10 incredible black & white PHOTOS of the Altai Mountains

The Altai Mountains keep the memory of the ancient nomads that used to wander here very much alive. Endless burial mounds, ancient rock paintings and stone sculptures tell the story of the Great Silk Road that used to lie there. 

Famous Russian photographer Eduard Leven has been busy taking pictures of the Altai Mountains for 20 years already. Using just a few expressive means and monochromic film tape, he reconstructs that ancient spirit of this land which has still hardly changed by civilization.

1. Chadyr [the traditional hut of Altai peoples], the mouth of the Ilgumen River 

2. Two bridges over the Katun River 

3. Griffin’s gaze

4. Stone Warrior, the Ker-Kechu burial mound

5. The Katun River by the Inegen village

6. Rock paintings at Kalbak Tash

7. A camel and a passing car by the Chuya steppe

8. A cemetery by the Kurai village

9. A spring flood in the Uymon Valley

10. Two oxen grazing on the Chuya steppe

The ‘Griffin’s Gaze’ exhibition is on display at St. Petersburg’s ART OF FOTO gallery until May 30, 2021.