Der­bent is a city of repub­li­can sig­nif­i­cance in the Repub­lic of Dages­tan, Rus­sia. It lies on the Caspi­an Sea coast at the foot of the Cau­ca­sus Moun­tains. The city cov­ers about 70 km². Its pop­u­la­tion is around 120 000. Offi­cial lan­guages are Russ­ian and var­i­ous Dages­tani tongues; Lez­gin, Dar­gin and Azer­bai­jani are wide­ly spo­ken local­ly. The cur­ren­cy is the Russ­ian ruble. Drugs are banned, alco­hol is sold in licensed out­lets and con­sumed most­ly in cafés and restau­rants.

His­to­ry
Der­bent is con­sid­ered one of the world’s old­est con­tin­u­ous­ly inhab­it­ed cities. The first records date back to the 6th cen­tu­ry BC. Known as “Dar­band,” it was a strate­gic Per­sian strong­hold. Over cen­turies, the city passed among Per­sians, Arabs, Mon­gols, Timurids and oth­er con­querors. In 1813, under the Treaty of Gulis­tan, Der­bent became part of the Russ­ian Empire. Since 1840 it has held city sta­tus.

Indus­try
Derbent’s indus­try includes food pro­cess­ing, ship repair and met­al­work­ing. There is an oilseed extrac­tion plant, small bak­eries and fish pro­cess­ing facil­i­ties. Tourism and crafts have expand­ed in recent years. Prox­im­i­ty to the sea sup­ports fish­ing and seafood trade.

Reli­gion and tra­di­tions
About 95 % of res­i­dents are Sun­ni Mus­lims. Small Chris­t­ian com­mu­ni­ties include Ortho­dox and Old Believ­ers. Social life revolves around Islam­ic rit­u­als and fes­ti­vals — Fri­day prayers, Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Hos­pi­tal­i­ty is a key tra­di­tion, with guests offered tea and sweets.

Cloth­ing
Locals dress mod­est­ly: men in trousers and shirts, women in dress­es or skirts below the knee. Tourists should avoid bare shoul­ders, short skirts, shorts and open-toed shoes in pub­lic and in reli­gious build­ings. Women must cov­er their heads with a scarf when enter­ing a mosque.

Liv­ing stan­dards and cor­rup­tion
Income lev­els are below the Russ­ian aver­age: the typ­i­cal salary is about 30 000 ₽, unem­ploy­ment reach­es 15 %. On the Cor­rup­tion Per­cep­tions Index, Dages­tan ranks among high­­er-risk regions, with fre­quent small bribes in offi­cial inter­ac­tions and traf­fic stops.

Wars and con­flicts
In the 19th cen­tu­ry Der­bent was a bat­tle­field dur­ing the Cau­casian War. In the 1990s-2000s the region expe­ri­enced extrem­ist activ­i­ty and counter-ter­ror oper­a­tions. Today the city is rel­a­tive­ly calm, though cau­tion is advised when trav­el­ing to remote moun­tain areas.

Hol­i­days
Major hol­i­days include Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, New Year’s Day and Vic­to­ry Day. The city also cel­e­brates “Der­bent Day” annu­al­ly with con­certs, exhi­bi­tions and folk per­for­mances.

Tra­di­tions
Key tra­di­tions empha­size hos­pi­tal­i­ty: guests receive the finest tea, bread and sweets. It is cus­tom­ary to remove shoes when enter­ing a home. Tourists should inform hosts in advance of vis­its, ask per­mis­sion before pho­tograph­ing and respect fam­i­ly and reli­gious cus­toms.

Tourism
Der­bent is Dagestan’s tourist cap­i­tal. Vis­i­tors come to see the ancient Naryn-Kala fortress, medieval mosques, city walls, the old town and the shore­line. Tours include muse­um vis­its, walks through his­toric lanes and relax­ation on Caspi­an beach­es. Out­door enthu­si­asts can trek in the moun­tains or explore Samur For­est and Sulak Canyon.

Types of tourism
— Cul­­tur­al-his­­tor­i­­cal: vis­it­ing UNESCO mon­u­ments
— Beach: sun­bathing on the Caspi­an coast
— Eco-tourism: hik­ing and riv­er raft­ing
— Culi­nary: cook­ing class­es in local dish­es
— Pho­to tourism: cap­tur­ing the old town and for­ti­fi­ca­tions
— Spa and well­ness: min­er­al springs and treat­ments

Tourist attrac­tions
– Naryn-Kala fortress: main citadel dat­ing to the 6th cen­tu­ry.
– Juma Mosque: 6th-cen­­tu­ry mosque built over an ancient basil­i­ca.
– Kyrhlyar Field: memo­r­i­al to fall­en war­riors.
– Alexander’s Gate: part of the city wall with his­toric gates.
– His­tor­i­cal Muse­um: exhibits on region­al archae­ol­o­gy and cul­ture.
– “Naryn-Kala” beach com­plex: sandy beach and leisure zone.

Non-touristy attrac­tions
– Old res­i­den­tial quar­ters around Zele­naya Street.
– Fish mar­ket by the port with ear­ly morn­ing auc­tions.
– Fish pro­cess­ing work­shops in the indus­tri­al zone.
– Aban­doned 19th-cen­­tu­ry com­mu­nal bath­hous­es.
– Hid­den view­ing plat­forms on the fortress walls.

Local cui­sine
Dish­es include kurze (dumplings with meat and herbs), chudu (flat­breads with pota­to or cheese), shur­pa (hearty soup) and Der­bent-style pilaf with beans. Pop­u­lar drinks are herbal tea, kumis and ayran. Break­fast is at 8–9 AM, lunch at 1–2 PM and din­ner at 7–8 PM.

Why vis­it
Der­bent offers a unique blend of ancient his­to­ry, archi­tec­ture and sea­side relax­ation. You can explore liv­ing mon­u­ments of antiq­ui­ty, immerse your­self in Dages­tani cul­ture and enjoy the Caspi­an panora­ma.

Safe­ty and wildlife
Down­town crime lev­els are low, with pet­ty theft the main con­cern. Ter­ror risk is min­i­mal, but moun­tain trips require reg­is­tra­tion with bor­der author­i­ties. Wild boars and wolves inhab­it forest­ed areas; encoun­ters are rare but ticks pose a sea­son­al haz­ard.

Ser­vice lev­el
Der­bent offers hotels from two to four stars, guest­hous­es and hos­tels. Restau­rants serve nation­al and Euro­pean cui­sine, cafés line the his­toric cen­ter and water­front.

Entry rules
Der­bent is part of the Russ­ian Fed­er­a­tion; for­eign vis­i­tors need a Russ­ian visa. Bor­der check­points require pass­port and migra­tion card checks. Weapons, nar­cotics and extrem­ist mate­ri­als are pro­hib­it­ed. Vis­i­tors under 18 must car­ry nota­rized parental per­mis­sion.

Trans­port
City trans­port includes minibus­es, bus­es and taxis. Inter­ci­ty bus and train tick­ets are sold at sta­tion coun­ters. With­in the city tourists trav­el by marshrut­ka or on foot.

Auto­mo­bile
Car rental is avail­able in Der­bent and Makhachkala. Local dri­vers often ignore traf­fic rules and offer on-the-spot set­tle­ments at police stops. There are no toll roads. The blood alco­hol lim­it is 0.3 ‰. Speed lim­its are 60 km/h in city and 90 km/h out­side. Speed cam­eras are rare but police check­points fre­quent. A com­pact SUV is rec­om­mend­ed due to nar­row moun­tain roads. Fines range from 500 ₽ to court cas­es.

Noise reg­u­la­tions
Qui­et hours are from 22:00 to 7:00 dai­ly. On hol­i­days and week­ends noise con­trol is stricter in res­i­den­tial areas.

Dai­ly tourist bud­get
Bud­get: 2 000–3 000 ₽ (25–35 USD) for hos­tel lodg­ing, street food and marshrutkas. Com­fort: 5 000–7 000 ₽ (60–85 USD) for a three-star hotel, cafés and tours. Pre­mi­um: from 10 000 ₽ (120 USD) for a four-star hotel, pri­vate guide and trans­fer.

What is not rec­om­mend­ed or strict­ly for­bid­den
Do not pho­to­graph mil­i­tary sites, dis­cuss pol­i­tics or reli­gion in pub­lic, lit­ter, swim in pro­hib­it­ed areas or dis­play pub­lic affec­tion.

Cli­mate
Der­bent has a coastal-con­ti­­nen­­tal cli­mate with hot dry sum­mers (up to 30 °C) and mild wet win­ters (0–8 °C). Spring and autumn (May-June, Sep­tem­ber-Octo­ber) are the best times to vis­it, offer­ing pleas­ant weath­er with­out severe heat or heavy rains.