The Facts About Tajikistan (written by Douglas Parks*)
1. Tajikistan is the poorest and most isolated of the countries in Central Asia, surrounded by Afghanistan and Pakistan in the South, China in the East, Uzbekistan in the West and Kyrgyzstan in the North. Few Americans ever find their way here.
2. There are 7.5 million people in the country. One million live in Dushanbe, the Capitol, and Khujand is the second city.
3. If your favorite countries on this earth include top of the world places like Nepal, Tibet, Bolivia and Northern Pakistan, you’ll be blown away by this country’s high Pamir mountains at around 21,000 feet. The high altitude plateau of intensely blue lakes and Kyrgyz yurts certainly impressed Marco Polo in his day.
4. Here, like Kyrgyzstan, the national sport is horse football using a calf or goat that you try to deposit into an oil drum at the opposition’s goal line. Great fun to watch.
5. This is one of the poorest countries in the world but may be on the verge of finding some oil.
6. 50% of Tajikistan is above 10,000 feet with very porous borders with Afghanistan. This has led to much drug trafficking in heroin.
7. Unemployment is 40-50% which is why so many of the young males end up working in Russia. Some of their men have also gone to Syria to fight for ISIS.
8. Tajikistan is the only one of the former Soviet republics to suffer a Civil War from May, 1992 to June, 1997. 55,000 were killed and 1.2 million displaced. Ethnic issues between the Uzbeks and the Tajiks set off the war.
9. The many food markets in Khujand are very colorful and wonderful to walk through. Locals will want to take your picture. The fruits and nuts are especially plentiful.
10. Unlike in many other Central Asian countries where young people marry for love, here most marriages are arranged by the parents and women are heavily controlled by fathers, brothers and husbands as to what they are allowed to do with their lives.
* Doug Parks is a serious traveler, teacher and adventurer who has journeyed to 170 countries over the course of his life to this point, including trips to Europe, South America and Middle Asia with Pablo.