Makhachkala

Kuzhniksky natural bridge

A unique natural monument of Dagestan is a miraculous bridge across the gorge near the village of Kuzhnik, Tabasaran region. A hundred-meter stone arch about 6 meters wide stretches over the mountain valley for about 50 meters and looks very picturesque. In essence, this is a sandstone layer that has broken away from the main massif. True, local residents consider this place sacred and do not approve of walking along it. Thanks to these rigor, the amazing arch has survived so well. In addition, walking along the rock would be quite dangerous, and you can admire it and take beautiful photos from afar.

Gamsutl

In the Gunibsky district of Dagestan, on the crest of Mount Gamsutlmeer, there is a beautiful Avar village of Gamsutl. Many years ago, in its place was a large Avar settlement, carved from the rocks, self-sufficient and invulnerable to conquerors. In the village there was a kindergarten, a school, a clinic and even a maternity hospital. Today, not a single inhabitant remains in the village. In the buildings of Gamsutl, time has long stopped, and instead of a roof over your head, there is only a blue sky. Picturesque mountain landscapes and ancient buildings surprise and amaze, make you think about the meaning of life and allow you to travel back several centuries.

Barkhan Sarykum (Tersko-Sulak Plain)

Sulak Canyon is one of the most popular natural attractions of Dagestan. The canyon stretched across the territory of Dagestan for 53 kilometers. In some places it narrows, and in some places the gorge, on the contrary, is so wide that its opposite side is hardly visible.

Sulak Canyon

Makhachkala is the capital of Dagestan and one of the largest cities in the North Caucasus, the only Russian port on the Caspian that does not freeze in winter. This hot southern city is spread between the foothills of the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea, at the foot of the Tarki-Tau mountain. In the distant past, this narrow strip of flat terrain on the western sea coast was called the "Dagestan corridor", for the possession of which many peoples fought. The settlement was founded in 1844 as a Russian military fortification Petrovsky.

In 1857, the settlement received the status of a city and the name of the port city of Petrovsk. The name of the city is associated with a legend. It is believed that during the Persian campaign in 1722, this place was the camp of the troops of Peter I. In Soviet times, the city became the capital of the Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and was renamed Makhachkala, in honor of the revolutionary Makhach Dakhadaev. Today Makhachkala is the fastest growing of the largest cities in Russia. The population is over 700 thousand people.

These are representatives of more than 60 nationalities and all world religions, as well as countless minor denominations. In addition to mosques, the city has an Orthodox church, a Seventh-day Adventist church, and the construction of a synagogue is nearing completion. Among the promising projects is the development of the city as a tourist center. It is planned to build a satellite city of Makhachkala "Cote d'Azur", which should become the largest tourist attraction.

Fate was pleased to place Makhachkala in the Dagestan corridor, along which almost all the great peoples of antiquity swept with fire and sword from the Iron Gates of Derbent to the Wild Field from north to south and from south to north for centuries. Squeezed by the table-like mountain of Tarki-Tau and the blue mirror of the Caspian Sea, Anzhi-Kala was repeatedly burned and destroyed by hordes of invaders, which prevented the creation of a long-term settlement of people tied to the land here. At the same time, one of the side routes of the Great Silk Road passing here and the presence of numerous sources of fresh water constantly attracted the mountain population of the Caucasus to the Caspian shores.It was the healing springs and fresh water that caused the Russian Emperor Peter I to come here on August 15, 1722, at the head of his infantry "avant-garde" on a campaign against Persia. The sovereign knew a lot about good water (it was its quality that became decisive when the tsar chose the site of the future cities of St. aul Tarki.Here he ordered the camp of the army that crushed Sweden and was preparing to crush Persia to be set up. At the place now called Petrovskaya Gorka, three versts from Tarkov, he stuck a pole with the imperial standard into the ground - "where the Russian flag is once raised, it should not be lowered!" The flag has not been lowered to this day, but on this place the petals of the quarters of the pearl of the Caspian Sea - Dagestan Makhachkala have blossomed today.