Dagestan is the pearl of the Caucasus, a country of mysteries and mountains, from time immemorial attracting a huge number of travelers, poets, artists, writers. This mysterious land has been famous since ancient times for its wealth of customs, hospitality, and the pacifying beauty of mountainous picturesque landscapes. For millennia, the Huns and Romans, the Mongol-Tatars and Turks, the Khazars and Arabs fought for the right to own this land.
Dagestan today
Now it is the southernmost region of Russia and the largest republic in the North Caucasus by the number of inhabitants. The entire territory, covering an area of fifty thousand square kilometers, is majestic mountains, sandy sunny beaches of the Caspian coast, alpine glaciers, steppes, subtropical liana forest and, of course, the cities and villages of Dagestan. Large reserves of gas and oil are discovered here, and there is a large deposit of copper. But the main wealth of the region is its population, a unique ethnic community of more than one hundred nationalities and nationalities! Nowhere in the world on such a small territory do so many different people live.
Cities of Dagestan
The cultural and administrative center of the republic is Makhachkala, with a population of more than six hundred thousand people. This is a young city, it is only 165 years old. Makhachkala was founded as a Russian fortification during the Persian campaign, when the camp of Peter the Great stood in these places. However, not all cities of Dagestan are so young; here is located one of the most ancient Russian settlements - Derbent. This Persian name dates back to the sixth century and translates as “gate lock”. The city justifies its name: it blocks the narrow passage along the Caspian coast. The townspeople in ancient times settled between two fortress walls, which began at the Naryn-kala citadel, on a high bank, descended and went into the sea. Over many centuries, Derbent has grown and become modern, however, even now the streets of the old city, ancient mosques and ancient mausoleums preserve the spirit of that time and oriental charm.
List of cities in Dagestan
The main wealth of the region is in its history, distinctive and unique culture, and the art of peoples. Here modern civilization is adjacent to ancient monuments, minarets and towers, stone fortresses. In total, there are more than six thousand historical monuments on the territory of the republic . Whatever cities and regions of Dagestan you visit, you will see unique cultural objects everywhere.
The region has forty-two districts, ten cities and nineteen urban-type settlements. There are 1610 rural settlements, of which 701 are villages. Most settlements with a non-Slavic population, officially registered as villages, are historically referred to as villages here. The cities of Dagestan are Makhachkala, Derbent, Dagestan Lights, Khasavyurt, Kaspiysk, Izberbash, Kizilyurt, Buinaksk, Yuzhno-Sukhokumsk, Kizlyar. Each of them is interesting in its own way.
From Dagestan Lights to Kizlyar
Dagestan lights - satellite of Derbent. Both cities are growing rapidly, inevitably approaching each other. Located on the shores of the Caspian Sea, at the foot of the Greater Caucasus, it contrasts sharply with its neighbor. Dagestan Lights seemed to argue all the time with the mighty Derbent, defending the right to exist. This is the youngest Dagestan city. In ancient times, the area was famous for its natural gas outlets, and in 1914 the Malyshev brothers, industrialists from Astrakhan, built a plant working on combustible gas here. The village received the name - Dagestan Lights, and then it acquired the status of a city.
Another interesting place on the map of Dagestan is Khasavyurt, a city that emerged at the end of the seventeenth century. In 1840, the Khasavyurt military fortification was erected on the right bank of the Yaryk-su river, which later became a settlement. Now it is the administrative center of a large region, by nationality representing Dagestan in miniature. About 135 thousand people live in the city, representing more than thirty nationalities.
All cities of Dagestan are original and beautiful. Buinaksk is the first capital of the region, known for the rock Cavalier Battery, on top of which the Mongol conqueror Tamerlan once pitched his tent. Izberbash is a city of oil industrialists, founded recently at the foot of Pushkin-Tau Mountain on the deserted coast of the Caspian Sea. Kizlyar is a settlement mentioned in the annals of 1652, and later became the center of winemaking and viticulture. Kaspiysk is the brainchild of the first Soviet five-year plans, the name of which was given by the gray-haired Caspian, and life - the Dagdiesel plant.
Unique land
One of the most hospitable and most beautiful corners of Dagestan is the Dakhadaevsky district. The past, present and future are closely intertwined here. Every year, hundreds of tourists come here to see Kubachi with their own eyes - the village of goldsmiths making filigree jewelry, jugs, dishes, sabers and much more.
Wherever you go in Dagestan, everywhere you will find amazing places, everywhere you will meet amazing people. It is impossible to describe in words the beauty of the local canyons, mountains, rivers, the beauty of the souls of the people who inhabit the republic. Dagestan needs to be felt. Dagestan needs to be seen. You need to live in Dagestan!