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Dushanbe
About Dushanbe
Dushanbe is the capital of Tajikstan, its administrative center and the republic's largest industrial and cultural center. It is located beneath the snow-capped Hissar range in the wide valley of the Varzob river. After the Red Army victory (1929), the city was named Stalinabad, and the Soviets transformed the area into a center for cotton and silk production. The city was badly damaged as a result of the Tajikistan Civil War (1992-1997) shortly after its independence.
Local highlights
Explore the city
- Visit the Barakat and Shamansur bazaars
- See the Botanical Gardens of Dushanbe
Explore its museums and historical sights, such as
- Haji Yakoub Mosque
- Museum of Ethnography
- Tajik Unified Museum
- The Firdowsi Library, a major library with an impressive collection of medieval Islamic manuscripts
- National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan
- The Ismael Somoni Monument
- Mirzo Tursunzade Mausoleum
Highlights in the vicinity
- Hissar 30-km west of Dushanbe, with the remains of an 18th century fortress, two madressas (18th and 19th century) and a 16th century mausoleum of Makhtum Azam. The trip to the top is rewarded with some excellent views.
- Varzob-5km from Dushanbe via a winding road through villages and dramatic rocky mountains, offering beautiful views.
- The mountain passes of the Kara-Tak, north of Dushanbe. There are walking excursions (8-10km per day) with stay-overs in the mountain villages
- The Fansky Gory (Fann mountains) with alpine climbing, high level walking tours and lakeland scenery-a favorite place for trekking and climbing
- Nurek home to the world’s tallest dam. The drive to the top of the dam takes you through dramatic red rock barren hills
- For mountaineering the three giants of the Pamir mountains, Peak Somoni, Peak Lenin and Peak Korzhenevskaya, are extraordinarily beautiful
Good to know
- No. of inhabitants: 536 Thousand
- Timezone: UTC +5
- Weather: conditions can be extreme with very hot summers (July days of 42°C) and extremely cold winters(January days of -12°C). Fierce snowstorms in the mountains from October through May, make it almost impossible to travel. Strong dust storms can be expected on the plains from June through October.
Local transport
- Taxi
- Buses
Inbound transport
- Nearest airport: Dushanbe Airport with weekly flights from Munich, Tehran, Moscow, Karachi and Delhi
- Domestic air services to Khojand and Khorog
- Train: connections to Termez and Tashkent in Uzbekistan
- Bus rides are rough with unreliable connections.
- Taxis and private citizens are often offering a better alternative to neighboring cities
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