Exploring SHULGAN-TASH CAVE and Other Ural Batyr Spots in BASHKORTOSTAN, Russia! with @ayyolamusic

Exploring SHULGAN-TASH CAVE and Other Ural Batyr Spots in BASHKORTOSTAN, Russia! with @ayyolamusic

I continue exploring Russia and today the 
Republic of Bashkortostan of Russia through the places of one of the most ancient 
epic tales of the world “Ural-Batyr”! and you know what?
In this video I’m   going to make it exclusively with the 
members of recently absolutely number one band of Russia AY YOLA Ruslan Sever! 
Hello everyone! And Rinat Ramazanov! My name is Sergey Baklykov.
This is “All of Russia” channel   on Baklykov.Live.

Ay Yola is really the number one band in Russia in 2025.
Now by streaming place numbers, numbers of radio and TV rotations, chart positions, 
and headlining at the largest festivals this year. In April, on the Shazam charts, Ay Yola 
song “Homay” even overtook Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga. Despite their extremely busy schedule, 
they are here with us today. Unfortunately, their singer Adel couldn’t join us. She’s now 
recovering between big tours across Russia. [Music] [Music] All of a Ay Yola songs so far are 
related to the “Ural-Batyr” and the guys keep diving into it not only through their music 
but also by visiting the actual places mentions in the legend. Most of these locations 
can be reached on a day trip from Ufa, the capital of the Republic of 
Bashkortostan of Russia. Today,   in just one day, we visited the Maqam of Ural 
Batyr, the Shulgantash Cave, the Blue Lake, and the Yylkysykkan-Kul Lake, from where 
Ural-Batyr’s horse Akbuzat emerged. The route to these sites passes through the 
incredibly picturesque Beloretsky and   Burzyansky districts of Bashkortostan — 
rivers, mountains, forests, and fields. Our first stop is at the Yandyk spring (in the 
epic Yanshishma), located between the villages   of Ismakayevo and Verkhny Avzyan. According 
to the legend, this is where Ural-Batyr rests. You can find the exact 
coordinates in the description. This is the Yandek spring. Yandek Shishma, Yanshishma, 
a spring of living water. It flows into the Avzyan river — also called 
Dauyan. Dauyan comes from dau — great, huge, and yan — soul. Literally, a great soul, 
but it can also mean a great man or a giant. Alpamysha. Yanshishma flows into 
the Dauyan, and there is Ural-Batyr. We are now in a very sacred place. here rests Ural-Batyr, the 
messenger sent to the Bashkir people to guide them on the righteous 
path, the path of light and goodness. In the Holy Qur’an it is said that 
124,000 messengers came into this world, each sent to their own people to convey 
the truth in their native language. And here, on a memorial stone, is an 
excerpt from Surah Ibrahim, verse 4 We sent not a messenger except 
in the language of his people,   so that he might make the message clear to them The Almighty guides whom he wills. Below is the Vasyat — the testament of Ural-Batyr, in which he calls upon his people to 
follow the path he cleared of evil Create fertile lands here. In battle,   always lead and be glorious batyrs 
(heroes). I leave you Akbuzat, my horse, and the diamond sword so that you will never give 
way to evil and always walk in the path of light. That’s the testament of Ural-Batyr. Here is the actual resting place of Ural-Batyr A pine log with stones of 
aspen limestone at its base. There are benches for visitors. People come here 
from all over Bashkortostan, from across Russia, and from historic Bashkir lands — traveling 
thousands-thousands of kilometers to pray in honor of Ural-Batyr and for the land he 
bequeathed to his people: for blessing, mercy, unity, sincerity, mutual help, and 
a bright future for their children. Such places are considered places of power, 
and we believe that prayers here are heard. And this entire journey we are 
on now is probably thanks to the   fact that these places exist. And 
to this day people pray for us. I myself came here with my father 
and helped set all of this up. And we feel this power. We feel Ural-Batyr — as if, in some 
completely unexplainable moments, something incredible happens 
that the mind cannot comprehend. With all, so to speak, logical reasoning, it shouldn’t be this way.
But that’s how it turns out — and   Ural-Batyr always clears the way for us. We believe in this very sincerely 
and are convinced of it every time. because the first time — it’s a coincidence, 
the second time — just an accident but the third time — it already becomes a pattern. I can confirm that myself. Since we began recording our album — I want to remind you that 
our entire album is based on the Ural-Batyr epic. It is dedicated to some of the major 
and most important chapters of the epic. Incredible things have happened. Our recent song, Ural Vasyaty is directly 
about Ural-Batyr’s testament to his people, the very words carved on this stone. And truly unique things happen. For example, we arrive for a shoot and there’s 
bad weather everywhere. We go ahead anyway, and as soon as the car stops, the sky clears. It’s raining all around. But at the filming location, wherever 
we are, the weather is perfect. When we flew to Yakutya, all the 
forecasts predicted bad weather. But in the end it turned out to be the earliest 
spring. And we stayed there for three days. And for all three days the 
weather In Yakutya was perfect. And it’s like that everywhere. A lot of unexplainable things happen. Times when it seems impossible for 
us to get to a concert in some city, the weather is bad, flights are 
cancelled, something else goes wrong. Yet somehow, at the very last moment, 
we still manage to arrive and make it on time. This happens to us very often. And 
I’ll tell you another interesting thing. You can trace it in our work. I’m. How should I put it? A man of science, a man of numbers. 
And it seems that through numbers they decided to tell me, Rooslan, open your eyes! We are constantly followed by 
the number 333, three threes. It’s in the compositions, it’s in the key 
track. I have never planned the exact length of our songs. But when we recorded the piece 
dedicated to Shulgen — Ural-Batyr’s brother — it was a challenging one, because Shulgen is the 
dark side. And when I made the first render, I noticed that its length was 
exactly 3 minutes and 33 seconds. In the final composition, there’s a 
moment where the music stops completely Total silence. This symbolizes Ural-Batyr leaving us. And that 
pause happens exactly at 3 minutes and 33 seconds. How to explain that? I don’t know. We even have 
screenshots showing 303 subscribers. 333 likes 333 comments. In Moscow 
we went to the first skyscraper with Rinat to see the city. And when we 
approached the viewpoint, the marker read 333 meters. And the most interesting thing I must 
say, is what’s happening with our creativity. For so many years, Rinat had been writing 
and creating music with the band Argymak. For so many years I had been creating as well. and the moment we touched the Ural-Batyr epic, 
everything started to change. People began following us with much 
greater interest, studying and exploring. And here again you could say 333. tourism to 
Bashkortostan has nearly tripled, and sales have increased not just thirtyfold, as was said before, 
but I think we can safely say thirty-threefold. The top three Google searches – Bashkortostan, 
Ural-Batyr, and translation of the song “Homay” Therefore, that’s the magic. It’s my first time in this place 
and I’ve long wanted to come. I’d heard a lot about it from Rinat. And now I want to go, take the kubyz, 
play a little and gather some power. By the way, this is how we start our concert — we   open with a fragment of a 
piece called “Ural-Batyr.” It’s a traditional folk composition. And here you have the chance to 
hear it in such a powerful place. “Ural” next to Ural-Batyr, yes. Going to the next location. Next stop — the Blue Lake and the 
world-famous Shulgan-Tash Cave, which recently received UNESCO World Heritage   status and is directly connected 
to Ural-Batyr’s brother Shulgen. We are now inside the Shulgan-Tash Cave.  Shulgan, according to the epic, 
is Ural-Batyr’s own brother And he turned to the side of the dark forces. The legend says he hid here together with all 
the Divs, serpents and other creatures of the underworld. And look, here flows the water. This 
is the lake with an explored depth of 103 meters. As of today. So far, that’s 
all that has been studied. Next, we’ll head to Yylkysykkan-Kul Lake 
— the lake from which the horses emerged,   according to the Ural-Batyr epic. From there came 
the horse Akbuzat, who led out his offspring. The horses that serve people today 
are said to be Akbuzat’s descendants.  These two lakes are connected by an underground 
current, with a distance between them of about 6 kilometers, if I’m not mistaken.
Both here and there,   the lake bottoms are connected!
Just imagine, 103 meters deep. I have no idea what’s down there, 
but it’s a very fascinating story. Another fascinating fact. On the other side of the cave 
lies a lake of dead water. And just a few weeks ago, 
when we were in Istanbul,   Shulgan-Tash Cave was recognized 
as a heritage of humanity. UNESCO organization recognized 
Shulgantash as a heritage of humanity. This is the result of great 
work by scientists and researchers of Bashkortostan. I believe it opens up many 
opportunities for the culture of our land and our people. And that’s why it’s 
a place you absolutely have to visit. Rock paintings that were made literally 
thousands and thousands of years ago. Yes, and we haven’t even mentioned the 
most important thing. The rock paintings in this cave are estimated to 
be around 20,000 years old. They have been preserved thanks to 
the cave’s temperature and humidity Just imagine the cave has 
a certain natural relief,   a structure. And at a particular angle 
you can see the outlines of animals. The artist was able to highlight these shapes   with paint so skillfully that the 
image takes on a kind of 3D form. It’s the cave’s natural relief 
combined with the applied pigments. And just like with Michelangelo or da 
Vinci, the angle of light reveals eyes, nostrils. All of this suddenly comes 
alive in the animals. Truly amazing. I’ve already mentioned today that 
very unusual things tend to happen   when we appear in places of power. 
Look, the sun is shining brightly, yet at the same time it’s raining. I’m not sure 
if the cameras are catching it, but it’s raining. Special attention should be given to the new,   modern Shulgan-Tash Historical and 
Cultural Museum-Reserve, opened in 2022. Seven themed halls tell about the history 
of the cave, archaeological discoveries, the study of its rock paintings, and 
the structure of the karst system. You can also see a full-scale 3D 
model of the Shulgan-Tash Cave. On the second floor, there is a section 
dedicated to the Ural-Batyr epic. The final point of our Ural-Batyr epic 
route today is Yylkysykkan Lake. It is located just 6 kilometers 
from the Shulgan-Tash Cave. This is the winged horse Akbuzat — the horse of   Ural-Batyr, who helped him in his 
battle against the forces of evil. Akbuzat was kept by Homay, 
who waited for her beloved the one who could tame this horse. And 
the only one who succeeded was Ural-Batyr. Pure soul. Only a pure soul could tame such a horse. And in the epic, when Akbuzat descends from 
the heavens, all the waters on earth boil, the ground trembles, thunder 
roars, lightning flashes everything shakes as Akbuzat 
comes down from the sky. We have depicted this very scene in our song. Yeah. Will you drop the beat? Let’s do it! Bulat almaz kalysymda — this is the 
diamond sword that was kept by Akbuzat. And here are the very words: Kolagyn 
bezzei kazagan yalyn kyzzai taragan. This is exactly the description 
of how Akbuzat descends — noisily   cutting through the surface of 
the lake, raising a storm on land. Akbuzat emerges — the protector of all 
livestock. On his back lies a saddle,   and hanging from the pommel of that 
saddle is a sword sharp as a diamond. This description from the epic is precisely 
what we’ve portrayed in our song Akbuzat,   which will also be released soon. By the way, if you watch one 
of our live performances,   we’ll probably leave a link in the description. You’ll be able to hear this song in full 
exclusively because it hasn’t been released yet. And here is that very smooth lake surface. this is Yylkysykkan Lake. Yylkysykkan-Kul translates as 
the lake from which the horses came out. These are the descendants 
of Akbuzat, who serve people today. This lake is described in the epic as well. Interestingly, its bottom is connected by 
an underwater current to the bottom of the lake inside Shulgan-Tash Cave. The underwater 
distance between them is about 6 kilometers. The explored depth is currently around 103 meters 
— that’s as far as research has gone so far. There is a very strong underwater current here. Recently they began sending underwater drones, but 
so far they can only go down to about 30 meters. Work on this is ongoing. This is what the lake looks like. It may seem small, but in reality a 
try diving in. Try to reach the bottom It looked like a small lake, but 
you immediately drop down deep. You could even drown the Eiffel Tower in here. A hundred meters deep. Can you imagine? And look, the magic again. The magic is back. The magic is starting again. And look, it’s not morning fog, it’s evening fog. And you know what’s great about 
Akbuzat? He can fly in any weather. This is the sculptor Ulfat Kubagushev. His grandson is a classmate of my son 
and his brother was my faculty dean. Yes, he has since passed away. Well, it’s a small world. Silence. Now only cricket. Oh, how nice it is. And how amazing that we 
managed to see so much today. Yes, we visited the very 
resting place of Ural-Batyr. Yes, we visited the very resting place 
of Ural-Batyr. Then we went to the place   where his brother Shulgen, who had 
turned to the dark side, once hid. We saw the living lake with its 
living water, the dead-water lake,   Yylkysykkan-Kul, and Ural-Batyr’s loyal 
friend and companion — his horse Akbuzat. Incredible. This is only a small part of the Ural-Batyr epic 
locations that we managed to visit today. And if you go deeper, you’ll find that the 
entire republic is, in one way or another,   connected to the Ural-Batyr epic His sons — Idel, Nugush, Yaik, and 
Khakmar — as well as Shulgen’s son, who eventually turned to the light side and 
joined his brothers in the fight against evil. These names are carried by our rivers. Nugush, Khakmar, Yaik, and Idel — the 
longest and largest river in the republic. The Yanbika and Yanbirde mountains in the 
Beloretsky district are the parents of Ural-Batyr. The Yanbika and Yanbirde mountains in the 
Beloretsky district are the parents of Ural-Batyr. And almost every district of Bashkortostan, 
starting from the Orenburg region, has its own   connection. For example, there is Lake Azhdaly-Kul 
— the place where the divs and serpents once were. Near this lake lies the dormant Blyavtomagsky 
volcano, with its ancient volcanic rocks. We have caves, the cracks of 
the Kryktytau Ridge — which,   according to the legend, were cut open by one 
of Ural-Batyr’s sons to make way for a river. And there’s Yamantau — the mountain of the corpses   of divs and serpents slain 
by Ural-Batyr and his sons. allacrosstherepublic. You know, I 
think some people might say, well,   these guys just really love their republic. But 
I can share a few scientific facts and one fact   that truly amazes me. The first time I came across 
the Ural Bair epic was back in my school years. All across the republic.
You know, I think some people might say, Well, these guys just really love their 
republic! But I can share a few scientific facts — and one fact that truly amazes me.
The first time I came across the Ural-Batyr epic was back in my school years. I was always 
struck by the part where Ural-Batyr sets out on a journey riding a lion. Yes — on a 
lion. I had never seen lions in Bashkortostan. And yet, relatively recently — about 15 
years ago — in two caves of Bashkortostan, the remains of ancient cave lions were 
discovered. That’s how it is. Believe it or not. Also, Mount Iramal is a separate natural wonder. from its slopes, all the rivers of 
Bashkortostan flow in different directions. According to the legend, one of Ural-Batyr’s sons   cut through this mountain, and 
from it the rivers spread out. You can climb it from the Chelyabinsk region,   from the Uchaly district, or 
from the Beloretsky district And from there, rivers flow in all directions 
across the historical lands of Bashkortostan. I can tell you that on the summit of Mount Iremel,   you can meet people of absolutely 
all kinds, from all faiths. Everyone there receives a kind of 
inspiration filled with the life force,   the power of nature, the strength 
of this mountain and this space. If you want to charge yourself with energy for the 
whole coming year, or even for your entire life, and set your intentions and goals 
here, then our land is truly unique. You come here and it’s as if someone is 
pumping, pumping, pumping energy into you. You end up completely filled, like a 
turbocharged engine with 500 horsepower. And if you simply want to immerse yourself 
in all of this, to take your first step,   then I think you should listen to our 
first songs that have already been released and watch the music videos. And watch the videos and 
you’ll understand everything. I want to urge you to subscribe to us because 
we’re showing some new work almost every day, as well as revealing the deeper 
meanings embedded in Ural-Batyr. They are universal and resonate with 
absolutely everyone. So subscribe, follow us and stay with us. Also today, we’re not here with the full lineup. Tomorrow we’re heading out on tour. Many will ask, where? Where’s Adele? Tomorrow we have a long, tough road ahead. We men can handle two days of such a 
trip, a powerful trip. But for Adele,   it’s a bit more difficult. That’s 
why I’m sure she will appear in the next videos and then it will become even 
more fun and interesting for you with us. So, ladies and gentlemen, this was a real great 
tour through some of significant places related to Ural-Batyr – the most ancient epic tales 
of the republic of Bashkortostan of Russia and one of the oldest in the 
World, made by these guys who recently got their triumph being 
inspired by Ural Batyr epic tale. My name is Sergey Baklykov. This is Ruslan Sever. Rinat Ramazanov – Ay Yola band! See you guys! Best wishes. See you in our concert. Cheers!

Together with Ruslan Sever and Rinat Ramazanov, the members of AY YOLA band, exploring the Republic of Bashkortostan of Russia, following the spots, related to “Ural-Batyr”, the most ancient epic poem of Bashkir people, and one of the oldest in the World.

Recently, according to the number of streaming plays, rotations on TV and radio, chart positions and featuring as headliners in the large music festivals, Ay Yola is the most trendy band in Russia.

The creativity of Ay Yola is directly related to “Ural-Batyr”, because all the songs so far are inspired by and dedicated to it. Every song is a relation to the most significant chapters of “Ural-Batyr” epic poem.

In this video we have visited the maqam of Ural Batyr, the famous Shulgantash-Cave with the 20,000 years rock paintings, it’s Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve and Yylkysykkan Lake.

Also, of course, the guys performed some music for us.

AY YOLA:
Ruslan Sever (Shaikhitdinov) – composer, sound producer.
Rinat Ramazanov – singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter
Adel Shaikhitdinova – lead-singer (the daughter of Ruslan Sever)

Join AY YOLA on YouTube – https://youtube.com/@ayyolamusic
Exclusive – The new song “Akbuzat” which is not released yet but once performed at concert here – https://youtu.be/x59c3wKfLfc?si=gl10OgIKGed8rnLp&t=1174
Ural-Batyr Maqam location – https://yandex.com/maps/-/CHt5E2Lt