11. The first treasure is the land. The stony land of the mountain folk is their most priceless asset. The life was very hard on it. To be able to grow anything on these stones the mountaineer had to carry earth to them all his life in baskets, in “khurdzuni” (a leather bag) in “papakhas” (a fur hat) and even by the handful. “ May your field be crowded with wheat” is the kindest wish the mountaineer can make.
12. “ May your field dry up and perish!” is the most terrible curse of the mountaineers. “ I swear by my land” is the strongest oath by a mountaineer. Any damage done to the fields or to the land was punished by the biggest fine. But that was in the past. The modern mountain farmer has learnt to cultivate the land according to the rules of agronomy.
31. Geographically Dagestan is situated at the junction of two continents -Europe and Asia. It is the Eastern section of the North Caucasus and occupies the north-eastern slope of the Caucasian Mountains which gradually go down to the wide lowlands in the north and the Caspian Sea in the east.
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34. Lowland Dagestan Foothill Dagestan Highland Dagestan Therefore the whole republic can be roughly divided into three main parts: the Lowland Dagestan, the Foothill Dagestan and the Highland Dagestan. Mountains occupy more than half of the territory of the republic.
