Within the seven language families of the Dagestanian language grouping unrelated except by geography alone there are about 30 languages, many of them considered among the most difficult in the world to master. Fortunately, everyone, regardless of nationality, understands the lingua franca, Russian. The indigenous Avarski language, spoken by the Avar, is the second lingua franca of the region.

Azeri is also widely used in the southeast Caspian region around Derbent ; those who speak Turkish may be able to make themselves understood in this area. However, English is spoken by almost nobody, even in Makhachkala.

Getting around is nearly impossible without at least understanding some basic Russian. Because English is rarely heard anywhere in Dagestan, the language immediately attracts attention on the street. In cities such as Makhachkala and Derbent this will be met with curiosity from locals who only rarely encounter tourists, however in the mountain wilderness near the border with Chechnya this attention could be unwanted.

See the Stay safe section for more details. The five indigenous literary languages and therefore the most rewarding to study are the aforementioned Avarski, as well as Lak , Dargwa , Lezgian , and Tabasaran. Avar is the most widespread, and there is an Avar Theater in Makhachkala devoted to performances of works in the language.

The mountains of southern and southwestern Dagestan, the high peaks of the Greater Caucasus, should be a principal attraction. Mountains topped with auls , small villages filled with stone houses and home to famed chivalric mountain tribes are as fascinating culturally as they are beautiful. Most activities of any interest indoors, mainly cultural performances and sporting events, are to be found in Makhachkala.

There are countless cafes serving Dagestani and Russian foods. A few, newer Chinese and Japanese restaurants have opened, but the food lacks authenticity and flavour. Western foods are likewise a scarcity, and there are no Western food chains anywhere in Dagestan.

And don't be fooled by the many advertisements for 'pizza' — even by typical Russian standards, the pizzas lack the most basic ingredients of pizza: sauce, cheeses, etc. The closest you'll come to finding a real steak will be at the new El Gusto Cafe close the centre of Makhachkala, a delightful restaurant where you can find a few other Western dishes satisfactorily prepared. The best developed lodging facilities still pretty basic are in Makhachkala and Derbent, but you should be able to find guesthouse with little difficulty in any town or village.

The Dagestani peoples still retain their legendary chivalric hospitality, and will go out of their ways to find you a place to stay. As perhaps the most multi-ethnic and multi-cultural republic in the Russian Federation , Dagestan has had its share of violence in the late s. It became internationally infamous as a hotspot of Islamic terrorism, extremism, corruption, crime, and instability.

The security situation was a result of Islamic extremists in neighbouring Chechnya , which sporadically spilled over into Dagestan, Ingushetia , and other republics in the Caucasus in their attempts to establish an Islamic state in the region and implement Sharia law. Unlike in Chechnya, Islamic extremists struggled to establish a foothold in Dagestan, however. When some 3, Islamic fighters launched an invasion of Dagestan at the end of the s, instead of being received as 'liberators', they met fierce resistance of the Dagestanis who did not welcome the invading extremists.

With the help of Federal forces, the invaders were beaten back to Chechnya within a few weeks, and responded by launching guerilla attacks over the next decade. The conflict grew in complexity, with Chechen insurgents fighting a war of attrition with Dagestani law enforcement and Federal security forces.

As time passed, the Salafist extremists became increasingly isolated as they also attacked the moderate Sufi Muslims in Dagestani communities for their difference in interpretation of the religion. Attacks against police stations and Russian officials were regular events throughout Dagestan until We often get asked many questions about our tours to Dagestan.

From the Dagestan people and culture to what there is to see! Although it has many aspects of a separate country, Dagestan is in fact one of the many Republics that make up the Russian Federation. Like neighboring Chechnya, Dagestan has its own president and parliament. All of whom, answer to Moscow. Hanging on the southernmost tip of Russia, the republic shares land borders with Azerbaijan and Georgia to its south and southwest; and borders the Russian republics of Chechnya and Kalmykia to its west and north, while having a border with Stavropol Krai to its northwest.

The Republic of Dagestan has a capital city in the form of the rather difficult to pronounce Makhachkala. Unfortunately, the Republic has been plagued by violence for the past two decades. The origins of this were due to a spillover of the Chechen Wars in neighboring Chechnya. In the initial outbreak of the conflict in the Republic, the country saw one of the darkest incidents connected to it: the Dagestan Massacre.

The invaders were not supported by the local Dagestan population and were driven back by the Russian military. In response, Russian forces subsequently reinvaded Chechnya later that year. Six Russian servicemen, one as young as 19, were captured by the group. They were then being brutally beheaded by the Islamist militants. The incident went down in infamy as the Dagestan Massacre. The flag was formally adopted on 26 February The design of their flag features a horizontal tricolor of green representing Islam , blue representing the Caspian Sea , and red representing courage and fidelity.

In the proportion of the flag was changed from the original to , and the middle stripe from light blue to blue. The bulk of the population here are Sunni Muslims, of the Shafii rites, that has been in place for centuries. On the Caspian coast, particularly in and around the port city of Derbent, the population primarily made up of Azerbaijanis is Shia.

There is also a Salafi population, which is often a target of official repression. However, not all of the Republic is Islamic.

These were an extension of a much larger Azerbaijani Jewish community across the border in the Azerbaijani districts of Quba and Shamakhi.

However, the bulk of these native Tati-speaking Jews have migrated to Israel and the United States since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the centre of Makhachkala, there are armed police on almost every corner.

Bashir drives me past a place where two car bombs recently killed a policeman and a young girl and wounded 60 police and passers-by. They wanted to get as many of us as possible. He asks me not to use his real name, or to photograph his face. Government officials and policemen are the main targets of the increasingly ruthless Islamic insurgents. Many officers are too scared to go on to the street in their uniform.

Police who have to stop and search cars often wear masks. But unlike some of his colleagues, Bashir seems to want to understand why so many young Dagestanis have joined the rebels and gone into hiding - known here as "going into the forest". At the university, I watch him lecture students about the dangers of fundamentalist websites.

He tells them a cautionary tale about a young medical student who made some so-called friends online, and who later forced him to plant a car bomb. Bashir is joined by an imam, who urges moderation and compliance with Russian law. Most Muslims in Dagestan are Sufi but younger people are increasingly drawn to the Salafi branch of Islam, which is less mystical, more puritanical and, crucially, outside the control of the state.

This is seen by the interior ministry as a problem, as I discover in the village of Sovietskoye, three hours south of Makhachkala. Said Gereikhanov, the young imam at the village mosque, tells me about a day last May, when dozens of Salafi mosque-goers were detained and beaten by police.

Plain-clothed security officers burst into the mosque in muddy boots, during Friday prayers, and told everyone to leave, he says. Outside, they found themselves surrounded by masked men with guns, and the whole congregation of people, including 15 school boys, was taken to a police station in a neighbouring town. Police then summoned the headmaster of the village secondary school, Sadikullah Akhmedov.

Said says he was shocked by the brutal treatment of the teenagers - and by Mr Akhmedov's failure to intercede on their behalf.