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RussiaWhat to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting
Vatan is a memorial complex in the Gunibsky district of Dagestan, built in 2004 as a symbol of the power and unity of the peoples of Dagestan, united to defeat the invaders. This is a branch of the National Museum of the Republic of Dagestan named after A. Takho-Godi, but you can visit it only on your own, organized excursions from Makhachkala or Derbent is not offered here.
There are 2 buildings on the territory of the complex: a traditional Dagestan tower with a height of 16 meters and a mosque with a minaret. A small museum is organized in the tower building, part of the exhibition of which is dedicated to the events of the war of 1741, and part to the traditional occupations and household items of local residents.
The history of this place is connected with the conquest of Dagestan by the Iranians under the leadership of the Persian Shah Nadir Shah. He entered the territory of Dagestan in order to avenge the death of his brother Ibrahim Shah, who was killed by the mountaineers in 1738. In 1741, having captured southern Dagestan, he went on to conquer its central part, covering the areas of the large villages of Sogratl, Chokh, Gamsutl, Kuli.
The battle took place near the villages of Choh and Sogratl, where a bloody battle took place between the troops of Nadir Shah and the squads of the Andalal Free Society (Andalal), who joined forces to liberate their native land. The Iranian army was outnumbered and, according to some sources, numbered 100,000 soldiers. Despite this, the Andalal squad won. The battle was bloody and brutal, resulting in the death of many soldiers. In memory of heroism and dedication in the fight against the enemy, the monumental complex "Vatan" was erected.
Folk legend has it that Nadir Shah sent a messenger to the inhabitants of Andalal demanding surrender: "There are as many of us as there are stars in the sky, and fish in the ocean." A measure of millet was attached to the letter: "count it and you will understand how many of us there are." The Andalalians returned to the uninvited guests this measure with a gift rooster: "As it is not difficult for one rooster to eat all this grain, so the Andalalians can destroy all your numerous army."
At the time of our visit in 2022, repairs were carried out on the territory of the complex and it was closed to visitors. There was no exact information about the beginning and end of the repair work. But from the looks of it, one could tell that it was somewhat abandoned. Before the trip, we advise you to clarify the opening hours on the official website of the museum. If you came here and saw a closed gate, then you can get into the territory bypassing the gate on the left, or try to get through the gate itself. However, in this case, you will not be able to go inside the buildings to the museum, but you will only be able to inspect the objects from the outside. In principle, this is enough, given that there are signs on the walls of the buildings describing the significance of this place.
In general, given the very remote location and unclear condition (closed or open), you should not go here on purpose. But if you are in these parts to visit the abandoned village of Gamsutl, you can get to this complex.
🌐 Website: dagmuzey.ru
🕐 Working hours
Daily from 10:00 to 18:00, the ticket office closes at 17:15, Monday is a day off.
💵 Entrance fee / ticket price
Adults – 100 rubles, students and schoolchildren - 50 rubles, excursions from 300 rubles/group (by reservation). The Pushkin card is valid.
🚶 How to get there
The Vatan Memorial complex is located near the village of Sogratl in the Gunibsky district (Vatan complex on the map). It is far from other tourist places and the coast, and no transport goes here, so you can only get there by car or with individual excursions. An acceptable asphalt road leads to the complex itself, there is free parking at the entrance.
💥 We remind you that it is much more interesting to get acquainted with the sights of Dagestan with the help of excursions, and therefore we advise you to look at online booking options on these proven search and price comparison sites: