The Nizami Ganjavi Culture and Recreation Park in Derbent is located in the historical center of the city near the Northern Fortress wall of the 6th century, which descends from the Naryn-kala fortress and stretches to the shore of the Caspian Sea. The largest light and music fountain in Russia has been created in the center of the park. The height of its jets reaches 30 meters (ten-storey building).
Nizami Ganjavi Park was created several decades ago, but in the Soviet years it was in disrepair. It has been under renovation for several years and opened to the public in July 2022. The park is named after the Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi, who lived in the 12th century. There is a maze, swings, walking paths and art objects. They are installed on several levels. The total area of Nizami Ganjavi Park is 7 hectares, but its main attraction is the multimedia fountain.
The size of the fountain is 70x70 square meters, which is almost half a hectare. In the center of the fountain there is a huge square bowl where fountain nozzles are installed in the form of five circles. There are 4 bowls on each side around this square. All the elements of the fountain in Nizami Ganjavi Park are made of local stone in the Dagestan traditions of stone-cutting art.
Light and music fountain shows in Nizami Ganjavi Park are held on Saturday and Sunday evenings. The rest of the time, the fountain works in the background, which does not give an idea of its scale. The performance starts at 19.00 and lasts until 21.00. The fountain`s light and music show looks most beautiful from the amphitheater, but in order to take a place there, you need to come in advance.
If you don`t have time to take seats in the amphitheater, it`s not a problem. The powerful jets of the fountain up to 30 meters high can be seen from anywhere in the park, and you can watch a laser show on the stone walls around the fountain. There are usually more people in the park in the evening than in the afternoon. All the sites are beautifully illuminated.
On the south side of the park is the Northern Fortress Wall, built by the Persian shahs of the Sassanid dynasty in the 6th century AD. It protected their possessions from steppe nomads, so the northern wall is much more fortified than the Southern Wall. The wall is made of large boulders, its height reaches 8 meters, and its width is 3.5 meters.
The Persians made three gates in the Northern fortress Wall. The Kiyamat-Kapa Gate is located in Nizami Ganjavi Park and through it you can go to the Suleiman Stalsky Park. From here you can enjoy a beautiful view of the Derbent lighthouse of 1853. During the reconstruction of the park, archaeologists discovered a small ancient necropolis at the foot of the wall, which can now also be seen.
