The bizarre outgrowth turned out to be the home of wild black bees, and when a colleague invaded the bee territory, black buzzing snipers flew out of the nest with lightning speed and dug into it. Our operator is running, although fast, but in this case he reached the car with his face swollen beyond recognition. The doctor looked at him skeptically, grunted, anointed the object of the bee attack with something and waved his hand. Like, if he doesn't die in two days, everything will be fine. For the next two days, the victim was not particularly distinguished by his characteristic curiosity. Long road in the jungle
Finally, the Sodwana Bay adventure came to an end, and our expedition set off to Fin Foot Lake, located 100 kilometers from Pretoria. 80 kilometers of the road had to be shared with an impressive size talkative Zulu driver. Consumed by national pride, he said that in South Africa only his people observe the purity of the race, all others - Ndebele, Svana, Xhosa and Koi - although they once had a unique originality, culture and color, now much in the past. They even stopped building houses out of clay and reeds and switched to more affordable means, such as empty cardboard boxes thrown away by white people. The Zulus do not accept such a civilization, and although they drive a car, they sacredly observe national traditions and customs. They are always ready to dance around the fire, and smoke the national tobacco - marijuana, that is, and teach the offender a lesson. That's what the Chief Zulu taught them. Does the white man know nothing about the Chief Zulu? How so? Everyone should know!
This Zulu, aka Chaka, aka black Napoleon, was born at the end of the 18th century, not far from the current Sodwana Bay. The childhood of the Chief was not easy, because his parents left him to be eaten by dogs, because he was illegitimate. Chaka has since become accustomed to deal strictly with his ill-wishers. He was feared and revered even by warring tribes. Subsequently, Chaka managed to unite the peoples living east of the Drakensberg Mountains, and in 1818 create a confederation of tribes in the province of Natal. Then this confederation turned into the powerful Kingdom of the Zulus. Chaka dealt with political opponents by throwing them into water teeming with hungry crocodiles, or impaling them. The most high-ranking persons were ripped open by pull. This was considered an honorable death, as the Zulus believe that the soul is thus liberated. In addition, many of his hundred sons died at the hands of the hot-tempered Chaka.
Despite this, the Chief was a good warrior, he won many battles, not only against the local tribes, but also against those who sailed from England. The British preferred not to fight, but to make friends with our king and conclude a peace treaty. And then, smart Chaka replaced uncomfortable throwing tomahawks with assegai - short spears. They are both comfortable to throw and good for close combat,” the Zulu explained.
After 16 hours, the car finally drove up to the intended target, that is, to the hotel on the shore of Fin Foot Lake, and we got out of the car in a semi-conscious state, while the Zulu announced that he was coming back.
How? we were amazed. - You've been driving for 16 hours! Is it really possible to endure as much without rest?
I'm used to it, everything is fine. Chaka's descendants are strong people, - the driver answered and disappeared into the night.
Twilight in the City of the Sun
Having thoroughly celebrated the thirtieth birthday of our colleague on the shores of Fin Foot Lake, we went to the famous Sun City, which is located near Pretoria. On the way, the newborn admired a sickle-like Zulu battle sword, which had been specially bought in an antique store, as a gift. The seller called this weapon “ex” and said that it was very ancient. Perhaps it was with this sword that the above-mentioned Chaka chopped off the heads of his enemies and ripped open their stomachs. figurines of an African deity.So we got to Sun City.
The entrance to the city lay through a crocodile farm. The rain continued, and the bridges that were supposed to be walked over the heads of the crocodiles became wet and slippery. The tourists teetered uneasily in close proximity to the contented green beasts basking in the rain. Crocodiles love wet weather. The territory is divided into sectors where crocodiles of different ages live. Little crocodiles a few months old frolicked in the crocodile paddling pool and stared at the tourists. Our operator, who had forgotten about bee stings, picked up the smallest of them and began to put his finger in his mouth. The kid gnawed, but it didn't hurt. Satisfied, the young man let go of the green one and turned on the camera, risking slipping on the wet footbridge. Adult crocodiles did not allow themselves to be pranks, they kept sedately, pretending to be logs. Long-livers of two meters in arrogance and stiffness could compete with the British, who so love to come to rest in Sun City.
Right behind the farm, the crocodile industry begins. In special shops you can buy belts, bags and boots made of crocodile leather. Expensive. In the cafe - dishes from reptiles. We dined on crocburgs, chops, and crocodile tail fillets, cut into circles and with cartilage in the middle. They ate and concluded that the crocodile is neither fish nor meat and does not have any pronounced taste.
Sun City, that is, the City of the Sun, met us with registration at the entrance: everyone needs to get a temporary residence permit. After wandering around a huge entertainment area, a kind of South African Las Vegas, we stumbled upon a beach with a water park and a pool with two-meter ocean waves driven by a special unit. It's good here when the sun shines, and in Sun City it usually shines 360 days a year. No wonder, because otherwise in Bophuthatswana in the early 80s they would not have built an international tourist entertainment center for 1300 visitors. The center includes two fifteen-story five-star hotels, a bungalow complex, gambling and entertainment establishments. Sun City became known to the world when the first Miss World pageant was held there. Archaeologists dug around and found the remains of a settlement of ancient people, "contemporaries of the Atlanteans", who are believed to have been destroyed by a volcanic eruption. Since then, there has been no end to tourists.
We decided to finish the trip with a small safari in the national park, set up near Sun City. This is the largest and world famous reserve, home to 137 species of animals, including elephants, lions, leopards, white rhinos, antelopes, not to mention birds and insects! Armed with cameras and a huntsman in a jeep, we set off into the wild jungle. Our South African Odyssey, which began in the gloomy dungeons of Johannesburg and ended in the "sunniest city" of the world, has come to an end.
Surprising as it may seem to many to find out, but indigenous people North Africa are not Negroid Africans and not even Arabs, but peoples who are commonly called Berbers. Even more surprising is the fact that these peoples are the peoples of the White Race, subjected to violent Islamization in the 7th century AD.
By the way, many Berbers are unaware that they are called that, since this name was given to them by other peoples, and such a name is scientifically called an exoethnonym. There is a theory that it allegedly appeared even under the Romans. Take it out of Greek barbaros, or Latin barbarus- "barbarian".
So the Greeks, followed by the Romans, called all the peoples whose culture and language they did not understand. However, if we take into account that the Roman Empire in the sense in which it is presented to us by orthodox historians did not exist, and the entire “ancient” history was written in the Middle Ages, then everything is not so simple and unambiguous, even with the term “barbarian”, and even with the origin from him "Berber" and even more so. After all, they also, they say, called the ancient Germans barbarians, but they never began to be called Berbers.
But the ancient Spaniards were called Iberians . And here it is impossible not to notice that the ethnonyms "Berber" and "Iber" have the same root"ber" . According to Karl-Wilhelm Humboldt, a German philologist and philosopher of the 19th century, the oldest population of Spain, the Iberians, who lived on the territory of the peninsula from the 8th millennium BC, come from North Africa and the remnants of this ancient population of Western Europe are modern Basques. There is also a version that the name Berber could either come from the local "ber-aber" - "to move in groups." In addition, the Braber tribe (or Barabir, Beraber) lives in central Morocco. So, if you wish, you can find several versions of the origin of the word Berbers, but for some reason the most common version is “barbaric”.
Now the Berbers are called the totality of many tribes that live throughout northern Africa, from Egypt in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, and from Sudan in the south to the Mediterranean Sea in the north, as well as in other countries, including European ones. The number of Berbers in the world is estimated differently - from 20 to 40 million. Human. Most of them live in the so-called countries of the Maghreb, in Arabic - “Where the sunset is”: Morocco (tribes of Shilhs, Amazikhs, reefs - about 9.5 million people), Algeria (Kabils, Chauya, Tuareg - about 4, 3 million), Tunisia and Libya (Nafusi tribe 210 thousand). Berbers also live in Mali (0.6 million), Niger (0.4 million), France (1.2 million), Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, the USA and Australia.
It is believed that they call themselves amazigh, amasiyen(may sound like amazig, amazir and even amazai), which means "people" or "free people". However, there is another opinion on this matter. It is expressed by A.Yu. Militarev is a Russian philologist and linguist, a specialist in the field of Semitic, Berbero-Canary and Afroasian linguistics. In his article "Through the Eyes of a Linguist: Garamantides in the Context of North African History" he writes the following:
“Let's touch on a few more scientific “micromyths” around the self-name of the Berbers. “The self-name that they (Berbers. - A.M.) most often they give themselves, this amasiyen which means "people". They call their language human, which is no less pride and contempt for the non-Berbers than the Romans, who called them barbarians ”(13). And from another author: “The self-name of the Tuareg is imohag (or imagirhen), which means “free” (“independent”)” (14). And in another place: “The love of freedom of the Tuareg, already reflected in their self-name -“ imohag ”... reminds of the Garamants who defended their independence ...” (15).
In fact, imaziyean- the self-name of the Berbers (and its variants among the southern Berbers - Tuareg) - is not translated either as "people" or as "free". This term has existed for at least 2.5 millennia - it is quite reliably identified with Maksyes Herodotus and Mazikes, Mazices other ancient sources and indeed, as Yu. K. Poplinsky suggests, comparable with the ethnonym msws"Libyan" of the Egyptian texts of the XIX and XX dynasties ... denoting one of the Libyan tribes and nothing more. The most plausible etymology for amaziy, pl. h. imaziyan, was proposed by T. Sarnelli: he reconstructed it as the adjective "red" with the usual prefix m- from the common Berber verb *i-zway"to be red".
Naming a people by color (hair, skin, or traditional clothing) is not a unique phenomenon (16). The additional meaning of this ethnonym developed in the Tuareg dialects - “free” - does not indicate the love of freedom of the Tuareg or their desire for independence from some external “oppressors”, but, on the contrary, their own status as free, masters in relation to ethnic groups dependent on them. groups of non-Caucasoid type and non-Berber origin…”
At least two very interesting conclusions follow from this. Firstly, the self-name of the Amazigh-Berbers may come from the word "red". Indeed, among them are my red-haired, white-skinned people with blue or light brown eyes. For example, Miss Algeria 2013, the wife of King Mohammed 6 of Jordan and the world famous and beloved French singer Edith Piaf. She is Berber on her mother's side. Also in the national clothes of the Berbers there is a lot of red. And secondly, the Amazigh tribes are of the Caucasoid type. This conclusion is confirmed by quite a few genetic studies that have identified the so-called "Berber marker"- haplogroup E1b1b, which is found not only in Africa (East, North and South), but also in Europe (Southeast and South) and Western Asia.
However, cautious scholars are afraid to directly attribute the Berbers to the white race directly. They call them white Arabs (Caucasoid Arabs), an intermediate step between Europeans and black Africans (Sub-Saharan Africans), a cross between white Europeans and a Mediterranean race, a cross between Europeans and Western Asians, or simply Eurasians. Also the genetic studies of Western scientists such as Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza (Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza), Italian geneticist or Carlton Stevens Kuhn (Carleton Stevens Coon), an American anthropologist, led to the conclusion that white people came to North Africa several times during the period from 30 to 8 thousand years ago. First from Eurasia, and then from the Middle East. Kuhn is sure that the Amazigh-Berbers have been living in North Africa for at least 15 thousand years.
The Libyan tribes were mentioned above. They are often referred to as the ancestors of the Amazigh-Berbers. In this regard, it will be interesting to consider one variant of the appearance of the word "Libyans", also an exoethnonym. The Egyptians called these people "the people of the slave" - "worshiping the sun" and portrayed them as people with white skin, tattoos, ostrich feathers on their heads and a scythe descending to the temple. “Raboo” was also pronounced as “rebu”, then “lebu”, then “libu” and, finally, “livy”. The fact that the Libyans were of the white race is evidenced by Egyptian images (in the first figure - the first Libyan) and mosaics of "Roman" villas in Morocco, Libya and Tunisia (Cyrene, Leptis Magne and Sabrata). It should be noted that one of the Berber Amazighs became a Roman emperor Septimius Severus.
Despite the fact that there are a considerable number of sources on the Web that mention Berbers and their history, there is no consensus on when it began. The range of opinions is quite large - according to various sources, the history of the Berbers has from 3 to 11 thousand years. And the possible origin of this people is not mentioned anywhere. On the lands of North Africa, the Berbers lived back to all the conquerors known to us - the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and even more so, the Arabs, who came to their lands in the 7-8 centuries AD. The latter began to push the indigenous white population deep into the desert and mountainous regions, forcibly Islamize and assimilate, forcing interethnic marriages. The Berber language was forbidden to be used in schools and official institutions, but despite this and the almost universal adoption of Islam, the Berbers managed to preserve it, as well as their mentality, culture and way of life. Perhaps this also happened because the Berbers still somehow managed to combine Islam with their original cults.
Unfortunately, Berber sources about their own history and culture has not been preserved, which, in general, is not surprising, given the number of conquerors who rolled over this ancient people in waves. As usual, each conqueror reshaped the culture and history of the conquered for himself. For this purpose, the previous cultural and historical heritage of the people, having the misfortune of being conquered, was destroyed as much as possible. Yes, and take at least the recent occupation of Libya by NATO troops, who not only attacked a sovereign country, but also plundered and destroyed almost all museums and museum treasures in Libya, barbarously bombed the ancient cities of Libya - Sabratha and Leptis Magna. Unique mosaics with Slavic-Aryan symbols, which the sands of Libya have kept for hundreds of years, are most likely irretrievably destroyed. European savages, who behaved in exactly the same way in Yugoslavia and Iraq, even managed to steal the oldest rock paintings from Libya. They impregnated the canvas with a special chemical composition, printed it to the images that were glued to it. Talks about this barbarity Nikolai Sologubovsky, publicist, historian, cinematographer, photographer, in his reports “Libya. The Demise of Civilization" and "The Demise of the Tripolitan Venus".
But back to the ancient Libyans. You can find mention of them only in the stories of other peoples - the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Let's consider brief mentions of them, and along the way, let's go through the history of the ancient Amazigh Berbers known today. The earliest written mention of the Libyans can be found in the ancient Egyptian papyri of the end 4 millennium BC With their Berber neighbors, the latter had a rather close relationship. And they traded, and fought with them, and forced to pay tribute. Military conflicts with the Libyan Berbers adorn the walls of Egyptian temples and tombs of the pharaohs. So in the temple of Amun in Karnak, the pharaoh Seti I is shown defeating the Libyan warriors, and in Medinet Habu, the funerary temple of Ramses III in Luxor, they found faience reliefs depicting traditional enemies of Egypt. From left to right: Libyans, Nubians, Syrians, Semites (Shasu nomads) and Hittites.
During the Middle Kingdom period (circa 2200-1700 BC), the Egyptians managed to subdue the eastern Berbers and force them to pay tribute. Many Berbers served in the army of the pharaoh and reached high positions in the state hierarchy. One of the officers of Berber origin seized power in Egypt around 950 BC. and ruled under the name of Sheshonk I. The 22nd and the next 23rd, as well as the 26th dynasties founded by him, are called "Libyan".
The Egyptians also talked about battles with tribes militant women(the papyrus of the era of Ramesses II (1279-1213 BC) has been preserved). Few people know, but in addition to the well-known Black Sea Amazons, and long before them, there were Libyan Amazons - a tribe blond and blue-eyed female warriors. It is of undoubted interest that the very name "Amazon" is consonant with the self-name of the Berbers "Amazigh". The earliest mention of their warlike tribe is contained in the Iliad (presumably 8th century BC) - Homer's poem about the Trojan War (14th century BC). In it, the Trojan king Priam recalls that he saw the battle of the Amazons against the Phrygians. In this war, the Amazons sided with the Trojans against the Greeks. Homer says that these women fought "like men."
Diodorus Siculus (90-30 BC), an ancient Greek historian and mythographer, also spoke about them, who in turn retold the myths recorded by another ancient Greek mythologist, Dionysius Skitobrachion (who lived in Alexandria in the middle of the 2nd century BC). e.). He said that the oldest Amazonian kingdom was located in Libya, otherwise in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia), but it disappeared long before the Trojan War. The capital of this kingdom was located near the northeastern part of Lake Shergi (Atlas Mountains of Algeria). South of the capital, near the southeastern shore of this lake, there were majestic tombs and palace and religious buildings of the Amazons in the rocks. The most famous Amazon of those times was Mirina. Under her leadership, the Amazons passed Egypt and Arabia, conquered Syria, passed Asia Minor, where they founded a number of cities and sanctuaries: Mirina, Smyrna, Martesia, Otrera, etc. Mirina died with most of the troops in Thrace (the modern region in the east of the Balkans, divided between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey). The remaining Amazons returned to Libya.
The very first of the ancient authors who wrote about the ancient Libyans is Herodotus, who in the 5th century. BC. described their tribes and customs in his work "History" (Book IV of Melpomene). In the 6th c. BC. the Libyans actively fought against Carthage, who tried to subdue them, but during the Second Punic War (218-216 BC) - the war of Rome against Carthage, they took the side of the Carthaginians. Hannibal's army had a Libyan cavalry corps. Carthage fell in 146 BC. and the lands of the Libyans became Roman provinces, and they had to pay tribute, or even fall into slavery. In Roman sources, references to the Libyans gradually disappear, and the indigenous population of North Africa began to be called the Moors, and later the Berbers. In the 1st century BC. Julius Caesar mentions them in his Notes on the Civil War.
In the 6th century AD The Byzantines replaced Rome and later the Vandals in Africa, and in the 7th-8th centuries, all of North Africa was conquered by the Arabs and became part of the Arab Caliphate. started Islamization of the Berbers who fought with these conquerors. In 698, a powerful Berber uprising gripped North Africa. History has preserved the name of the leader of the rebels - the prophetess Daiya ( Daya Ult Yenfaq Tajrawt(berb.), Dihya or Damya(arab.)) el-Kahina. By the way, the Russian-language Wikipedia calls her the queen of the Berber-Jewish principality. However, the English-language version refers to the opinion of scholars who deny various reports that circulated in the 19th century that this warrior belonged to a tribe of Judaized Berbers. Moreover, some researchers, such as Nizovsky A.Yu., claim that she was descended from the queens of the Libyan Amazons.
The uprising was brutally suppressed in 703. Daiya fought with a sword in her hands at the head of her warriors and died in battle. Her severed head was sent to Caliph Abd el-Malik. The population of the African kingdom was offered a choice - to accept Islam or die. Among the many who converted to the Muslim faith were also two adult sons of Daya - they say that before her death she ordered her followers, in case of defeat, to convert to Islam for the sake of it in order to save the people from extermination. About 50 thousand people refused to change their faith, and were killed.
In the 8th century, the Berber tribal militias, together with the Arabs, participated in the conquest of Spain and played a decisive role there. Muslim troops that invaded in 711 under the command of Tariq ibn Ziyad (Tariq ibn Ziyad) to Spain, at the instigation of the Spanish Jews (even the Russian-language Wikipedia admits this), they consisted mostly of Berbers - 7 thousand people, and there were only 300 Arabs in the detachment. Look at what the "Moors" were then and, above all , Tariq himself, by whose name, by the way, Gibraltar was named (from the distorted Arabic Jabal al-Tariq - “Tariq Mountain”). This is how he was portrayed by the Spanish chroniclers in the year of the invasion of his troops on the Iberian Peninsula. In the pictures below: a ceiling fresco depicting the emirs of Granada in the famous palace of the emirs - the Alhambre. Medieval miniatures showing Muslim horsemen (right) and Christian horsemen (left) preparing to jointly take the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, Christian allies of Emir Omar Al-Murtad pursuing Muslims from the army of his opponent Abu Yusuf. "Book of Games" 13th century: Christian and Muslim play chess, Muslims play chess. They are all white Caucasians!
Some researchers suggest that“starting from 8-7 thousand BC. there was a migration of Neolithic tribes from Western Asia to North Africa ... The reasons for the resettlement were the end of the first Neolithic climatic optimum and the onset of desertification of the Arabian Peninsula ... "But again, this doesn't tell us much. What are these "Neolithic tribes"? Lived on the Arabian Peninsula White race and where did she come from? And what was the reason for the end of this very “Neolithic climatic optimum”? These researchers do not yet offer clear answers.
