Country: Tajikistan
Area: Dushanbe – Tajikistan
“Where is that?”, we became quite accustomed to hearing that question when we told people we were heading to Tajikistan. For those that don’t know, it borders Afghanistan, China and the other “stan” countries.
My interest to venture forth into this unexplored (well for me anyway) frontier came about after I watched a TV documentary about The Silk Road and Marco Polo. Another motivating factor is my rather amateur take on photography.
This was, without a shadow of a doubt, one of our most interesting destinations. Although my wife, Rosalind, and I only toured the western part of the country, we were blessed to have our own driver and guide for 12 days. I decided on this option, rather than in with a party of tourists, so that I would not be restricted to time when taking photographs. A mountainous country which requires time to explore.
September seemed to me to be the best time to head over as it is the end of summer and also, that the 9th September is when they celebrate Independence Day, they were part of the USSR.
The best part of it is that it is not a tourist destination yet, but it is filled with history and facts. One will learn all about the ancient times, Alexander the Great and the Aga Khan. There are a number of fortresses, of which only the front has been rebuilt, I suppose this is part of encouraging tourism.
We landed in Dushanbe the capital at 3.30 a.m. and decided to sleep in and not have any activities that day. Jet lag also played a factor.
After our rest day, we attended the Youth celebrations in the morning in a fountain park. The girls performed dances whilst dressed in the colours of their provinces.
What was noticeable is that all schoolgirls wear plaited hair.
Refreshments were sold and when one of the stall owners noticed that we were visitors, she loaded packets of their different breads and would not take payment.
In general, we found the people very friendly, hospitable and free giving. What was amazing to us what that, unlike most Muslim countries, the people were happy to be photographed. On one occasion two young girls asked to be photographed with us using their own camera.
The main Independence Day celebrations were in the evening. The local soccer stadium could seat 20,000 and the security measures, although not generally an issue in the country, seemed to be reminiscent of the Soviet days. We had to have an entrance permit and no cameras were allowed. Dress was smart casual.
These celebrations were a highlight of our trip. The patriotism, the Presidential speech, the colorful dancing displays, the music, the floats, and the fireworks displays were mind blowing.
There are no shopping malls as we know them, but the markets are the places to shop. The nuts, fruit and vegetables are top grade and we had nonstop offers to taste these commodities. We did come across a supermarket which offered upmarket products. There are however boutique type men’s and women’s clothing stores in Dushanbe.
Tajikistan became an independent state in 1991 after 70 (seventy) years of Russian rule and since the breakup of the U.S.S.R it seems that it deteriorated economically. The massive hydroelectric generating plant in Norak is operating at minimum capacity because the aluminium facility is no longer operational.
The co-operative farms are only working on a limited basis, of course no longer controlled by Russia. The resorts that were frequented by Russian contract workers are now deserted. Many buildings are typically Russian in appearance. Massive library buildings, museums, wide streets and parks. Dushanbe even has the tallest flag pole in the world. In the two major cities they have pedestrian tunnels at the main intersections. Another feature of this country is the architecturally beautiful Tea Houses.
Languages spoken are Tajik and Russian and there are no English signs, which makes for interesting navigation.
Driving from Dushanbe to Khujand is an experience of a lifetime. The mountain passes are at an altitude of 3,000 m with shear drops that make your stomach turn. An interesting feature of these passes is that concrete tunnels have been constructed over the main road. This is to protect motorists from being buried under avalanches. The installation of the power lines over the mountains must have been no mean feat. Obviously done during the U.S.S.R. days.
Food was basic, with lamb and chicken done tandoor style. Interestingly, because of the abundance of apricots, apricot juice was always offered in typical Tajik eating establishments.
There is no industry aside from the dismal outputs of aluminium. Agriculture is mainly subsistence farming. There is large scale cotton farming, and this is made possible by the abundance of water.
