No place in the world is as far from another residential area as Easter Island. Easter Island is an island lost in the middle of the ocean, 4300 miles from South America and 2300 miles from Tahiti. It is one of the great mysteries of the world.

Why did I say it's one of your mysteries? Because there are statues called 'Moai' in gigantic sizes on this island. These statues were discovered in 1722 by a German sailor and explorer. The statues were recorded according to their type and size by a German linguist who went in 1935. While it is estimated that there are more than a thousand statues, 887 of them have been recorded.

 

Moai Statues are statues with a torso with extremely long ears, protruding jaws, a huge head, and no arms. The statues, all of the same shape, have prominent eyes and straight noses.

The tallest of the statues is called 'Paro'. Paro weighs 82 tons and is 10 meters long. But there is an unfinished statue that is heavier than Paro and it weighs 86 tons. 'Moai Kavakava' for the male statues; the female ones were called 'Moai Pæpæ'.

It is thought that the statues were made by the natives of the island between 1000-1600. The religious meanings of the statues are not fully known. However, it is thought that statues were made to represent the ancestors they lived with. Inscription symbols carved into many rocks and tattooed on many of the Moai Statues have been found on Easter Island. However, the meaning of the writings is still unsolved and remains a mystery.

 

The Moai Statues are made from volcanic tuffs taken from the Rano Raraku volcano in the east of the island. The interesting thing is that the sculptures were created in one piece. In other words, the chipping method is almost a work of art.

At the head of the statues are red hats called 'Pukao'. These hats are made of scoria red tuff from the Punapau volcano in the southwest of the island. In other words, the statues were placed later. The interesting part is that the weights of the hats are approximately 10 tons. How these hats weighing tons were placed on these gigantic statues still remains a mystery today.

It is understood that Rano Raraku was used as a sculpture workshop. The completed sculptures were moved to the sea-facing parts of the island. Recently, scientists have conducted research to find out how these statues were transported. As a result of these researches, they tried to copy a sculpture exactly and move it with the latest technology and human power.

As a result of these trials, they discovered that the sculptures were produced in a way that they would move forward when swayed from right to left, by being tied with ropes at different points. In other words, when these sculptures, weighing tons, are swayed left and right, they move forward by sliding over the tree tattoos.

 

The sculptures, which have been completed and survived the difficult transportation process, are placed on the road, on platforms called 'Ahu', which is not a random place. In other words, the Ahu, which we can consider as mausoleums, must be the ancient holy places of ancient tribes.

As a result of the experts' research and transport trials, they calculated that it takes 23,000 people and a day's work to carve, transport and place a Moai statue on Ahu. Considering that there are 887 statues recorded, I think the statues look more interesting to you. The mystery of the mysterious statues of this mysterious island, which is far from everywhere, is still unsolved.