Greg and Mandy's Travels

The day dawned sunny and warm, with not a sign that it had been raining and snowing the day before. 

There is a law in Tajikistan that you have to display the president’s picture for two weeks before and after every public holiday, so that ensures that there are permanent pictures displayed everywhere.  Lots of them. He is basically president for life, as he is the only candidate in every election. 

He has two sons. One is mayor of the city, and the other is head of the parliament. No prizes for guessing who will eventually be next president. 

Tajikistan has the tallest flagpole, the biggest library, the largest palace, and so on. All signs of a personality where size matters. Bit like the argument over tall flagpoles in North Korea. 

Dushanbe is the word for Monday. Up until 1924 when the Soviets made it the capital, it was a small town with a Monday market. Now it’s a very attractive city with lots of gardens, boulevards, fountains and impressive buildings. Maybe we should rename Canberra as Friday. 

Our lovely hotel was only opened in March this year, and they are still perfecting things. Breakfast looked lovely but there were no bowls, no milk, no coffee and people running everywhere. On the other hand, I can turn on the chandelier and open the curtains without getting out of bed. 

Tajik means crown, so we are in the land of crowns. The symbol in the middle of their flag is a crown. In ancient times, two ethnicities met in the fertile Fergana valley – the Persians from the west, and the Mongols from the east. Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan in the west are descended from the Persians – swarthy, hairy and angular. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in the east are descended from the Mongols – round faced and hairless. 

They all get titled as the Stans. But Stan is a Persian word which the mongols don’t wish to use, so they are in the process of changing to use the word Republic. So now on the Australian smart traveler website there is the Kyrgyz Republic, and the other two are following. 

We started off the day with a walk in the park. Saw the palace, flagpole, gardens, water fountains, the inevitable statue of Somoni in the place where the statue of Lenin used to be. The biggest palace. The biggest library. You get the drift, but it was lovely. 

Then it was off to the Museum of Ethnography where we saw lots of relics, minus all the heads which the Arabs destroyed. The highlight was the largest reclining Buddha in central Asia. 

Saw St Nicholas orthodox church, and would have seen the (Monday) market on Thursday except that it was closed for cleaning after yesterday’s rain. 

After lunch at a cafe somewhere in the city, it was off to the 18th century Hissor Fortress which included a madrasa, citadel and caravanserai. Then back via the Monument of Freedom and Independence which was just opened last month. 

Tea at a local kebab restaurant.

The new, swank Rumi Hotel, Dushanbe