Category: Tajikistan
When Russia annexed Central Asia in the 1880s Islam was initially tolerated, but with time there was increased crackdowns on religious practices. Mosques slowly started popping up throughout the region after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The second largest mosque in Central Asia is located in Dushanbe, which took 10 years to build at … Continue reading Dushanbe Imam Abu Hanifa Cathedral Mosque
Like all Central Asian capitals, Dushanbe is less than a century old, so there are no historical sites to speak of. Most new buildings were built in the last couple of decades after their civil war ended in 1997. In a poor country, getting the funds to build large extravagant structures can be difficult. But, … Continue reading Reinventing the City
Tajikistan, about the size of New York State, is 93% mountains. Their mountains top out at 24,590 ft, making our Mount Whitney look like a toddler. One thing that Tajikistan has a lot of that its neighboring countries don’t is water. All that glacial melt is the source of its hydroelectric power. Glaciers on towering … Continue reading On the Road to Iskanderkul Lake
Central Asia is not a uniform monolith. Prior to Soviet times, the region was settled by different groups of people with different cultures. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan being closer to East Asia, has more Turkic and Mongolian roots, whereas the people in Tajikistan, being closer to Afghanistan and Iran, boasts Persian heritage. Traveling west, the familiar … Continue reading Tajikistan
FIRE'd @ 47 