We stayed two nights in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe, formerly known as Stalinabad.
Some of the more central sights were covered on foot and we began in Friendship Square at one of the iconic landmarks of the city, the 13m tall Ismoil Somoni Monument. As King of the Samanid Empire, he is regarded as the founding father of Tajikistan, and gave his name to the currency. In front of the figure were two Trafalgar Square like lions, and behind it, a large ornate 43m arch topped with a golden crown. Erected six years after independence in 1997, the statue and arch were crafted in Russia.
This was a good vantage point as just by looking around we could see:
A raised tiled map depicting the former mighty Samanid Empire.
Three striking mirrored buildings with interconnecting walkways, said to be the tallest in the city.
Fountains leading down to the Parchan, a slender white marble pillar, with a golden version of the country’s national emblem of ears of wheat, cotton bolls, a book and rays of sun above snow-covered mountains.
A flagpole which was until 2014, the tallest in the world.
The white nine-storey National Library of Tajikistan constructed by the Chinese. Resembling an open book, it covers 46,000m2 and at 56m tall, it is said to be the largest library in Central Asia.
The massive new Parliament and Government offices, built again with China’s support, which seemed totally over the top for less than 100 parliamentarians.
A short walk took us into Rudaki Park where a statue of Rudaki, the founder of Persian poetry, stood under a beautifully decorated rainbow-shaped mosaic. Rudaki replaced a former statue of Lenin but not until 2007.
We had photo stops at Independence Square, with the impressive Independence and Freedom Monument, and the even more impressive Imam Abu Hanifa Cathedral Mosque which was a 2022 joint Quatar and Tajik project costing $93m. As the second largest in Central Asia, it can hold 115,000 worshippers, which our football-mad guide told us was 1.5 times the size of Wembley.
We drove past a unique 43m tall melon-shaped national tea house, which can accommodate over 2,000 people. However, our next stop, the Kokhi Navrus Palace, was originally designed to be the world’s largest tea house, but it changed purpose during construction. On our behind the scenes tour of the ornately decorated building which now hosts foreign dignitaries and delegations, our expressive guide switched easily between Spanish, Russian and English to cater for the five of us on our tour of five rooms. Didor hall could be hired and still had the flowers from a recent wedding along with huge chandeliers, ornately painted ceilings and carved columns. A small meeting room, which could accommodate around 70 people, had two rows of chairs arranged around a circular table, one for delegates and one behind for interpreters. What seemed a little out of place in the grandeur and glitz was a mosaic of President Rahmon with his elderly mother, said to depict the President’s ‘benevolence’. A larger grander meeting room, Zarandud Hall, again with a circular table, was more ostentatiously decorated in white and 24-carat gold leaf. Gulistan Hall had wood panelled walls and ceiling and a parquet floor with 94 types of wood, whilst the final room had mirrored mosaics on all the walls. During the 30-minute tour there were lots of facts and figures about the cost of the materials, and the various important bottoms that had graced the plush chairs, including those of Presidents Putin and Xi Jinping.
At the National Museum of Antiquities, we had the choice of going either barefoot or wearing blue disposable shoe covers. Opened in 2024, our guide fortunately took us at quite a pace through several numbered rooms from the Stone Age through to Kushano Sasanians and Ancient Hubriks, and many other ages that I’d not heard of. However, for me the most interesting piece was a 13m-long reclining Buddha, removed in 92 segments from the Buddhist monastery Ajina Teppe in 1966.
We then passed the site of the original Green Bazaar before visiting the new site on the city’s outskirts to avoid traffic congestion. It was grand from the outside and sold lots of spices, dried fruit and nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables, bread etc.
Our sightseeing in Dushanbe revealed that Tajikistan is a very competitive ‘stan’ and likes to have the biggest and best!
