Caspian-Uncharted Waters
Students from Islamic University in Makhachkala arrived for a pray at the mosque in Izberbash .
REPUBLIC OF DAGESTAN- federal subject of the Russian Federation where 93% percent of population is Muslim.
The oldest records about the region refer to the state of Caucasian Albania in the south, with its capital at Derbent .In 664, the Persians were succeeded in Derbent by the Arabs Although the local population rose against the Arabs of Derbent in 905 and 913, Islam was eventually adopted in whole area.
Since 2000, Dagestan has been the venue of a low-level guerilla war, bleeding over from Chechnya; the fighting has claimed the lives of hundreds of federal servicemen and officials– mostly members of local police forces– as well as many Dagestani national rebels and civilians.
Derbent is the second most important city of Dagestan where Azeris are the main ethnic group.
Often identified with the legendary Gates of Alexander, Derbent claims to be the oldest city in the Russian Federation. Since antiquity the value of the area as the gate to the Caucasus has been understood and Derbent has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old. As a result of this geographic particularity the city developed between two walls, stretching from the mountains to the sea.
Derbent-Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Buildings -are on UNESCO’s World Heritage Site since 2003 but instability in the region-especially war in neighboring Chechnia has not allowed further development of the city.
