Come to Agul to Make Life-Long Friends

Stories about Dagestani hospitality can sometimes seem too pretentious. The picture is sometimes painted of locals always ready to receive unknown travelers seems too good to be true. But, in the mountains especially, this is in fact the case. In Dagestan, locals will help you on the road if you have car problems. They will invite you to come in for tea or lunch if they meet you along the road. And if necessary, they will be happy to prepare a bed for you. People here really know how to receive guests and they do it from the heart, not just from a sense of duty.

My whole life, I’ve breathed and lived the good of Dagestani hospitality, and yet it never ceases to surprise me how sincere people are in their desire to give warmth and comfort. Recently, some friends and I had a chance to experience the cordiality and hospitality of Dagestanis this summer, when we went hiking in the mountainous part of Southern Dagestan. The local people, Aguls, simply amazed us with how they received guests to their mountains.

Gadji from Duldug

There were five of us, and it was the second day of our hike. Everything was going according to plan as we made our way through the beautiful mountain scenery. After a long and difficult journey, we began to descend to the village of Duldug.  It was already quite dark, so we walked with flashlights on our phones as we entered the village. Suddenly I saw a local man (we would later learn his name–Gadji) walking from his home to some outbuildings. I got his attention, and asked if he could tell us where in this village we could spend the night.

Looking at me with a smile, he replied: “With me!” Being tired from the road, his quick consent was most welcome, and so we went with him.

Following him, we entered his house. It turned out that his wife was not at home. She was on business in Derbent, so Gadji called his brother’s wife to cook dinner for us and prepare the beds. Before long we had delicious soup, tea, a variety of snacks and sweets in front of us. Once we were full, we took showers, used Gadji’s wi-fi and went to bed in comfort.

Afterwards, we said goodbye to our kind hosts, having previously left a 5000 rubles (about $75)in his closet, since most likely he would refuse this money if we gave it to him directly. With a feeling of deep gratitude to Gadzhi and his family, we continued down the road to a village with the unusual name of Goa.

Aslan from Fite

Aslan disagreed with our plan. “I can’t leave you here,” he said, adding that the clouds had already thickened and heavy rain was coming soon. “You can leave us,” I said to him. “Just drive on and that’s it, the problem is solved.” But Aslan would not settle for leaving two travelers alone in the elements. After a little reflection, he came up with a solution. “Let me drive three hundred meters ahead of you and wait until you catch up. Then I’ll drive another three hundred meters ahead again. In this manner we will reach my village.” This option was good because it respected the interests of everyone – on the one hand, Aslan did not leave the travelers alone on the road. And on the other hand, we completed the route completely by foot.

We changed out of our soaking wet clothes. Having dried out, we went to the kitchen and were invited to have lunch. On the table were traditional Dagestani dishes: flour halva, a delicious miracle, and hinkal which is boiled meat and dough. Aslan also treated us to a traditional Agul bread. After lunch, the weather had cleared up, and we decided to go for a walk around Fite.  After the rain shower, the landscape around the village was picturesque with various shades of green all around. The village itself also turned out to be very interesting and original. To find such a large village at an altitude of 2200 meters is a rarity.