Avul Mountainous villages called Avul are generally builded in far valleys and hill sides. Villagers produce and raise grapes, fruits, corn and other plants. The mountainous and barren lands are amazingly turned in fruitfull gardens by terrace and watering works. There are gardens on many rocky summits which are reached after a tiresome climb. You can see some very small gardens like this, even few m2 wide. Being on the trade ways both to east and west, Daghestan formed a shelter for many tribes and nations with its mountainous, rough geographical characteristic. But this did not give them a brilliant economical life. This natural difficulties in everyday life and transportation also effected in the characteristics of the settlers and this region has become a land where gread bravehearts and warriors was born. It is not a coinsidence that great sportsmen and especially the wrestlers growed herein this region, but the effect of the natural and climate.
Daghestan started its economical life by nomadism and raising livestock like the other countires on the world, and later in history, agricultural products varied as agriculture developed. Soil is very important in Daghestan because of its lackness. Daghestan people with no land suitable for agriculture, deemed themselves as having nothing in the world. It was not possible to see any land sowed except those rocky places. They tried to make lands by cleaning the rocks and sowed and dried the grass to make food for their animals.
One of the most remarkable characteristics of Daghestan is that they are very talented in handicraft. The lack of agricultural lands and the difficulty for raising livestock made those talented highlanders to work on handicrafts. And this brought most interesting and demanded art works. The mountainous structure of this country even makes difficult to walk around. Writed P. Pavlenko says, Its and art to walk on mountain roads. This art caused the highlanders to forget the acrophobia; even the children walk at the edges of an abyss with no fear. Daghestan never accepted the political and de facto situation of the Russian sovereign with the Gulistan Agreement between Russia and Persia in 1813 and showed an unequal opposition in history agains Russia. Being exposed great social and economical loss during this invasion and independence war, Daghestan had to examine its second unluck with the unsuccessful socialism experience. This experience stole its first independecen in his history, as explained above.
There are relations for more than five hundred years between Turkey and Daghestan together with other Caucasion tribes in respect of origin and religion. Losing the independence war against Russia and the impact of the Tzar government caused these faithfull and freedom-lover highlander tribes to migrate to Turkey. These migrations have a deep effect on Turkish social, economical and cultural life as well as politial background. Helping to develop todays Turkish Republic in a way, these migration added family relations to the said common religios tie, and caused these countries in the region to be in the first interest area of Turkey without asking for any other reason.
Therefore, keeping the peacefull relations with Russia, it is natural that Turkish statesmen have a close interest on these countries and it is not possible for Turkish scientists and researchers not to be interested in this geography. This work mainly on Daghestan, started as a result of such a motivation.
Turkish works about Caucasia in general, and particulary about Daghestan, have historical perspective and so the social and economical dimentions of this subject has been neglected. Today, it is a reality that relations among countries cannot only be on social and cultural basis, but should also have economical dimension.
With this reality, after examining the the social and political developments that effected the economical relations, this work focuses also on economical movements. Turkish works helped for social and political developments, where as the Russian works helped for economical improvements. The current social and economical situation of Daghestan as well as cultural structure is descripted on our observation during visit to this country.
The End
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