2018 is the year of tourism in Tajikistan. The President at the end of December 2017 signed a decree on this. It provides for the attraction of tourists, the development of crafts and the preservation of the culture of this amazing country. Before visiting her, you should learn as much as possible about her, and then doubts about the trip will disappear by themselves.
The Republic of Tajikistan is the smallest territorially of all the states of the Central Asian area, located in its southeastern part. Its area is a total of 143 thousand square meters. kilometers. But the insignificant zone does not prevent the republic from remaining one of the most fascinating tourist sites in the vast post-Soviet space.
If we compare the tourism of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, then in the first there are much more attractions, natural beauty. The country is worth a visit. The Tourism Development Committee of Tajikistan is making great efforts to attract tourists to its country.
What do you know about Tajikistan?
Tajikistan is a region of amazing contrasts; 93% of its total territory is occupied by mountains, which are considered the most attractive in Central Asia.
The state has a great historical heritage, an original subculture, an interesting geographical location, a variety of natural reliefs and recreational stripes, a fascinating flora and fauna.
Literally in one trip, which fit in a small time period, you can visit absolutely all seasons, see the tundra with endless permafrost and verdant subtropics, fruit plains and glaciers in the cool mist of perennial fogs, alpine meadows, striking with a riot of colors and scorched by the heat of the wasteland.
However, the state is not for lovers of all-consuming comfort and convenience. Although, in fact, this can be considered one of the main "trump cards" for connoisseurs of exotic.
Tajikistan is a completely unique state, where everything is synthetic, intentionally made for travelers, or brought from other civilizations. There are no busy, hectic megalopolises, as well as high-speed highways and neon signs that are getting tired of it. Only nature, a classical way of life and an open, kind, magnificent people in their own simplicity.
History
The people in the territory of today's Tajikistan, as archaeologists say, lived in the Stone Age. The central, southern and eastern parts of today's Tajikistan were in the old days a part of the slave-owning state of Bactria, and the regions to the north of the Gissar Range belonged to the slave-holding kingdom of Sogd.
Later, these territories were conquered by Alexander the Great and his Greeks, then they were part of the country of the Seleucids. And this is just a small fraction of the countries whose structure included present-day Tajikistan. Thus, Tajikistan still conquered the Kushan Kingdom, the Turkic Kaganate, the Karakhanid state, the Mongol-Tatar state, the Sheibanid state. In 1868, Tajikistan was annexed to the Russian Empire.
After the 1917 revolution, the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed on the land of Tajikistan as part of the Uzbek SSR. In 1929, the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was reformed into one of the republics of the Soviet Union.
Only in 1991 Tajikistan declared its own independence.
Purchases
Weaving and sewing is what Tajikistan is mostly remarkable for. A memorable gift from this country is objects of national clothing: famous cotton bathrobes (by the way, they are not hot in the summer season), embroidered belts and skullcaps, dresses, and even pants.
Many pay attention to classic leather shoes: boots, shoes and sandals - they, in the literal sense of the word, have no demolition. From Tajikistan, you can bring wall-mounted carpets “suzane”, stitched with silk or floss, bedspreads “ruigio”, tablecloths “dastarkhan”. Pottery products made in a circle or made manually are in great demand. Girls will like the multi-tiered silver necklace, weighty bracelets and earrings with national themes. Be sure to show interest in homely, very comfortable rugs, and, in addition, in classic figurines.
Terrible-looking, but benevolent in nature Pamir yaks supply Tajik residents with wool, from which craftswomen knit warm socks, scarves and mittens.
Sights of Tajikistan
In Tajikistan, there are many thousands of unique historical, architectural and archaeological monuments. Currently, the Government of Tajikistan is devoting substantial resources to the renewal and restoration of archaeological and architectural monuments.
Top objects
The top best attractions in Tajikistan (for tourism) include the following:
- Gissar fortress near Dushanbe.
- Mausoleum of the Title Mashhad near Bugor-Tyube.
- Buddhist temple Ajina-Tepe.
- Mausoleum of Sheikh Massala in Khojent.
- Mausoleum of Mahdumi Azam in the Hissar Valley.
- The ruins of the fortress Kaahka.
- The ruin of Pagikent.
- Sangin Mosque in the Hissar Valley.
- The city of Sarazm near Pagikent.
We will consider some of them in more detail. Employees of the Committee on Tourism of Tajikistan have developed the most interesting routes.
Gissar fortress
Currently, the gate is considered to be the only fragment of the former fortress that travelers can see. They are made of fired brick, on the sides there are two tubular towers with narrow loopholes at the very top. The part of the fortress wall that unites the towers is cut through by a large lancet arch.
The gates of the Hissar fortress are painted on the back of a 20 somoni bill. Opposite the gate is an old madrasah. It is a brick structure with a dome. Madrasah was created in the XVI century. Education here did not stop until 1921. The wide courtyard of the madrasah is surrounded by cells, and the library building has been preserved. Here trained up to 150 students.
Khoja Mashad, Bugor Tyube
The mausoleum of Khoja Mashad, located in the town of Saed (Bugor-Tyube circle), stuns with the monumentality of the figures and the virtuosity of the reddish-brown masonry. It is the only wood carved mausoleum left in Central Asia.
The area where the mausoleum is located has long been known as the “Cabodian” and has long attracted the interest of wanderers.
Khoja Mashhad is a popular real person in Islamic society; he arrived in Cabodian from the Middle East around the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th centuries. He was a wealthy man preaching Islam. Almost everyone believes that the construction of the madrasah took place at his expense. After his death, he was buried here.
Legends present a different version, as if the mausoleum “appeared” in just one night and is considered a wonderful gift sent by Allah.
Buddhist temple
12 km from Kurgan-Tyube is the area called the local population of Ajina-Tepe. This can be translated as "Devil's Hill", "Hill of Unclean Force." Probably, a similar attitude was formed among those living here because of the ugliness of this zone, surrounded by canals from three edges, densely overgrown with thorns, lined with hills and pits.
Archaeologists have established that the monastery in Ajina Tepe consisted of two parts (church and laurel), two rectangular courtyards, surrounded by houses and strong walls. In one of the courtyards there was a Big Stupa (a building for preserving artifacts or for designating holy zones). In the corners of the courtyard there were Small stupas of the same shape as the Big stupa. The temple was luxuriously decorated, the walls and arches are covered with paintings. There were niches in the walls where there were huge and tiny statues of Buddha (his style as a whole occupied the main place in the sculpture of Ajina-Tepe).
But the most amazing find was a large clay Buddha sculpture in nirvana, discovered in 1966 in one of the corridors of the monastery. Today the statue "Buddha in Nirvana" is exhibited at the State Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan in Dushanbe. It is considered the largest in scale statue found in what is now Central Asia.
Mausoleum of Sheikh Muslikhiddin
The mausoleum of Sheikh Muslikhiddin is considered the burial zone of the famous ruler and poet of the 13th century, Muslikhiddin Khujandi. The mausoleum is a small burial chamber made of square burnt brick. After the repair, the mausoleum looks like a two-story portal-domed building with a central hall of “Zierathon” and a domed “Gurkhon”. Over the centuries, a whole complex of funeral structures, a cemetery with a large number of burials, has developed around the monument.
Pagicent Ruins
The name of the city is translated as "5 villages." It is possible that from these five villages the history of this city began, dating back to the 5th-8th centuries. At that time, Pagikent was considered one of the most significant civilized and craft centers of Sogd. He was even called the "Central Asian Pompeii." It was an excellently fortified, equipped town with a ruler’s castle, two temples, bazaars, luxurious houses of urban residents, beautifully decorated with multiple paintings, wood and clay sculptures of ancient gods. Pagikent was the last city on the road from Samarkand to the mountains of Kuhistan. It was very cost-effective, since not a single caravan, not a single person, descending from the mountains to Samarkand and returning back, had the opportunity to pass by Pedzhikent.
The city was destroyed by the Arabs in the VIII century. The ruins of this ancient city were accidentally discovered only in the past century. Today, travelers can see here the ruins of residential buildings and administrative buildings, a fortress with a palace, housing of artisans, a temple of fire worshipers.
Tips for travelers planning to visit this place
Russians on tourism in Tajikistan leave completely different reviews. In fact, in Tajikistan there is a physical shortage of cash. In the Pamirs, for example, all transfers are carried out on a barter basis. Keep in mind that residents of other countries often pay for food and services much more expensive than the local population. In markets and bazaars, it is common to bargain, in shopping centers prices are fixed. Tipping is in most cases 5%, but it is best to pre-negotiate the required amount of remuneration in each specific case.
There is a huge possibility of infection with hepatitis A and E, cholera, diphtheria, typhoid, relapsing fever, there is a threat of malaria in the south. Do not drink raw water, even if the local population claims that it is suitable for use. If you follow these simple tips, your trip will pass without problems.