Near the Lancaster road starts to rise and fall smoothly, overcoming the picturesque hills (America

I think that even in America, not everyone knows that in the United States in the twenty-first century, there are tens of thousands prominent of people who prefer the horse cars and tractors, prominent practically do not use electricity and telephone, fertilizers and other achievements of civilization. And these people live not only in the outback. Their biggest community is in Pennsylvania near the town of Lancaster, only half an hour drive from Philadelphia.
There are these people in America three centuries ago, and it is no coincidence at first settled in Pennsylvania - the then British colonies overseas. Once the English King Charles II lost his card Admiral Penn a lot of money, and when he died, without having to pay than to his son William, he offered to nature - to win, but have not yet mastered the overseas land.
Even today in the world are not so many of these countries, but became the first English colony in America, overseas, now Pennsylvania, meaning "Penn forested country." First komuUilyam Penn offered to move to their country, were persecuted while in Europe the Protestants. At first it came countrymen English Quakers prominent and founded the largest city in the colonies Philadelphia and many other towns in the county. Following them from Prussia and the German part of Switzerland began to come those who are called Amish. Of the many to come at that time in Pennsylvania Protestant sects, they only managed to retain to this day their lifestyle.
William Penn Amish gave free land near the current Lancaster (this west from Philadelphia, inland kilometers by 100). From there they were slowly razezzhatsya across America. Now in the United States live about 250 thousand Amish. Selyatsya they tend to compact. Their large communities are in Midwestern states (Indiana, Kansas), and they live in Maryland and in other states. The largest (82,000 people) is still Amish in Pennsylvania. Nearly the same community, as in Pennsylvania, is also in the neighboring state of Ohio. Places of compact settlement of Amish in any state does not administratively allocated: side by side and intermingled with them and other Americans living with their traditions, beliefs prominent and businesses, so that the name "Amish Country" I just made.
One fine Saturday morning in early autumn, my friends decided to hit the road in the direction of the American Amish country. From Philadelphia to Lancaster is the 30th road, half a century ago for the first time connected the east and west coasts of the country. Today it is a very rustic, sometimes even a single-row highway.
Near the Lancaster road starts to rise and fall smoothly, overcoming the picturesque hills (Americans call them rolling hills , ie rolls hills). On both sides of the road open pastoral views of green fields with scattered farms on the hills, grazing cows and sticking silos. This is the first sign that we enter in Amish country, which they name Farmland - country farm.
Suddenly, from the side of the road left and raced towards us as if moved down to the old Dutch pictures gig harnessed bouncy horse. In the carriage were two ladies, dressed in long, in the tone of a horse, black dresses (one in white and one in black cap) and two little boys (at the head of one of them was an old-fashioned straw hat, and the other was holding the exact same in the hands) . I barely had the brakes to grab advance position on the torpedo chamber and pull the trigger.
Clatter on the asphalt horse and its rider, not paying any attention to us, if it is we, and not they were ghosts, ran past and disappeared around the bend. On the highway again, there were only racing trucks, jeeps and other monsters of civilization. And if we do not dreamed it?
Soon a big intersection near us slowed strange rectangular coach gray from the open rear window which looked out the boy, too, in a straw hat. As soon as the light turned green, she playfully took off and disappeared too quickly. Already from the first meetings with the inhabitants of the country, I made a simple Amish lesson here to catch a good shot, the camera prominent must be kept on constantly, and most importantly - do not slam the ears.
The farther we advanced into the country, the more began to come never before seen before us on American roads horses harnessed to the antediluvian and unusual crews. They sat strangely prominent dressed people: men, as a rule, with a big beard, straw or black felt hats,
And when in the open field seemed Redhead savraska, hopelessly pulling some tricky plow, we finally believed and were convinced that this is not an open air theater, and we have just entered the Amish country.
Those who today call the Amish (under the name of the largest sect), actually consist of not much different from each other Protestant sects, of which the most