Almost the middle of Australia, Uluru is the Aboriginal name. White men call it Ayers Rock. At 1141 feet high, 2.2 miles long and 1.2 miles wide, it is an impressive monolith in the desert. The Aboriginal owners of Uluru call themselves Anangu. Uluru is only the visible tips of a massive underground rock slab. No one knows how massive the rock is underground. It is made of arkose sandstone, rich in feldspar. It would be grey but has a high iron content, which causes it to turn red as the iron rusts.
The Anangu people belong to the oldest culture known to man dating back 60,000 years. They believe that their culture has always existed in Central Australia and that this landscape was created at the beginning of time by the travels of great ancestral beings. Uluru is said to provide physical evidence of these ancient events. It has been used for traditional ceremonies and rites of passage for over 10,000 years. Rituals are still often held today in the caves around the base where ‘No Photography’ signs are posted out of respect. Many of the caves around the rock hold deep spiritual meanings and contain ancient rock paintings. The Anangu would prefer people not climb Uluru out of respect and airplanes do not fly directly over the rock.
TOAL-Trip of a Lifetime 