Uluru (or Ayers Rock) is the symbol of Australia, not only for its shape and changing colours, but for the secrets it holds
Wonder, amazement, magnificence: three emotions that intertwine and that for a few seconds literally leave you speechless. It happens when you open your eyes to the most impressive rock formation in Australia. One of the largest in the world. Ayers Rock is its name in English but, if you don't find enough material on the Internet, the trick is to change your search term: its original name is, in fact, Uluru.
Ayers Rock stands out about 320 meters above the surrounding area; it is 864 meters high above sea level and has a diameter of approximately 8 km. Surrounded by the surface of the bush, if you travel by car you can see it from afar even tens of kilometers away. It is located in the Northern Territory, in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, 450 km south-west of the city of Alice Springs.
Its shape and color are known throughout the world, making it the true symbol of Australia. If from a distance it appears almost smooth, in reality it hides caves, springs, pools and ancient paintings.
The color seems to change depending on the different hours of the day and the months of the year: as the sun rises and sets, the presence of some minerals, such as feldspars, causes a reflection of the red light and makes it fantastic. But it is not difficult to see it also in amber and gold. Don't be caught unprepared: Uluru is often called a monolith, but it is only a portion of one rock formation largely underground. And, above all, it is not just "stone", but is largely made up of iron, the oxidation of which contributes to making its color bright.
Uluru plays an important role in the mythology of dreamtime Aboriginal populations of the place, that is, that set of ancestral stories that attempt to explain the geographical characteristics of the territory. According to these myths, Tatji, Red Lizard, arrived at Uluru and launched his own boomerang, which was planted in the rock. In search of her “kali”, she left numerous round holes on the surface.
Then there is the myth of the two bird brothers, bellbird, engaged in hunting an emu, which fled towards Uluru. Here two blue-tongued lizardmen they killed and butchered him. When the two bellbirds asked them for emu, faced with the proposal of a miserable piece of meat, they burned them alive. Potholes and charred corpses would thus explain the current shape of the gigantic Uluru. But who knows how many other “dream stories” still exist.
