The clonehenge of this post is a large stone circle with lintels. There are trilithons and photos we’ve seen lead us to suspect that there may be a stretch of three uprights with two lintels shared among them, something we like to see, but we haven’t been able to verify it.
Here’s what we know: Popovaka, along the most beautiful beach on the Crimean peninsula was for years host to a huge and wild electronica festival called KaZantip, or Z-City. It drew the rich and young and fit of Russia and surrounding areas. At first it was held in a partially built nuclear power station, never completed because of Chernobyl. It outgrew that and took over the beaches.
The KaZantip Festival claimed to be a nation of its own with “viZas” and guards around it. Slender young women in scanty bikinis were encouraged to attend. Decorated orange or yellow suitcases had some place in it (?). The yachts of the rich could be seen moored further down the beach. Drugs of various kinds seem to have been involved. (The well-known quotation of former U.S. President Lincoln applies here: “People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.”) The festival has since moved on to other venues. As far as we can ascertain the 2020 festival will be held in Kemer, Turkey. But we digress.
The point of all this is that smaller electronica festivals linger on in Popovka and trippy, trendy things and people still show up there. And as we have learned and as is evidenced by celebrations like Burning Man, wherever the minds of people ignite and burn, Stonehenges arise like mushrooms. You see one result above.
Search стоунхендж (Stonehenge) and Поповка (Popovka) and you may find more photos of this modern monument. It is a massive, impressive structure.
Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find out any more about it. Who built it and how, why someone decided to build it, and exactly when it was built, all of these are mysteries. The earliest photos we’ve seen of it date to 2017, three years after the big festival left that spot for bigger venues. If I learn more, I will post updates on this page and on the Clonehenge Facebook group.
Until then, take time to relish the wonder of a Stonehenge built on the most beautiful beach in Crimea, playground of the rich and beautiful. We keep finding more of these Stonehenge-ish creations around the world (many more posts yet to come!), and, yes, it makes us laugh, but it has also been making us stop and say, “That’s funny.” It’s become such a pervasive phenomenon that we hardly know what to make of it. For now we’ll just keep finding and reporting them. We still have a little time to accumulate data before the world ends and we have to draw any conclusions!
We hope.
Find us on the Clonehenge Facebook group: Clonehenge: Stonehenge Replicas Unleashed, on the Clonehenge Facebook page, or on the Clonehenge Twitter account. Generally the Facebook group has the most activity. Find new henges (but be aware: we know just about every one in the wide world), take pictures of the old ones and post them, or make and post your own. We are what you’re looking for to distract you from the impending apocalyptic dystopia! When you need us, we’ll be here.
And until then or until next time, friends, we wish you some very happy henging!
CLONEHENGE 