Dagestan.

History

Derbent is considered Russia's oldest city, with written records going back to the 8th century BC. In the early centuries AD Dagestan was part of Caucasian Albania, and in the 6th century the Sasanians built Derbent's Naryn-Kala citadel and walls across the narrow pass between sea and mountains, the 'Caspian Gates'. Islam arrived in 643, and the Arabs called the city Bab al-Abwab, the 'Gate of Gates'. In 1844 the Petrovskoye fort was founded on the coast; it became the town of Petrovsk-Port in 1857 and has been called Makhachkala since 1921.

Culture & traditions

Most of Dagestan's languages belong to the Nakh-Dagestanian family, with Russian as the common tongue; the republic has 14 official languages. The largest groups in the capital are Avars, Kumyks and Dargins, while Derbent is home to Lezgins, Azerbaijanis and Tabasarans. The mountain village of Kubachi, at 1,750 m, appears in Persian chronicles of the 4th century as Zerihgaran, 'place of chain-mail makers', and its craftsmen are famed for weapons, jewellery and metalwork. Derbent's Juma Mosque, built over a 6th-century basilica, is considered the oldest mosque in Russia.

Nature

The republic runs from the Caspian coast up into the high Caucasus, with its highest point at Bazardyuzyu (4,470 m). More than 1,800 rivers flow through it. The Sulak has cut a canyon 53 km long and about 1,920 m deep, described as the deepest in Europe. High in the mountains, at about 1,400 m, stands the ancient and now abandoned village of Gamsutl. The lowlands are dry and warm, the high mountains harsh.

Sport

Dagestan is famous for wrestling: it has produced many Olympic freestyle champions and leading combat sambo fighters. Makhachkala has also produced mixed martial arts stars, among them Khabib Nurmagomedov. The capital is home to the football club Dynamo Makhachkala.

Food & drink

The national dish is khinkal: small dumplings boiled in mutton broth, made differently by each people — oval or round, with meat or cheese, served with garlic or sour cream sauce. Chudu, kurze and urbech are also well known. Mountain cooking leans on dairy and meat, while valleys add vegetables, bread, fruit, gourds and herbs. Derbent is the centre of Russia's brandy production.

Practical information

The main airport is Uytash near Makhachkala. Railways link Makhachkala with Moscow and Astrakhan, and the Moscow–Baku highway runs through the republic. It is on Moscow time. Across the republic January averages about 2 °C and July about 26 °C. Late spring and early autumn are best for the mountains, summer for the sea.

What to see

• Derbent and the Naryn-Kala citadel — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003, with 6th-century walls above the Caspian.
• Sulak Canyon — about 1,920 metres deep.
• Kubachi — a village of armourers and jewellers at 1,750 metres.
• Gamsutl — an abandoned ancient village on a mountainside.
• Juma Mosque, Derbent — the oldest mosque in Russia.
• Makhachkala — the largest city of the North Caucasus, on the Caspian shore.

Cities on the map

• Makhachkala 623,254