Tajikistan - 2017

The weather in Tajikistan seems to have been following a pattern.  After a clear sunny day, we have a day that starts out fine but becomes progressively cloudier and more hazy, followed by a day of rain.  Right on cue, we woke this morning to steady rain and dark grey, overcast skies.  We had a long drive ahead of us, and the early hour of our breakfast probably added a little to the gloom because it was only a little after sunrise, not that we could see any sign of the sun.   Breakfast was once again in the large hotel cafeteria, where I learned that the large signs above the serveries were extracts from classical Persian poems proclaiming that if you eat less you will be healthier.

We set off at a little after 8:00am, having completed the very thorough Soviet-style checkout system that involved a detailed inspection of each room before we were free to leave.  The initial part of our drive, south-west from Khujand along the same road as we had used a few days ago, did not make for spectacular sightseeing, with rain on the windows that kept misting up on the inside, with periodic splashes of fine mud whenever a truck passed us in the opposite direction.

After an hour or so, the rain became intermittent and we could see the landscape, bleak and wet though it was.  Although we passed through a few patches of fog, the skies began brightening a little, and we were able to make some quick but interesting stops, first at an incised stretch of river that formed after an earthquake in 1985, and then for a quick look at some Soviet-era concrete irrigation channels beside the road which, unlike similar channels I have seen in Kyrgyzstan, were intact as locals here had not taken it upon themselves to steal sections of the channel for their own personal use.

As we climbed the mountains to pass through the Chinese-made tunnel, we noticed that there was quite a bit of fresh snow lying in an area that had been completely snow-free when we had passed through two days earlier.  The snow had almost certainly fallen last night when we were receiving rain at a lower elevation in Khujand.

After passing through the tunnel, we emerged into the rainshadow area of relative aridity, but even this area had experienced some recent snowfall.  Nonetheless, the sky was brighter although still cloudy as we descended towards the town of Aini.  By this time, it was about 11:45am, so rather than pressing on to our destination for lunch, we stopped at an excellent little roadside café where we sat outside watching the passing trucks at close range, while enjoying a lovely lunch of bread, soup and shashliks.

Aini marks the intersection where we turned west on a road that followed the Zarafshan River through a spectacular incised valley between the Turkestan Range to the north and the Zarafshan Range to the south.  This was a great time of year to the travelling through as thousands of apricot trees were in full blossom on the hillsides, the overcast grey skies only detracting a little from the fabulous scenery.

At the small town of Shurcha we met our local guide, who boarded our bus and directed us onto a small unsealed road to the south that followed the Archamaidon River.  We passed through several small villages, all of which were either traditional Tajik or early Soviet in style, and saw some lovely irrigation canals flash by.

Our destination was the village of Panjrut, site of the mausoleum of the famous poet Abu Abdullah Rudaki.  Rudaki, who lived from 858 to 941, is said to be as significant to Tajik literature as Shakespeare is to English literature.  His mausoleum was built in 1956 in a quiet garden, and we were privileged to hear our guide read his own translation of some of Rudaki’s poems.  The interior of the mausoleum was beautiful in its simplicity, and after visiting the tomb, we inspected a small museum in the grounds.  To me, the town of Panjrut is as interesting as the mausoleum, being a sleepy, plain, off-the-beaten-track village that (apart from its mausoleum) must be typical of hundreds of villages in the backwoods of Tajikistan.

We returned to the main highway and proceeded west to Penjikent, a somewhat unremarkable city of 44,000 people.  Driving through the city we proceeded to Old Penjikent, which was the site of an archaeological excavation.  Ancient Penjikent was a city covering about 20 hectares that was over-run by Arab invaders, and about half this area has been excavated.  My first sight of the ruins from the top of one of the remnants of the old city wall was the site looked like a randomly weathered and eroded area, but as we descended down to walk along the streets between the foundations of old buildings, and as the sun illuminated the site and shadows became clearer, the whole place came alive.  Fragments of pottery were everywhere to be seen, with pieces of dishes and cup handles lying around on the surface of the ground.  At the far end of the excavations, the ridge of another part of the old city walls gave a spectacular view across modern Panjikent and the entire width of the Zarafshan valley.

Leaving Old Panjikent, we returned to the main highway and continuing driving west , stopping just a couple of kilometres short of the now-closed border crossing into Uzbekistan.  Our destination was Sarazm, a UNESCO World Heritage site that covers about 13 hectares.  Sarazm was originally a Bronze Age settlement dating back to 3500BC (i.e. 5,500 years ago!).  It is thought to have been the largest metallurgical centre in Central Asia in its day, and it thrived until about 3000BC.

As UNESCO seem to do with good intentions in several places around the world, the excavations were covered with large, heavy metal roofing. 

Unlike some other places (and Lalibela in Ethiopia comes to mind), these shelters didn’t really detract from the excavations.

Our two remaining stops were brief ones to admire some lovely mosaics on the ends of some Soviet housing blocks, to see Panjikent’s golden statue of Lenin in the grounds of a school that used to be Panjikent’s ‘White House’ (government building).  We arrived at our guesthouse, the Sugd Hotel, which was within the home of its very proud and hospitable owner, at a little after 6:00 pm.

Dinner this evening was quite special.  It was in a traditional style (but only ten years old) tea house a few kilometres from the guesthouse.  We were personally welcomed by the owner, and serenaded before, during and after our meal by a local Tajik musician singing traditional songs – an acquired taste but a truly memorable experience.

Day 8 - Khujand to Penjikent

Thursday 30 March 2017