The Republic of Tajikistan is the only state in the territory of the former Soviet Union, where most of the inhabitants profess Sunni Islam and speak Iranian (Persian). The state can boast of natural resources, but their extraction is difficult, due to the fact that almost the entire terrain is mountainous, in addition, Eurasian traffic flows are quite far away.
Modern Tajikistan consists of four regions and 18 cities, one of which is quite interesting and attractive for tourists - this is Khorog.
A bit about the city
The village is located on the slopes of the mountains, at an altitude of 2.6 thousand meters. This is practically the place where two mountain rivers join : Pyanj and Gutn. Khorog in Tajikistan is a small and cozy town with about 30 thousand people.
Ethnic composition of the city is not very diverse, mainly Pamiri Tajiks. Here they speak mainly in the Pamir, or rather the Shugnan dialect.
The village is famous for the high level of education of the local population. After all, it is here that the Lyceum of the Aga Khan Foundation, the University of Central Asia and the State University are located.
Today, the city is developing in the tourist direction, infrastructure is being rebuilt, restaurants, hotels and guest houses are being built.
Historical reference
The city of Khorog in the Republic of Tajikistan is a relatively young settlement. The first mention of settlers is only from 1895. In fact, the city appeared at a time when tsarist Russia and Britain were fighting for these territories. At that time, garrison soldiers of Russia arrived from the city of Osh in Khorog and organized a border checkpoint on the very border with Afghanistan.
A little later, a school and a medical center appear in the city. With the advent of Soviet power, Khorog began to acquire clear features of a modern city.
Prior to this period, mention of this area can be found as a place where caravan routes crossed from Asia Minor and India.
2012 events
In the summer, a clash of Pamir militants and government troops occurred in the city. During the fighting, there were many casualties, from the militants - 30 people, from the military - 12, more injured. Although this is official data, according to unofficial figures, there were more than a hundred victims.
The conflict arose against the background of the assassination of General Abdullah Nazarov. The official version says that Nazarov was killed at the entrance to the city of Khorog. And everything happened after the general quarreled with the lieutenant colonel of the border troops. According to some reports, the lieutenant colonel was the informal leader of the Pamir. The goal of this organization is drug smuggling.
By the way, the conflict in the country with the Pamir peoples is old, despite the fact that all these people are listed as Tajiks in official documents, but their culture and language are too different from the whole country. Over the years, analysts believe that this conflict, provoked by the authorities, was a serious mistake. And if the bloodshed continued, more sad events would have occurred, which are still unknown where they led to. But most importantly, the attitude of local residents to the central government immediately changed, and not for the better.
Geographic features
The city of Khorog in Tajikistan is located on the western slopes of the Rushan and Shugnan mountains on the border with Afghanistan. The land here is mostly rocky, so the development of agriculture is impossible.
The local climate is continental. In summer it is quite hot, the temperature can reach +39 ° C, and in winter drop to -27 ° C.
Economy
The modern city of Khorog in Tajikistan is a regional center of education, trade and transport. There is a road connecting the country with China, where the main import supplies come from. And through the bridge on the Panj River, you can get to Afghanistan. It is located 5 km from the city. By the way, there is a bazaar near the bridge, but it only works on weekends.
There is an airport in the city where planes arrive from Dushanbe and other cities of the country.
Also in the city passes the Pamir Highway, which connects Osh and Dushanbe.
sights
There are many interesting places in the district and in the city of Khorog (Tajikistan). First of all, it is the Botanical Garden. It is named after Gursky. This is the second highest botanical garden above sea level - rises to 2320 meters. Leadership for the Nepalese park.
They laid it back in 1940. Today, there is a fairly extensive collection of plants, numbering more than 4 thousand species of vegetation, which were brought here from almost all corners of the world. Along with the introduced vegetation, local representatives of the flora grow well here: North American thuja, Pamir birch and juniper juniper.
Garm Chamsha
This landmark of Tajikistan and the city of Khorog, is 40 kilometers from the city. This is a completely unique hot spring, by the way, its name is translated.
These are hot fountains spurting directly from the ground. The water temperature here reaches +60 ° C. Ancient inhabitants knew about this source and considered it sacred. In Soviet times, a hydropathic center was erected around the springs, which operates to this day.
Kofir Kala
Once in the country, you should definitely bring photos from Khorog (Tajikistan), namely those taken in the Kofir-Kala archaeological complex. This is a fortress and the surviving remains of two round temples, one was a radius of 11 meters, the other - 9 m. In each of them in the very middle there are stone obelisks and foci.
It is believed that in the Middle Ages it was the cultural and social center of Shugnan, where the sun god was worshiped.
Kuhilal Mountains
The mountains of the same name rise above the settlement of Kuhilal (47 kilometers from the city of Khorog). This attraction of Khorog in Tajikistan became famous for rubies. It is assumed that the extraction of precious stones in these places lasted from the VIII to X century. Not so long ago, researchers found about 500 mines here.
There is mention of grief even in the book Mineralogy, which was published by al Biruni, and in records from the 13th century by Marco Polo.