[EXPAT PROFILE] So much more to Dagestan than meets the eye

The short geography lesson

So do people know where Dagestan is? “Many people from the Caucasus have settled in Turkey, so Turks generally have an idea of where I’m talking about,” she explains. However, she often has to give non-Turks a short geography lesson. “It’s in the north part of the Caucasus, across from Kazakhstan on the western shores of the Caspian,” she begins, adding that “it borders Azerbaijan in the south and Georgia in the west. There are also borders with other parts of the Russian Federation: the Chechen Republic in the west, Stavropol Territory in the northwest and the Republic of Kalmykia in the north.”

Turkish speakers realize that Dagestan -- “dağ,” a Turkic word for “mountain” and “stan,” the Persian word for “land of” -- is very mountainous. “The south is like that, but about a third of the country -- in the north -- is flat steppe land,” she highlights, adding that “it’s not a very big country and covers just 400 kilometers by 200 kilometers; Turkey is about 15 times bigger. It’s hot and dry in the summer and winters are hard in the mountains.”

“There’s no easily accessible pass over the Caucasus so the 40-kilometer-long coastal plain is an important north-south passage,” she goes on, adding that “this means that Dagestan is well-connected to other places in the region: There are trains from the capital to Moscow and Astrakhan as well as to Azerbaijan. The Moscow-Baku Highway passes through Dagestan, and there are also international flights to places like Turkey and Italy.”

“I’m from the capital, Makhachkala, which is home to around 600,000 people,” she says, adding that “it’s twinned with Yalova here in Turkey as well as cities in the US, Russia and China.”

‘Who are the Kumyks?’

Asya is often asked what nationality she is. She’s both Russian and Dagestani (as well as Turkish). But she’s also a Kumyk. Asya tells us about the Kumyks, a people whose history runs parallel to the general history of one of the most ethnically diverse regions in the world.

“The region’s strategic importance means that over the centuries each group, including us, has been directly or indirectly affected by outside powers,” she explains, adding that “the Romans, Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Seljuks, Ottomans and Russians have all tried to control the area. “

“It’s thought that we were originally a mix of tribes already in the Caucasus and nomad Turkic-speaking tribes who moved there from the fourth to 12th centuries,” she says, adding that “we’ve traditionally occupied part of northern Dagestan, part of the south and lands bordering the Caspian. From the 11th to 13th centuries, we came under different kingdoms. From the 15th century to 1867, the Kumyks in the central plains had an independent kingdom, the Shamkhalat of Tarki, with protection from the Selcuks, Persians and Russians at different times. In the 17th and 18th centuries we ended up caught in the middle of wars between the Muslim Persians and Christian Russians. Then in 1867 Russia occupied the North Caucasus, and the Shamkhalat was divided into two Russian provinces. The region became part of the ex-Soviet Union in 1920 when the Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created. Then during World War II part of our homeland was briefly invaded by the Nazis, who wanted control of the region’s oilfields. Despite their promises, we didn’t collaborate with them. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, we’ve been part of the Dagestan Autonomous Republic, a member of the Russia Federation.”

Unusual to pay rent in Dagestan

Many people are also very curious about the cost of living in Dagestan, and they generally think that people have a hard time there. “That’s not the case,” Asya explains.

So what’s an average monthly wage? “State workers earn $400-$500, and people in the private sector earn around $700,” she explains, adding that “bills are much lower than in Turkey as we don’t have to import natural gas or oil; utility bills total around $80 a month. Food costs about the same as in Turkey, but the majority of people -- no matter they live -- have an allotment where they grow their own vegetables and may even keep a few animals. The major difference with Turkey is that everybody in Dagestan, except for foreign students, is a homeowner, so they don’t pay rent.”

Dagestan receives funding from the central Russian government for public services such as the police force, education and healthcare. “All Dagestanis are entitled to free healthcare whether they’re employed or not, and education is free. I was a law student before I came to live here, and all university students get a grant of about TL 120 a month to cover travel costs and food in university canteens. Books are also free.”

Do people in Dagestan like visitors? Asya’s answer is an enthusiastic “yes,” but despite being home to a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site, Derbent, why is there little tourism there at the moment?

“Like many other ex-Soviet territories, Dagestan is dealing with the repercussions of our complex history, such as decisions made by [Joseph] Stalin over 60 years ago and others made during Soviet rule,” she highlights, adding that “during World War II Stalin accused the Chechens of aiding the Nazis and deported them to Central Asia en masse and gave Dagestan and Ossetia part of their territory. Later whole ethnic groups were resettled within Dagestan, such as the Avar, who were sent to live in the north where the Kumyk were.”

‘The mountains of languages’

So was it difficult for Asya to learn Turkish? “Not really,” she replies, “but when I first came in 2000 I didn’t want to because I didn’t think I’d settle here. That all changed after I got married, of course. I’ve learned it by watching TV and reading the newspaper.”

Is Asya’s mother tongue, Kumyk, very different to Turkish?

“Not really. Kumyk is a Turkic language, very similar to Azerbaijani Turkish,” she highlights, adding that “when Turkic-speaking tribes migrated into the Dagestan area there was an intermingling of languages and modern Kumyk includes some Bulgar, Khazar and Oghuz Turk. Over the past century, it’s also been influenced by both Azeri and Russian. Kumyk was written using Arabic script until 1928 and with Latin script to 1938. Now we use Cyrillic script. There’s a strong Kumyk literary tradition, and the Quran has also been translated into Kumyk.”

“It’s spoken by about 365,000 of the 3 million people in Dagestan,” she continues, adding that “the Arabs called the region ‘the mountains of languages,’ and it still is. There are 10 main groups of people in Dagestan such as the Caucasian Avars, Dargins and Lezgins who have their own languages and the Turkic peoples such as the Kumyk and the Nogais (who alone speak two different languages). There are also smaller populations, such as the Hinukh, who have their own distinct languages with their own languages, as well as Russians, Azeris and Chechens who live in Dagestan.”

So how do people communicate with each other? “Everybody speaks their own languages at home and Russian outside,” she explains, adding: “Until the 1917 revolution Arabic was the lingua franca, followed by Azeri Turkish in some areas until World War II and Kumyk in others. Education is in Russian, of course, but we can also choose to take extra lessons in our own languages, such as Kumyk.”

So what is she teaching her 18-month-old son? “I’ve started with Russian and Turkish, but I’d also like him to learn English,” she replies, adding that “I’ll also teach him Kumyk later.”

Do you miss Dagestan?

“Turkish and Dagestani cultures are very similar” is the answer Asya gives when asked if she feels homesick. So what are the similarities? “Well, firstly, religion,” she replies, adding that “around 90 percent of Dagestanis are Sunni Muslim and the rest mostly Christian. Until 1991 there were also some Mountain Jews, but they’ve mostly emigrated. Despite the Soviets closing all the mosques Islam survived in Dagestan and religious occasions such as circumcision, wakes and bayrams are all very important parts of our lives.”

Food is important to Asya in more ways than one: She met her husband, Yakup, while having a meal at Annem Zeynep’un Mutfağı when she came to Antalya on vacation in 2005. So what does she make of Turkish food? “Like the Turks, traditional food is very important to us. There’s only one McDonald’s in Dagestan,” she highlights, adding: “Unlike the Turks, we don’t feel the need to have rice with every meal, and we eat much more meat! Some food is similar, such as ‘dolma’ and sausage, but we also eat many dumplings. A favorite Kumyk dish is ‘hinkal,’ dumplings boiled in meat stock and served with sour cream gravy and garlic.”

So does she miss her family and country? “Of course, families and communities are very close knit in Dagestan, more so than in Turkey even,” she highlights. “My family is happy for me but also sad because I’m so far away. We see each other once a year. Either they come here or we go there. We also phone each other three or four times a week. As for Dagestan, there are both good and bad things about it, but at the end of the day it’s my country.”