What is it with mountains and the end of the world?
Last month, officials announced that a supposedly mystical mountain in France would be closed on Dec. 21 to prevent a flood of doomsday believers from coming to wait out the Mayan apocalypse. Now, a pyramid-shaped peak in Serbia is the site of similar frenzy, according to the Telegraph newspaper .
Bookings are pouring in for Dec. 21 at hotels around the mountain, the newspaper reported. That date is the day the ancient Maya Long Count Calendar completes a full cycle of creation, a fact that some believers have taken to herald an apocalypse.
In fact, everyone from NASA scientists to Maya scholars say that these beliefs are off-base. The Mayans never predicted that the end of their Long Count Calendar meant the end of the world, and there are no astronomical phenomenon headed our way that could possibly destroy the planet in less than two weeks. [Full Coverage: The Mayan Non-Apocalypse]
Nevertheless, believers are reportedly set to head for the hills — for Mount Rtanj, that is. The mountain is in eastern Serbia, part of the Carpathian range, and has long been the subject of myth. One old legend holds that the peak was once home to a wizard guarding a great treasure. More recently, the pyramid shape of the mountain has been attributed to alien influence.
These rumors have made the rounds online: On one site, abovetopsecret.com, posters write of mysterious glowing lights and UFOs seen in the sky around the mountain and draw parallels between the peak's shape and that of the Great Pyramids of Egypt. The theory is that the mountain holds an alien-built pyramid inside. According to the Telegraph, science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke called the mountain a place of special energy.
These rumors have apparently driven doomsday-fearers to seek out the mountain in hopes of protection.
"In one day we had 500 people trying to book rooms. People want to bring their whole families," Obrad Blecic, a hotel manager near Mount Rtanj, told the Telegraph.
Meanwhile, in the French Pyrenees, another supposed Mayan apocalypse "safe zone" has been closed for the alleged doomsday, with officials fearing an influx of doomsday cultists and journalists on Dec. 21. Like Mount Rtanj, France's Pic de Bugarach is the center of rumors about UFOs and mystical powers. Believers think the mountain will open up on doomsday, revealing an alien spacecraft that will carry people to safety.
Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas or LiveScience @livescience. We're also on Facebook & Google+. Oops! 11 Failed Doomsday Predictions Images: Mayan Calendar Carvings Doom and Gloom: Top 10 Post-Apocalyptic Worlds Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
The Age of Aquarius is what December 22, 2012 will be, not the end of the world, rather a new beginning of great technology and spiritual growth along with unrest. It's going to be an interesting age, but it's not the end, it's just the beginning!
lol Of Mount Rtanj.
Quoting Mommy_of_Riley:
The wonderful wizard of Oz!
Quoting frogbender:I'm off to see the wizard.
I guess this is great for businesses in those regions....
Like I told my husband a year ago, the end of the world better not happen until I watch "breaking Dawn pt. 2." I watched it on Friday, so if it wants to end it can. lol
The way I see it if it was the end of the world wouldn't we be seeing something? Like 300 mph winds, or superstorms or even a big rock flying our way. Or is it just going to stop? lol We will know in 10 days right?
I wonder what all of these believers are going to do when we wake up on 12/22/12 and everything and everyone is going on about their business without the chaos, destruction and stuff? Will they just wipe their foreheads and start preparing for the next one?
Who would you save?
- rfurlongg
on Dec. 11, 2012 at 3:49 PM