Naryn-Kala

Naryn-Kala is the citadel of Derbent, in Dagestan in southern Russia, on the narrow strip of land between the Caucasus mountains and the Caspian Sea. Whoever held this gap controlled the main route between the steppes to the north and the lands of Iran to the south, and the Sasanian kings fortified it heavily. The name Derbent is generally explained as Persian dar-band, “closed gate” or barrier. UNESCO inscribed the citadel, ancient city and fortress buildings in 2003.

The present stone citadel and the parallel city walls that run down from it to the sea are generally dated to the sixth century, under Khosrow I. The two walls, built of large dressed stone blocks, ran several kilometres from the hill to the shore, enclosing the town between them, and a further wall ran inland into the mountains.

Inside the citadel, on its high plateau, are the remains of a ruler's palace, a bathhouse, and a large underground cistern roofed with a cross-vaulted dome, along with a structure that some have identified as a Sasanian fire temple or an early church, though this is debated. Later Arab, Persian and Russian rulers held and adapted the fortress. From the walls visitors look down over the old town's narrow lanes, called magals, towards the sea.