I was sorry to leave Chechnya and wished I allocated more time for this part of the trip. My guide told me that to get to Dagestan we could drive on the motorway as it would be quicker but he did mention there may be a lot of traffic. The other option was driving through the mountains which would be more scenic and fun. I chose the mountain route of course. We were on our way to Gunib which was supposed to be a beautiful mountain village. I was looking forward to having lunch there.
As we started our mountain drive I noticed a lot of military personnel. This is not strange as I have seen so many during this trip but seeing them in the mountain side made it seem more real. I found it eerie to see lone soldiers on the side of a mountain. After our visit to the lake we saw some more soldiers about 100m apart all looking down on us. My guide thought this was peculiar. We carried on our way to Gunib. I really enjoyed the drive through the blossom trees but I was anxious about all the military we came across. We were stopped at a cross road and my details were taken but at least they didn’t question me. The next stop was the pilgrimage site of the legendary Imam Shamil. This site was where the fortress stood which saw the final stand of the Imam after his 30 year fight against the Tsarist troops in 19th century. He is very well revered and worshipped. I have seen so many photos of the Imam in this area. He is a very popular man, more so than the current leader.
As we continued our scenic drive we noticed more and more military. Now we were coming across camps and seeing huge military convoys. I managed to take some photos as they were far away. My guide seemed confused as to why the camps have suddenly appeared around the area. He said they were not there last month. We carried on driving seeing more and more military trucks and even tanks and as we came to another cross roads we had to stop and register ourselves. Travelling between towns and villages requires a mandatory stop, search and registration of vehicles and persons. This was prevalent everywhere around the Caucuses more so in Chechnya and Dagestan. This cross road was a busy one teeming with Police and military and they were on both sides of the road. This looked like it may take a while. A heavily armed officer with bullet proof gear from head to toe and pointing a gun wanted to search our car so I had to get out. At this point my guide told me not to worry and everything is fine. The officer searched every part of the car even under the carpets. He didn’t search my bags though which I thought strange. This took 10 minutes. Then my guide went into the nearby office to register both of us while I waited in the car. I could see a sniper on the roof of the office and two mini towers which housed armed men. While the car was being searched one of the soldiers aimed their gun on us. I guess this is procedure as I saw him doing it to all the people with their cars being searched. That was certainly a new experience to me. As I waited I heard a juggernaut of tanks and military trucks come past me and I lost count after 20. It went on and on. On some of the trucks I saw men dressed in camouflage with their faces painted in black carrying big and heavy machine guns. There must have been hundreds of them. I was now getting a little anxious wondering why my guide was taking so long and the appearance of what seemed to be the full force of the Russian army in Dagestan. My guide finally came back out but he looked harassed. As he came to the car he was searching for documents when another convoy of tanks and trucks drove past. Again he looked at me and said not to worry and that everything is normal. I laughed out loud. I said really? None of this is normal. He said the officers were shocked to see me here and need more information and went back into the office. I waited again for another 15 minutes while I watched what can only be a bizarre scene of someone being in the wrong place and at the wrong bloody time. As I watched more military tanks go past I also saw a puppy chase cows and goats that walked near the checkpoint. I saw one of the soldiers chase the puppy away. I am thankful he didn’t shoot it. This is definitely not normal. All I can think of is there is obviously something going on in this part of the mountain which involves a lot of military exercise and we really shouldn’t be in the midst of it.
My guide came back out and told us that we have to wait until they let us through. They have to check with the FSB first and that the Police still had our documents. So we moved the car and parked it near a converted shed/café. As we hadn’t eaten in hours the guide suggested we order something and wait. This would also show them that we are normal, well that’s what my guide thought. As soon as the pancakes came out the officer called into the café to say that he was ready. So we wolfed down the pancakes and followed the officer to their head office. We followed his car for about 15 minutes before we reached the nearest village with an Immigration Office. We were told we had to speak to his supervisor about why we are here and to see if he will allow us to go any further. This was now becoming increasingly annoying. What I thought to be stupid bureaucracy was slowly turning into something hostile. The small building we entered was a place where locals went to apply for a domestic passport. This means they can travel anywhere within Russia. For an international passport they would have to apply in Moscow or equivalent. We were supposed to reach the capital Makhachkala by 6 or 7pm. We reached the office at 6pm and there was no way to tell how long this would take. We guessed we might be gone by 8 or 9pm. We were dead wrong.
When we were finally called in at 7 by the boss I noticed how handsome he was with his bright silver hair. He looked a bit like Robin Williams but not as funny. He looked pretty peeved off actually and argued with my guide as soon as he set eyes on him. After translation I realised we were in serious trouble. The Immigration boss asked us “What are you doing in the middle of a counter terrorism operations base? I looked to my guide and said “he said this was a more scenic route”. I wanted to laugh but I knew how badly this could go. So I sat there and listened to them argue. In between translations I heard the words, security breach, terrorism, FSB, penalty, money and fines. So basically this was going to be a shake down. Apparently little villages like this are notorious for bribery. So as I sat in the corner I inconspicuously pulled out all my money out of my bag and hid them in my underwear. My guide was gone for a long time and it was now nearly 9pm. When he finally popped his head through the door I was so happy. He said not to worry and that he was about to be interrogated. Well I just laughed out loud as I wasn’t sure what was worse. Not knowing where he was and actually being told he was about to be interrogated. The boss laughed at me laughing out loud. So I waited and waited. At this point the boss got out his phone and decided to converse with me using google translate. Then he offered me some Jack Daniels. I declined of course wondering what he was up to. I got the usual questions. Why I am not married? Why don’t I have children? Then his staff came in and out and he encouraged them to have a photo taken with me. Then more people came into the office and he took photos of me with them. I think at one point the whole village turned up. I obliged thinking this is weird but not as weird as him taking a photo of me all by myself. I had visions of my photo being put online with a ransom demand. The things that were whirling through my head also included my guide being tortured and then shot. Worst case scenario no doubt. I figured we would be here for a few more hours until we paid up and if not we would be staying the night in a cell somewhere in this building. I was desperate for the toilet as well. Eventually some money must have been paid by my guide as I had to sign some papers to show what payment and I think a receipt was also issued. So this all started to look good. They accepted the payment and we would be out of here soon. At a quarter to 10 my guide showed up looking very harassed and tired and said that it was my turn to be interrogated. Great! I was taken into another room and thank god my guide was allowed to stay otherwise I am not sure how the google translate interrogation would turn out. I met the FSB guy and he looked so damn sinister especially with his flat cap on. He kept giving me the look where he’s trying to figure me out. Luckily there was a computer screen between him and me and I could hide behind that while he eyed me up. I noticed that he looked just like a gangster character in Empire Boardwalk and this did not help at all. My guide said that he paid the fine but the FSB still needed me to answer more questions as they did not believe my guide. That threw me a little. Why did they not believe him? He said something in Russian and my guide translated. Do you speak Russian? I said no. The FSB guy said he didn’t believe me. Well that wasn’t a good start. Why are you in Russia? I said I am on holiday. He asked why Russia? I said I love Russia and he told me that I was lying because nobody loves Russia, not even the Russians. I wasn’t getting anywhere with this guy. I was also thinking I bet he does know English and he’s just trying to catch me out. My guide didn’t help by lying in front of him and telling me not to mention his guiding business. All the FSB needs to know was that we are couch surfers. So I stuck with that story thinking we are about to be arrested as we are definitely lying but luckily he didn’t understand English at all. Apart from my guide and me, nobody in that village spoke a single word of English. So this back and forth went on for over an hour with the FSB guy asking his questions and not believing my answers and then he would stare at me some more and then write it all down. There were so many questions about my family and friends and whatever I did from when I left high school till today. There were some weird questions about my first guide in Sochi. How I met him? How did I contact him? Did we share the same room? Who paid for what? Finally it was over when the Immigration boss and the first officer who we followed came into the room. It all started to feel relaxed again. The FSB guy got up and gave me something to sign. Then I guess he eyed my bag and asked what was in it. So I emptied it all out and he went through everything thing even the small purse where I keep my memory cards. This interested him and he wanted to know what was on them. Oh dear, I thought we were just about to leave and now he wanted to see all my memory cards. I carry many cards just for backup and they have all my entertainment on there too. So I took out my tablet and showed them my movies and photos. I did this for 3 memory cards and then luckily he got bored as he said the rest were fine. Phew not that there was anything incriminating on them but I had a slight panic. My guide translated and said the FSB thanks me for my cooperation and apologised for taking up our time. I said no problems and that I am back in the summer for the Tran Siberian trip, that’s how much I love Russia. I also said he was welcome to couch surf with me and he smiled. I finally asked for the toilet and they all fell over backwards to accommodate my request. Well I peed for bloody ages and while I was in there I put all the money I had hidden back into my bag. It was just after 11pm so we said goodbye and got the hell out of there.
We still had to get to the capital and we were deep inside the mountain and driving in the dark was not easy or fast. We got back to the previous check post that started all this and were allowed to pass without any hassle whatsoever. My guide was tired and he told me that he has never talked so much in his life. I was just processing everything that happened and I was so glad to be out of there. I just wanted to get to the hotel and forget all about it. We got lost in the city but eventually found out hotel and crashed. But I couldn’t sleep. I had nightmares of being chased. We didn’t leave for Derbent until after midday.
We headed to the Unesco Heritage city that afternoon. The weather wasn’t great and my mood was just intense. My guide was tired and he kept apologising for what happened like it was his fault. All I could see was more military and Police on the streets way more than in Chechnya. He also commented on this and wondered if they were expecting something to happen or someone was on an official visit. On the way to Derbent we stopped off at Dagestan’s football stadium where the home team Anzhi Makhachkala is supposed to train. They have never trained at this stadium ever. They only train in Moscow. Again there were military everywhere. They wouldn’t normally bother me but this morning I felt scared when I saw them and worried about what they might do. Last night was certainly having an effect on my mood today. We finally reached Derbent and I was so disappointed. The actual site sits on top of a hill overlooking what is supposed to be a beautiful city. I didn’t see it. Maybe it was the weather and maybe it was my mood but I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of this city. My guide was getting worried about me as I was not eating and I was not my usual self. So when we got back to Makhachkala he called his friend and we went to see him. He worked in immigration in the fraud department. Basically he took down officials who accepted bribes. I went to his office, it was closed of course and he kindly printed off my board tickets for me while I was there. He said he would meet me again the next morning with some of his friends for coffee and they would show me the sights of their city. I just wanted to go to sleep.
The next morning I met with my new friend and 2 of his friends joined us for a coffee. One of them actually lives in Hackney and is a security guard in the west end. They all joked about my experience last night and now I can certainly laugh about it. We had fancy coffees and cakes and then headed off for my last few hours before I had to fly back home. They took me to monuments, churches, galleries and even sent me off to the airport. They definitely changed my mind about Dagestan. I really did not have a good trip at the beginning but it ended well. I realised that I was projecting what happened to me on the Dagestani people and their city and that made me feel crappy. At least when I left I knew that Dagestani people are friendly and kind and the ones I met today took the time and trouble to make sure I was ok and that I was safe. I thought that was pretty cool.
