Tourists flock as Indian guru Babaji singles out Italian village which will survive doomsday

Cisternino, Italy, Dec 21: A small town in southern Italy is experiencing a spike in visitor numbers with clocks counting down to December 21, the end of the Mayan calendar, which some believe signals the end of the world. There has been a long held belief that the Cisternino in Puglia, would survive the cataclysm. Its status as a safe haven has grown out of an apparent prediction by Babaji, Indian guru Shri Herakhan Baba who revealed that "Cisternino will become an island" once the world comes to an end. Followers of Babaji built a strong community in Cisternino, which rotates around an ashram built in 1979. But the foundation behind Babaji followers, the Bhole Baba Foundation, has denied any specific reference to the end-of-days theory in any of their guru's messages. Babaji had predicted that a cultural revolution would change the world, a transformation that would enlighten consciences and create new values. "Babaji certainly told us about a big change in the future, a change in human consciences, a change for better times, a change that would bring a sense of humanity on earth," said Federico Esposito, spokesman of the Ashram Bhole Baba centre. According to Antonio Giacchetti, translator of the book "Maya Factor", the end of the Mayan calendar could have another interpretation. "Every 26, 000 years the solar system is aligned with the centre of galaxy and this will cause us to receive a new frequency emission. Some experts say that this new frequency will release endorphin inside our brains. This will change our perceptions. We will see, hear and perceive a different reality," he told the Associated Press. Regardless, tourists continue to flock to the Cisternino. Hotel bookings have in fact grown compared to the same period last year, and the Mayor of the town, Donato Beccaro, is prepared to greet the peculiar tourists. "Cisternino is one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, it's a slow town, where everything goes on slowly, the quality of life is different, better," Beccaro explained. "A lot of foreign people, once they have visited the town, choose to live here, this confirms that this place has an special energy," he said. Cisternino is also famous for the great number of 'trulli', the typical Apulian white huts with conical roofs that are scattered throughout the area. The area is known as 'Trullishire', due to the great number of British citizens who have bought vacation homes there. A large party has been organised for Friday, with hot-air balloons and music in the main piazza. "Everybody in Cisternino was talking about the end of the world, so we decided to stay here a little bit longer to see if something happens," said Aurane Mendy, who was staying in the town with her boyfriend's family. Believers are being drawn to spots like Cisternino, where they think their chances of survival will be better, and accompanying them are the curious, the party-lovers and people wanting to make some money. Locations include the French town of Bugarach, the famous Stonehenge in Britain and Mount Rtanj, a pyramid-shaped peak in Serbia. The Mayans measure time in 394-year periods known as Baktuns. The 13th Baktun ends around Dec. 21, and 13 is considered a sacred number. Therefore, the belief that Friday will be a milestone in history, if not the end of a cycle or of the world itself.