Naryn-Kala: Derbent Stronghold. The most striking attraction of Derbent is the Naryn-Kala fortress Internal buildings of the Naryn-Kala fortress

Derbent fortress Naryn Kala

The Derbent fortress was the key, most important building of the city. Its purpose is fully reflected in the name - Naryn Kala in Persian means "Locked Gate".
The exact date of its creation is unknown., but, according to some sources, it was erected during the time of Alexander the Great.

The conquerors of the city and the fortress made a lot of effort to ensure that the fortress took on the complete appearance that is known to our time. The Derbent fortress has preserved a variety of architectural styles from different times, because the use of the fortress was active in connection with various confrontations for a long time, and, in this regard, the reconstruction and reconstruction were carried out in accordance with the new time.

The walls of the Derbent fortress are part of one giant chain of walls of different peoples and eras that divided the territory of the Eurasian continent between nomads and farmers (landowners). Whether it is true or not, the Derbent fortress has always been a tidbit, for the right to control which many commanders have always competed.

Citadel fortress located on a hill with a height of more than 300m, which has rocky sides in the northeastern section, which made it more reliable and impregnable. The Naryn Kala citadel covers an area of ​​more than 4 hectares. The height of the walls reaches 20 m, and the thickness is up to 3.5 m. In total, there are 73 towers on the fortress, located around the entire perimeter of the fortress.

The fortress and most of the defensive buildings were made of stones of different breeds, thanks to which Naryn Kala has survived to this day in a fairly good condition. Its purpose was incl. and administrative - there was an underground prison, court, office.

An interesting engineering solution of the fortress was 2 water tanks, which allowed to keep supplies of water and food for a long time, flowing spring water entered the tanks through pipes, it was possible to conquer the fortress several times precisely because the attackers guessed to add poison to the sources, thus depriving the defenders of water.

The Derbent fortress Naryn Kala was part of a system consisting of city walls, citadels, sea and mountain walls. Now this system, like most of the various architectural and landscape objects of Derbent and its surroundings, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and is under state protection, and some parts of the fortress are being reconstructed. The fortress attracts many tourists from all over the world.

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Derbent (from Pers. دربند Darband - "Closed (connected) gates", Azerb. Dərbənd, Lezg. Kvevar, Avar. Derbend, Gor. Heb. Derbend, tab. - Shagyur, Tsur, Tsalli, Darg. Chulli (kite .), Chyali (obstetric) - "fence, wall", Rut. Derbend, Laksk. Darbant, Churul - "stone") - a city in Dagestan on a narrow passage between the Caspian Sea and the foothills of the Caucasus.

Derbent is considered one of the oldest living cities in the world. The first settlements appeared here in the Early Bronze Age - at the end of the 4th millennium BC. e. The first mention of the Caspian Gate - the most ancient name for Derbent - dates back to the 6th century. BC e., it is cited by the famous ancient Greek geographer Hecateus of Miletus.
The caravans of the Great Silk Road went through Derbent, and at the same time the city was an important and convenient port. Its military significance can hardly be overestimated: from here the campaigns of the conquerors rushed both to the north (Mongols, Seljuk Turks) and to the south (from the Scythians and Khazars to the expeditionary corps of the Russian Empire).
The modern city was founded in 438 AD. e. as a Persian fortress, consisting of a citadel (Naryn-kala) located on a hill and two stone walls extending from it to the sea, which blocked a narrow (3 km) passage between the sea and the Caucasus mountains and fenced off the territory of the city from the north and south.

Since 2003, the citadel "Naryn-Kala", the Old Town and the fortifications of Derbent have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

While driving to Derbent, we met another attraction of Dagestan.
Pushkin-Tau (Izbergtau) is a mountain located in the Republic of Dagestan, in the vicinity of the city of Izberbash.
It is located at an altitude of 220 meters above sea level.
Pushkin-Tau is a combination of many rocks that go over each other, and only from one specific place is the profile of the great poet A.S. Pushkin clearly visible.
The face on Mount Pushkin-Tau has been known since ancient times and served as a reference point for ships sailing from the north. And in the last century, people were surprised to notice that he looks like Pushkin. And the mountain became widely known. In 1978, according to the decree of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic, the rock was recognized as a natural monument of regional significance.

There are many legends about the occurrence of this "miracle" in Dagestan, but the most widespread is that when Pushkin was shot by Dantes, an earthquake occurred in Dagestan and the broken part of the rock created Pushkin's profile. This remained a legend, since there was no evidence of an earthquake at that time.

We made a short stop to watch how a gate is made in one of the villages of Dagestan

Whole generations have been making gates. Agree, very high quality work.

An hour later, we reached our destination. The majestic fortress Naryn-Kala, which I dreamed of visiting ..

Before her, both time and people were powerless. Like many centuries ago, Naryn-Kala stands on a high hill and guards the ancient city. The height of its walls reaches 30 meters. The powerful fortress towers rise even higher. The walls and towers of the fortress are made of rectangular blocks carefully fitted to each other, giving Naryn-Kala a formidable and ceremonial appearance at the same time.

Bullet marks are visible on the walls.

As in a place where there is a landmark, you can buy various souvenirs. The prices, by the way, are quite inexpensive. This album with black and white photographs of Derbent costs only 100 rubles.

So we came to the entrance.

Naryn-Kala is an ancient, pre-Arab fortress in the mountainous part of Derbent, connected to the Caspian Sea by double walls designed to block the so-called. Caspian gate to the Persian state.
The irregularly shaped fortress covers an area of ​​4.5 hectares. Its walls (approximately 180 meters wide and 280 meters long) are fortified with small towers (at a distance of 20-30 meters from each other). In the south-western corner of the fortress there is a large square tower, which serves as a link between the fortress and the defensive wall. Additional protection from three sides is provided by the steep slopes of the mountain.
Baths, water reservoirs and ruined buildings, in which one can assume deep antiquity, have been preserved inside the fortress. These include a cross-domed church of the 5th century, which was later rebuilt into a temple of fire worshipers and a mosque.

Detailed diagram of the citadel. You won't be able to get lost here :)


As I said above, the prices for tourists are very reasonable to look at this beautiful ancient monument. By the way, there was a wonderful guide with us :)

The first thing that rushes at the entrance to the fortress is a spring with clean water. The autonomous water supply system of the Naryn-Kala citadel deserves special attention. It represents huge stone reservoirs, into which water from mountain springs entered through underground channels. Thanks to such a successful technical solution, the garrison and the inhabitants of the impregnable fortress could withstand a long siege without any problems.


Tombstones

"Secret Gate". Among the people, these gates were also called the "Gate of Shame", since the rulers of the city, at the moment of danger for themselves, left through these gates, leaving the defenders alone against the enemy. The gates are flanked from the outside by two rectangular projections, extending up to 8 meters, reinforced with inclined retaining walls, which form a narrow passage up to three meters when approaching the gate.

Khan's bath. An architectural monument, presumably built in the 16th-17th centuries, the khan's bathhouse is located in the northwestern part of the Naryn-kala fortress in Derbent. The monument is a one-story semi-underground structure located on the relief. The only eastern facade of the bathhouse, not hidden by soil, faces the khan's palace. There is a legend, when women swam in the bathhouse and a man at least once looked in the direction of the bathhouse, they gouged out one eye, if a woman looked towards the bathhouse when the men were swimming, both eyes were gouged out.

The walls of Naryn-Kala go not only towards the sea but also 40 km towards the mountains to the Tabasaran region.


At the northern wall of the citadel, behind the khan's palace, there is a structure called "Zindan" (underground prison). Legends and traditions tell about the horrors of this gloomy building, nicknamed in the city "Gedyan gyalmyaz" ("he who enters will not return"). Experts believe that this is one of the ancient underground reservoirs, later adapted as a prison.

Rectangular reservoir. The type of architectural structure is extremely widespread in the hot arid regions of the country.

Several ancient stone anchors with holes for chains or ropes dumped in the courtyard of the Naryn-Kala fortress. They were found in the sea near Derbent. Scientists date them to the first millennium BC. Most likely, the anchors belonged to Median or ancient Persian ships.

These are the "defensive" windows in the fortress, through which the city is clearly visible.

An Arab historian of the 10th century described that two columns and a sculpture of a lion, a figure of a man with a fox between his legs and two stones depicting lionesses were installed above the gate. The stone lions and part of one of the columns have survived, so the gate as a whole looks the same as it did twelve centuries ago. Near one of the towers of the northern wall there is a mysterious passage "Doomsday Gate". In the 10th century it was founded from the side of the city, so a small room was formed, fenced from the outside and decorated with carved pillars. In 2004, archaeologists found that more than a thousand years ago, this place was considered a gateway to the other world.






A visit to the Museum "Ancient Derbent" impressed with the number of exhibits, so there will also be a separate post about it :)

Text materials from the guide to the Naryn-Kala fortress.
All unique places visited in three days are included in the list of 100 wonders of the North Caucasus, now voting has just begun
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Organizers of the blog tour: Association of Journalists of the North Caucasus and OJSC "Resorts of the North Caucasus" with the support of the office of the plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus Federal District
Partners:
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Ministry of Press and Information of the Republic of Dagestan
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Media Association of the North Caucasus Federal District

The fortress is a unique evidence of history preserved in Derbent!

According to various versions, the name of the fortress is translated as "sunny fortress", "small fortress", "tender" (in honor of Shah's wife Naryn). The fortress was founded at the beginning of our era.

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3. Naryn-Kala is an ancient fortress in the mountainous part of Derbent, connected to the Caspian Sea by double walls designed to block the Caspian gates to Persia.
The sea part of the wall extends 500 meters into the sea, blocking the entrance to the harbor

And now these walls pass through the city

4. Wonderful view of the city, the Caspian Sea, the oldest Juma mosque.
The trees next to it are natural monuments.

5. Cemetery, which is far from one century

6. The citadel has an irregular shape and covers an area of ​​4.5 hectares

7. Members of our blog

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10. There was a well-functioning water supply system in Naryn-Kala.
Large stone reservoirs, built in the 11th century, have survived to us.
Water flowed down from the mountains and through underground channels entered the pools.
They made it possible to hold the siege for a long time.

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15. The guide told us the history of the city and the fortress

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17. The southern wall was demolished in the 19th century, while the northern one largely retains its original appearance.
The length of the wall is 3600 meters with a thickness of 3 meters

18. The mountainous part of the wall goes 40 km towards the Caucasian ridge, it is only partially preserved.
Baths, water tanks, ruined buildings, a cross-domed church of the 5th century, a temple of fire worshipers and a mosque have been preserved inside the fortress.

19. Hamam - vaulted domed structures buried in the ground, illuminated by light through special holes in the domes and vaults

20. In the northwestern part of the citadel of Naryn-Kala, one of the most interesting monuments of Derbent is located, the purpose of which has long remained a mystery. We are talking about a large underground structure, which has entered the historical literature and all guidebooks as an "underground cistern" for storing water, carved into the rock. However, archaeological research in recent years has shown that this structure, strictly oriented to the cardinal points, is a cross-domed Christian church

21. Initially, the entire structure was above ground, and not carved into the rock, but then it turned out to be buried in powerful cultural deposits.
In the XVII - XVIII centuries. the abandoned temple was cleaned up, renovated and adapted to store water

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24. In Naryn-Kala in the 12th century, an underground prison - zindan was also built.
The inner space of the prison narrowed upward, so it was impossible to get out of it.

25. The depth of this structure reached 11 meters, and the area - 25 square meters

26. The prison has survived to this day. During excavations, a large number of human bones were found in it.

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30. The architectural ensemble-citadel "Naryn-Kala" is a precious diamond in the UNESCO World Heritage Site

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34. Peter I visited the fortress of Derbent. This happened during the Persian (Caspian) campaign in August 1722, when the Russian army occupied the city

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43. According to researchers' estimates, the construction of defensive structures in Derbent required seven times more material than the creation of the Cheops pyramid!

44. The preserved gates of the old city.
Despite such a solid age, the fortress is well preserved.
More about the city near Niyaz.

There is one city in Dagestan that cannot be ignored while traveling across the republic. This is the city of Derbent. Derbent is one of the oldest permanently living cities in the world. Its history goes back 5 thousand years, 2000 of which it was a city on the border of north and south, west and east. The name "Darband" is translated from Persian as "castle", "closed gates". The city is located at the intersection of all trade routes on a narrow strip of land between the mountains and the sea. Built in the VI century. fortress Naryn-Kala - even more confirmed the name of the city-castle.

At one time countless peoples wanted to possess this tidbit of land, but Derbent could only be taken by cunning, not a single army, not a single conqueror could destroy the walls of the impregnable fortress city. The history of Derbent is complex and dramatic, the memory of it is kept by numerous ancient monuments. Today we will walk a little through this quiet provincial town and admire the great buildings, some of which are taken under the protection of UNESCO.

Citadel Naryn-Kala

Of all the sights of Derbent, the Naryn-Kala citadel is the brightest. It is located on a hill. The gigantic structure can be seen from almost every part of the city. Naryn-Kala was built in the 6th century. during the reign of the Sassanian king Khosrov I Anushirvan. For many centuries it became a royal residence, a military-political and cultural center. The citadel is so rich in sights that it deserves a separate post. Unfortunately, most of them are picturesque ruins.

Citadel Naryn-Kala is the brightest attraction of Derbent

On the territory of the complex you can see the ruins of the khan's palace, the office and the royal baths, find out how water was delivered to the fortress and where it was stored, how the criminals were kept, visit the guardhouse, where in the 19th century. housed a Russian garrison, and now houses a huge layout of the city of Derbent, wander the walls and enjoy the fantastic panorama.

There are also very ancient structures on the territory of the citadel. For example, a cross-domed reservoir, which may have been the first Christian temple on the territory of modern Russia (5th century).

City walls and gates

Impressive city walls stretch from the citadel of Naryn-Kala to the Caspian Sea. The walls, like the citadel, were built in the 6th century. to protect against the raids of nomads. The northern wall was much stronger fortified than the southern one. The walls were 12 meters high and 2 to 4 meters wide. The total length was about 42 km. They stretched from east to west, went 500 m straight into the waters of the Caspian and rose high into the mountains. It was impossible to bypass the Dag-Bary, and this is what this structure was called.

If the wall of Dag-Bara had reached its former grandeur to this day, it could rightfully be called the “Great Caucasian Wall”. Unfortunately, it has survived only in fragments; more than 2/3 of the original structure has been lost.

The city of Derbent was previously located inside the city walls, it was stretched from east to west by 3,600 m, and from north to south by only 700 m. The walls were fortified with watch towers, which were located at a distance of 70 m from each other.

There were 14 gates inside the city, of which only 9 have survived. The most interesting are:

• the gate of Orta-kapa(from Turkic - middle gate). They were the main entrance to the city from the south. On the facade outside the gate, you can see a water cannon with a lion figurine. Such devices were used to remove excess water from the walls, and in the event of a siege they served as an excellent defensive weapon, it was enough to pour hot oil into the water cannon.

• Bayat-kapy before the construction of the gates of Kala-kapa, leading directly to the citadel, they were the first from the fortress. On the gate there is a preserved Russian inscription “Time destroyed me, obedience built me. 1811 ". It was carved in place of a pre-existing ancient Arabic inscription.
• Doug-caps- led from the citadel directly into the mountains. Through these secret gates, reinforcements could come to the aid of the defenders of the fortress. At the same time, the authorities, realizing that the city could no longer be saved, went through these gates into the mountains, leaving their army to die from enemy attacks. Because of this, the Dag-kapas are often called the "gate of shame."
• Kirkhlyar-caps(from Turkic - gate of forty) - the main entrance to the city from the north. This is the most ancient gate of the fortified city, by which one can judge about all the additions over the centuries. Initially, the gate led to the city necropolis.

Interesting fact! At the gate Kirkhlyar-kapa were met by the townspeople and the Russian Tsar Peter I during his Persian campaigns. There is a legend that before the arrival of the king, an earthquake began in the city, and as soon as Peter hit the gate, the earthquake stopped. The residents were so amazed by the moment that they surrendered Derbent without a fight.

Magaly

As in other cities of the Middle Ages, there were specialized artisan quarters in Derbent. Such quarters were called magals. Magals, in turn, were divided into quarters, and quarters into houses. Each mahal had a rectangular shape, while the streets inside were intricately tangled and often ended in dead ends. This was also done for defensive purposes - so that the enemy who penetrated into the city would quickly lose orientation. Moreover, each house, like walls built of shell rock, played the role of a kind of fortress.

From the VIII century. Arab nobility and wealthy townspeople settled in the magals. Each of the quarters had its own magical administration.

Now the Old Town and its magals, along with the fortress, are under the protection of UNESCO. Here, as before, it is simple and easy to get lost.

On a note! Despite the fact that the Old Town is officially closed for traffic, no one bothers the locals to travel here. The streets are so narrow that if you have a car on the road, you should press close to the wall. Be careful!

Juma Mosque

Another striking attraction of Derbent is the Shiite Juma Mosque. It was built in the 8th century, which makes it the oldest mosque in Russia and the CIS countries, moreover, it is one of the ten oldest mosques in the world.

The construction of the mosque is attributed to the Arabs, who, under the leadership of Maslama ibn Aba-al-Maliki, converted the entire local population to Islam.

Juma Mosque - the oldest mosque in Russia

Juma Mosque is not like traditional oriental mosques. It stretches from east to west. Perhaps before the Arab invasion, the building was used as a Christian temple or other religious building.

On a note! Anyone can visit the Juma Mosque in the city of Derbent, including people of a different faith. True, women should take special capes at the entrance. When entering the premises of the mosque, it is customary to take off your shoes. Better to ask permission in advance to enter. With a high degree of probability, there will be a person on the territory who will help you to visit this holy place for Muslims correctly, and possibly tell you about the basics of your faith.

5 giant plane trees grow in the courtyard of the mosque. According to legend, they were planted in the 9th century. to save the building from natural disasters. The powerful root system of trees helps to remove excess moisture from the soil and serves as a "bonding reinforcement" during earthquakes. Perhaps it is thanks to the natural giants that we can see this ancient monument almost unchanged.

Kirkhlyar cemetery

An ancient Muslim cemetery has been preserved outside the city walls. There are several burial places here, which Muslims from all over Russia and neighboring countries come to worship. The burial belongs to forty soldiers, who in the VII century. fell for their faith in a bloody battle with the Gentiles of the city of Derbent. Forty warrior-martyrs are considered martyrs (saints who fell for the faith).

From the rest of the graves, the graves of the martyrs are separated by a high fence. The holy place is constantly looked after. It is believed that the earth from the Kirkhlyar cemetery has miraculous properties, it heals the evil eye.

There is another very interesting object on the territory - a stone cradle. If a childless couple come to the grave of forty martyrs and shake the cradle, the family will soon be replenished.

Next to the graves of 40 martyrs, you can see the Tutu-Bike mausoleum. In general, for Derbent, the construction of mausoleums is more an exception than a rule. But this brave woman deserves special respect.

Tutu-Bike was the wife of Fatali Khan, the ruler of Cuba and Derbent. In the absence of her husband, she took control of the city into her own hands. In 1774, when her brother Emir-Hamza tried to capture Derbent and a detachment of enemy enemies broke into the city, Tutu-Bike completed her prayer in the Juma Mosque, went out into the courtyard and killed the enemy leader with one blow of a dagger. The rest of the warriors, amazed at the woman's boldness, fled in fear. Together with Tutu-Bike, her sons and daughter-in-law are buried in the mausoleum.

Baths

Preserved on the territory of Derbent and 3 medieval baths. Men's, dating from the 8th century, a maiden's bath (13th century) and a women's bath (17th century). Only the Maiden's Bath is open for inspection. The building now houses the Museum of Culture and Life of Ancient Derbent.

Women's bathhouse of the 17th century.

It is noteworthy that the ladies 'baths are divided into girls' and women's. It is not difficult to guess that the first was attended only by unmarried girls. In Derbent, there was a custom, for the last bath before the wedding, the girl was brought to the bathhouse by her father. She washed here for the last time, talked with her unmarried girlfriends. After ablution, no man before the wedding had the right to see the girl. At the wedding, the first to be given this honor was the young spouse. After marriage, the girls have already visited another bathhouse - a women's one.

Interesting fact! In the cruel times of the Middle Ages, if it was noticed that a girl or woman on a men's bath day looked towards the bath, both eyes were gouged out. But if a man allowed himself on a bath day to look in the direction of the women's bath, he lost one eye, because the second could be useful to him in battle.

House of Peter I

If you go down from the Old City almost to the sea itself, you can find another attraction of Derbent - the foundation of the house of Peter I. A two-room earthen hut was built for the Russian Tsar in 1722. During the Persian campaign, Peter I stayed in the city of Derbent. Here he spent 3 days, and then moved on to Baku. For many years, the dugout was revered as a kind of shrine. Now on the site of Peter's house there is a museum.

Religious sights of Derbent

Derbent is a multinational and tolerant city. Here, in peace and harmony, not only different nationalities and cultures, but also religions have coexisted for centuries.

Of course, as in other cities and villages of the Republic of Dagestan, in Derbent the majority of the population is Muslim. The city is rich in mosques, many of which are more than one hundred years old. In the magical part of the Old City, in addition to the Juma Mosque, others were built at different times. Each magal had its own mosque. Historically, they have become architectural monuments of federal significance. Kilisa Mosque and Bala Mosque... A mosque with a minaret (Minara-mesjidi) and Kirkhlyar Mosque since 2003 are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

There is also an Orthodox church in Derbent. As in, it is the only one on the territory of the city, because no more than 4% of Russians live here. Dedicated to this temple to the feast of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary... Located on Lenin Street, almost in the very center.

In the XIX century. on the site of the modern Freedom Square, where now you can contemplate a monument to Lenin, there was another Christian temple - the Cathedral of St. George the Victorious. It was erected in the middle of the 19th century. and was considered the first Orthodox building on the territory of the Republic of Dagestan. Like many religious shrines in Russia, the cathedral was blown up in the 30s of the XX century.

The monument of architecture of world importance is also considered to be preserved on the territory of the city of Derbent. Armenian Church of the Holy All-Savior... It was built in the 19th century. Unfortunately, the church is currently not active. Inside there is an exposition of the Museum of Carpet and Decorative Arts.

At the beginning of the XX century. a fairly large percentage of the population were Jews. 11 synagogues were opened in Derbent, today only one of them functions - “ Kele-Numaz", Which in translation from Mountain Jewish means" Great Synagogue ". The doors of the synagogue are always open for parishioners and guests.

House A.A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky

The Decembrist writer A.A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky. For 4 years, the writer has become "one of the" among the locals. Under the influence of the Caucasus, many of his works were written, which were read by other prominent people of his era. In fact, it was Bestuzhev who introduced the "fashion" for everything Caucasian, which dominated the minds of many in the first half of the 19th century.

House-Museum of A.A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky (thanks to Shturman 5578 for the photo)

Since 1988, the house of the exiled writer has been turned into a museum. Here, both the authentic household items of Bestuzhev-Marlinsky and the elements of household utensils characteristic of the house of a 19th century Derbent resident have been preserved.

The port in Derbent has been known since time immemorial. However, no historical chronicles mention the existence of a lighthouse in the city. The structure that we can see between the parks of Kirov and Nizami in the central part of the city dates from the middle of the 19th century. It was built after the Russian-Persian war of 1826-1828. According to the peace treaty, Russia received the right to have a navy in the Caspian, and merchant ships of both Russia and Persia could freely move along the sea in any direction. The lighthouse was first lit on May 1, 1853.

The lighthouse in Derbent continues to operate today. It is considered the southernmost lighthouse in Russia and is on the list of protected monuments.

That's all for today. Be sure to visit the city of Derbent and its ancient sights during your trip to the Republic of Dagestan. Will not leave indifferent and.

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The Naryn-Kala fortress in Derbent is an ancient fortress, which is an integral part of the walls and the surrounding landscape. Today this architectural and landscape object is protected by the state as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Building

The history of the Naryn-Kala fortress is more than five thousand years old. In the 6th century, an unusual building was erected by Shah Kavad. A little later, his son Khosrov closed the passage between the Caspian and the Caucasus with a fortress wall, the length of which reached forty kilometers, fortified the citadel of Naryn-Kala and built a port. The fortress Naryn-Kala passed into the possession of Russia in the 19th century.

The main part of the fortress is made of different stones, thanks to which Naryn-Kala is well preserved. In several parts of the fortress there were gates decorated with interesting decorative elements. There is a staircase on the south side. There were observation platforms on the walls, which are now open to tourists. From here you can see the old and new Derbent, beautiful gambiz domes of numerous mosques.

Name

There are several legends about the name of the fortress. The most popular is Naryn-Kala which translates as "The Sun Fortress". Most often they call it that. The second legend is more romantic. The Persian Shah named the fortress in honor of his wife Naryn - in translation “tender”. Other sources claim that Naryn means "small". In some legends, it is said that on the territory of the fortress a lot of pomeranian - narynch - grew and at first the citadel was called Narynch-Kala, and later the last letter was lost.

Description

Derbent fortress Naryn-Kala was built on a high hill. Rocks can be seen from its northeastern side. They made the fortress more reliable. The citadel occupies a significant area - more than four hectares. The height of the walls reaches twenty meters, ledges and two large towers are attached to them, the cross section of which forms a square. In total, the fortress has 73 towers, which are located throughout the fortress.

On the central site, you can see the guardhouse, which was erected in 1828. Today, this building houses paintings depicting Derbent. Outside, the guardhouse is decorated with cannons and anchors from tsarist times. Above the gate is a sculpture of a lion and two columns, a figure with a fox between its legs, and two stones on which lionesses are painted.

Today the gate looks the same as it did twelve centuries ago, as the lions and part of one of the columns have survived. At the north wall you can see the mysterious Doomsday Gateway. It was founded in the X century from the side of the city, as a result of which a small room was formed, fenced from the outside. In 2004, archaeologists found out that more than a thousand years ago, this place was considered a portal that opened a passage to the other world.

Functions

The Naryn-Kala fortress in Derbent had an administrative purpose. There was a court, an office, an underground prison, and a church, which was almost an exact copy of Italian churches. The temple was erected around the fifth century BC. Little is left of him today.

Many original household items from different eras have been preserved in the fortress - tools, ceramics, jewelry, jewelry. All of them are kept in the museum, which works in Naryn-Kala. Active life here began in the Bronze Age; in the Middle Ages, the production of valuable dye and opium was carried out in Derbent.

Peculiarities

An interesting solution to the fortress is two water reservoirs, which made it possible to make a supply of life-giving moisture for a long time. Thanks to them, the citadel was strong in defense. Water was supplied to the reservoirs with the help of pipes from the spring. Several times the fortress was conquered due to the fact that the attackers added poison to the water.

Another structure that ensures the high vitality of the fortress is the baths, where there was hot and cold water. Life here was relatively safe and comfortable.

At different times, palace complexes were created on the territory of the fortress, the ruins of which can be seen even now.

What to see

Part of this attraction of Derbent is a rectangular reservoir - this type of structure was widespread in the hot and arid regions of the country. At the northern wall you can see a structure - "Zindan" or an underground prison. Legends tell of the horrors of a gloomy structure. The people called him "Gedyan gyalmyaz" - in translation "he who entered will not return." Experts believe that this is one of the underground reservoirs, which was later used as a prison.

Several stone anchors with holes for ropes or chains are piled up in the courtyard of the fortress. They were found in the sea near Derbent. Scientists claim that the history of stone anchors began in the first millennium BC.