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Astrakhan travel guide, guidebook and phrasebooks, download .pdf chapters on Lonely Planet.
Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of 28 meters (92 ft) below the sea level. Population: 520,662 (2010 Census preliminary). Astrakhan is situated in the Volga Delta, rich in sturgeon and exotic plants. The fertile area formerly contained the capitals of Khazaria and the Golden Horde. Astrakhan' itself was first mentioned by travellers in the early 13th century as Xacitarxan. Tamerlane burnt it to the ground in 1395. From 1459 to 1556, Xacitarxan was the capital of Astrakhan Khanate. The ruins of this medieval settlement were found by archaeologists 12 km upstream from the modern-day city. In 1556, the khanate was conquered by Ivan the Terrible, who had a new fortress, or kremlin, built on a steep hill overlooking the Volga. In 1569, Astrakhan was besieged by the Cossack Ottoman army, which had to retreat in disarray. A year later, the Sultan renounced his claims to Astrakhan, thus opening the entire Volga River to Russian traffic. In the 17th century, the city was developed as a Russian gate to the Orient. Many merchants from Armenia, Persia, India and Khiva settled in the town, giving it a multinational and variegated character. Astrakhan features a steppe climate with cold winters and hot summers. Astrakhan is the driest city in Europe. Rainfall is scarce but relatively evenly distributed throughout the course of the year. It's this even distribution of rainfall and the relatively low annual temperature that causes the city to fall under this climate category as opposed to an arid climate. Winters tend to be cold in the city, though by Russian standards, Astrakhan features relatively balmy winters. Summers in the city can be hot with high temperatures in excess of 40°C. Spring and fall are basically transitional seasons between summer and winter ... more on Wikipedia.The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.
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