From the USA to China, from Serbia to France millions are preparing for the fateful day, Friday, December 21, 2012. Many believe the 5,125-year cycle of the Mayan Long Count calendar comes to a close and will result in the end of the world. Whatever calendar you choose it begs the question of where should you be and what should you be doing? Take a look at how some people around the world are preparing , different parts of the globe they are descending upon and find out what the Mayan think about it all.
Serbia's Mystical Mountain: Mt. Rtanj
To the dismay of the local population and the delight of the real estate agents thousands are flocking to Serbia's Mt. Rtanj.
Mt. Rtanj is located in Serbia, the peak rises up 3830 feet (1570 meters) The old Roman name for this peak is Aartan meaning artificial mountain.
Mt. Rtanj, Sacred Mountain in Serbia
This mountain has a three sided geometric natural stone pyramid on its peak. Natives say that there are many paranormal events that have been associated with this mountain over the years. The surrounding region abounds with stories of black magic from the old Valch (Vlasi people).
There are a series of strange X marks on the south side of the mountain, these can be seen on Google satellite images when you zoom down to the 1.25 km mark. The peak on Mt Rtanj is called Siljak, which translates in English to "The Spike", for a supposedly natural formation it has extremely straight lines. Nestled deep within Serbia's Carpathian mountain range, Mount Rtanj is thought to house a 'pyramidal' structure left behind by alien visitors thousands of years ago that will emit a powerful force field at the moment of Armageddon, protecting those in its vicinity.
Hotel owners around the pyramid-shaped Mount Rtanj, in the east of the Balkan country, say that bookings are flooding in, with believers in the prophecy hoping that its purported mysterious powers will save them from the apocalypse.
Adherents of the end-of-the-world scenario think the 5,100ft-high mountain, part of the Carpathian range, conceals a pyramidal building inside, left behind by alien visitors thousands of years ago.
Arthur C Clarke, the British science fiction writer, reportedly identified the peak as a place of "special energy" and called it "the navel of the world".
The origins of those rumors have been linked to the works of the late Azerbaijani-born author Zecharia Sitchin, who wrote in 1976 (Earth Chronicles & Divine Encounters) that he had found and translated Sumerian documents identifying the rogue planet. Sitchin died in 2010 at the age of 90.
France's Sacred Mountain: Pic de Bugarach
Surrounded in legend for centuries, Bugarach Mountain has become a focal point for many Apocalypse believers as rumors have circulated that its mountain contains Portals into other worlds, or that extraterrestrials will return here on Judgment day to take refuge at their base. Residents of the tiny southern French hamlet, population 200, are witness to a rising influx of Doomsday believers convinced it is the only place on earth that will survive judgment day.
Pic de Bugarach, Dec 21 2012
There are potentially thousands of people waiting for the mountain to open so they can board spaceships to be saved from imminent destruction on the day of the Apocalypse. Other believe that the end of the world is not imminent but many people will perish in the dawn of a new age of enlightenment. To them Bugarach is their last hope of salvation.
"Further, rumours persist that the country's late president François Mitterrand was transported by helicopter on to the peak, while the Nazis, and, later, Israel's Mossad, performed mysterious digs there. Now the nearby village is awash with New Agers, who have boosted the local economy, though their naked group climbs up to the peak have raised concerns as well as eyebrows. Among other oddities, some hikers have been spotted scaling the mountain carrying a ball with a golden ring, strung together by a single thread".
France has recently attempted to to dash the hopes of those who had planned to take refuge at one of the few places on Earth safe from destruction. They will deploy 100 policemen and firefighters around the perimeter of the peak to prevent the new agers from getting to the top. It almost seems comical that they think 100 people can prevent thousands from reaching their only chance at salvation.
Berea, Kentucky, USA
Lawrence Joseph, author of Apocalypse 2012: A Scientific Investigation Into Civilization's End, says that Jerusalem, Angkor Wat, the Vatican and Mecca might be natural choices but, no, "of all the sacred sites in the world, none embodies the sacred Mayan values of service to humanity and Mother Earth like the town of Berea, Kentucky."
Entrance to Berea College Ancient Sacred Forest
Berea is situated in southern Madison County near the edge of central Kentucky’s Blue Grass Region. The city is located 39 miles south of Lexington, Kentucky; 113 miles southeast of Louisville, Kentucky and 132 miles north of Knoxville, Tennessee. Boasting a small town atmosphere with rich cultural and historic roots, Berea is an ideal place to live, work, play and possibly escape the impending holocaust.
Berea is located at 37°34′37″N 84°17′37″W (37.576844, -84.293555) and boast a humid continental climate and has an enviable average elevation of over just 1000 feet (312 meters) with peaks at 2500 feet (830 meters).
Joseph explains the origin of the town's name (Acts 17:10-14), he goes on to talk about the tuition free Berea College and its Eco-village and most importantly the region's remarkable seismic and volcanic stability.
There has been a population explosion in Berea since 2000, a whopping increase of almost 30%. Doomsday believers have caused an the real estate offices in Berea to hum with new business over the last year. David Rowlett, Executive Director of the Berea Chamber of Commerce says the folks in Florida are already on to the secret, judging from the number of inquiries he is getting from the hurricane prone state, it is making the area one of the fastest growing in Kentucky.
Berea does not claim to have UFOs hidden in the surrounding mountains that will whisk you off into the universe on Dec. 21, 2012 but the location seems to be imminently survivable and a friendly place to live.
Survival Pods: Noah's Ark
If you really want to be safe you can buy some apocalypse survival pods.
Liu Qiyuan next to Noah's Ark Pods
According to Sky News, a 45-year-0ld Chinese farmer and furniture making is selling apocalypse survival pods, dubbed Noah’s Arks, in order to ensure your survival on December 21, 2012. The tsunami-proof survival pods can withstand tsunamis and earthquakes according to their creator Liu Qiyuan.
The pods are made using a fiberglass casing over a steel frame and are each equipped with oxygen tanks, food and water supplies. They also come with seat belts – essential for surviving in storms.
Qiyuan said:
“The pod won’t have any problems even if there are 1,000-meter-high waves… it’s like a ping pong ball, its skin may be thin, but it can withstand a lot of pressure.”
The apocalypse survival pods are a little expensive (about $50,000) but Qiyuan said that they are big enough for 30 people. Qiyuan said that the pods are designed to fit 14 people but in an emergency, like the Mayan apocalypse, the pods are capable of keeping 30 people alive for two months.
Qiyuan also notes that you can survive in Noah’s Ark anywhere in the world. If a giant tsunami wave carries you down to the south pole you could still live ”for four months in the pod … without freezing, or even feeling slightly cold.”
“If there really is some kind of apocalypse then you could say I've made a contribution to the survival of humanity,” said Liu.
Doomsday Ready: Ark Two, Ontario Canada
Don't talk to Bruce Beach about doomsday. He's been preparing for impending disaster for a half-century and has seen apocalyptic agitation come and go, like so many fads.
Beach's Doomsday Ark II
So forgive him for not panicking over the end of the Mayan calendar on Dec. 21, this coming Friday.
The 78-year-old former high school teacher from Montreal, has a huge nuclear bunker in Ontario, built his first shelter for the Cuban missile crisis in the 1960s.
People regularly drop in to seek refuge in the shelter he built in the 1980s, named the "Ark Two," which comprises 42 buried school buses.
His most recent visit was three weeks ago.
The labyrinth, with its kitchens, showers and separate bunk rooms for children and adults, is about 90 kilometres northwest of Toronto, in Horning's Mills, Ontario.
"People have been in a panic because someone has prophesied the end of the world this particular week or whatever," Beach said in a phone interview from his home.
"They call us up just to make sure we have space in the shelter and I tell them, 'For sure, come on down."'
Beach's main concern has always been the threat of nuclear attacks, which he fears are even closer than ever because of Middle East conflicts and Iran's suspected weapons program.
As far as he's concerned, the most troubling news as of late has come from the North Koreans -- not the Mayans.
"Everybody was all excited about the North Korean (rocket) launch because you see if they put a satellite in space, they can also put up a nuclear weapon," Beach said.
So Bruce says to those interested......."come on down" I don't think he has any idea of the response he may get!
Mayan Face December 21, 2012 with calm
Mayans in Prayer about Dec 21, 2012
Amid a worldwide frenzy of advertisers and new-agers preparing for a Maya apocalypse, one group is approaching Dec. 21 with calm and equanimity — the people whose ancestors supposedly made the prediction in the first place.
Mexico's 800,000 Maya Indians are not the sinister, secretive, apocalypse-obsessed race they've been made out to be.
In their heartland on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, the Maya continue their daily lives, industriously pedaling three-wheeled bikes laden with family members and animal fodder down table-flat roads. They tell rhyming off-color jokes at dances, and pull chairs out onto the sidewalk in the evening to chat and enjoy the relative cool after a hot day.
Many still live simply in thatched, oval, mud-and-stick houses designed mostly for natural air conditioning against the oppressive heat of the Yucatan, where they plant corn, harvest oranges and raise pigs.
When asked about the end next week of a major cycle in the 5,125-year Mayan Long Count calendar, a period known as the 13th Baktun, many respond with a healthy dose of homespun Maya philosophy.
"We don't know if the world is going to end," said Liborio Yeh Kinil, a 62-year-old who can usually be found sitting on a chair outside his small grocery store at the corner of the grassy central square of the town of Uh-May in Quintana Roo state.
Reflecting a world view with roots as old as the nearby Ceiba tree, or Yax-che, the tree of life for the ancient Maya, Yeh Kinil added:
"Why get panicky? If something is going to happen, it's going to happen."
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