An aul; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (; ) is a type of fortified village or town found throughout the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. They are generally built out of stone, on faces of ridges or against cliffs in order to provide protection against surprise attacks. Houses are usually two stories high, and they are staggered to make it virtually impossible for enemies to get anywhere on the roads. The houses usually have a southern aspect to take advantage of the sun in the winter and to be sheltered from the northern winds. Often, they are not located near good farmland or water sources, so it is necessary to bring water into the settlement. In the 19th century, as

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

fought to conquer the Caucasus, auls were very formidable defences and could be taken for the most part only by storming. The auls of

Svaneti Svaneti (Svan language, Svan: შუ̂ან, ლემშუ̂ანიერა; ''shwan, lemshwaniera'', and Suania in ancient sources; ka, სვანეთი ) is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia (country), Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, with their distinctive medieval towers, have been recognized as a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

."Upper Svaneti - UNESCO World Heritage Centre"
''UNESCO World Heritage Centre'', United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Comparable towers may be found elsewhere in the Caucasus, specifically in

Ingushetia Ingushetia or Ingushetiya, officially the Republic of Ingushetia, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. The republic is part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and shares land borders with the country o ...

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* {{cite book , editor1-last=Kravets , editor1-first=S. L. , title=Болшая Российская энциклопедия. Том 2: Анкилоз — Банка , date=2005 , publisher=Болшая Российская энциклопедия , isbn=5-85270-330-3 , page=493, language=ru , chapter=АУЛ , url=https://old.bigenc.ru/ethnology/text/1840107

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