Find Out About Interesting Things in Tajikistan
Here are 10 interesting facts about Tajikistan in Central Asia. Tajikistan is a landlocked country with cultural and natural treasures waiting to be explored. She has a land area of 143,100 square kilometers and a population of about 8.7 million. Tajikistan is a country full of mountains. More than 90% of the land area of Tajikistan is mountainous. About 50% of the country lies at altitudes above 3000 meters above sea level. Some of the tallest mountains in the world are located here.
Most of the country’s highest mountains are part of the Pamir, and LA is above 7,000 feet. The Pamir Mountains are known locally as the Roof of the World. At 7,495 meters above sea level, Ismoil Simoni Peak is the highest mountain in Tajikistan. It was considered the highest peak of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union as it was located on the territory of the former Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. That was before Tajikistan became independent. Named after Ismoil Simoni, who ruled the Salmon dynasty from 819 to 999, this mountain is located on the Pamir Plateau. Next is his second tallest man-made dam in the world. The Nurik Dam is located on the Vox River in Tajikistan. The dam was the tallest man-made dam in the world until 2013 when China’s Jinping Dam took that title. Nurik Dam is mainly used for hydroelectric power generation. Construction started in 1961 and the first generator was installed in 1972. In 2016, Tajikistan also started construction of what is expected to be the tallest dam in the world.
The proposed 335-meter Rogun dam will be taller than China’s 305-meter Gin Ping One hydropower plant. Construction work is expected to be completed in 2028. Tajikistan has the longest nonpolar glacier in the world. A huge glacier called Fetchenko Glacier is located in the Yazgrim Mountains, the main mountain range of the country’s Gorno-Badakhshan province. This glacier covers an area of 700 square kilometers and extends for a distance of about 77 kilometers. The glacier is 3,300 feet deep at its thickest point. The elongated Fechenko Glacier is the world’s longest glacier outside the two polar regions. In total, at least 1085 glaciers, 170 rivers and over 400 lakes are listed.
Now let’s talk about sports that are popular in the country. The national sport of Tajikistan is Gustinggiri, a form of traditional wrestling. Traditionally, cities were divided into mahallas or districts, with each district having its own alfta or top wrestler, the tough guy. Usually a respected member of the community, Alfta was often challenged by lower-ranking members. Beskasi winter sports are also practiced on horseback in Tajikistan. This interesting game starts in Persia and is similar to polo, but the goal is to pick up animal corpses (usually goats) and land them at the gates. It is also a country with many earthquakes. The country is located in an area of high seismic activity. Earthquakes are common. The 1907 Karatog earthquake and the 1949 Kite earthquake were the two worst earthquakes in Tajikistan. These two natural disasters killed thousands of people as earthquakes struck the village of Kara and the surrounding mountainous regions of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Dushanbe is the capital of Tajikistan. You might be surprised to learn that capital cities are actually named after the days of the week. The name Dushanbe means Monday in the language. The name was chosen because Dushanbe has grown from a village into a city that hosts a very popular market every Monday. Dushanbe translated from Persian as Monday. The second day is scheduled after Dushanbe on Saturday and you may not know this next fact, but Tajikistan actually has a lake named after Alexander the Great.
One of Tajikistan’s most striking beauty points is Lake Iskanderkul. The mountain lake of Iskanderkul is located at an altitude of 2,195 meters above sea level in the mountains of Souk province of the country. The lake is known for its beauty. It is triangular and has an area of 3.4 square kilometers. The name of the lake comes from Iskander, the Persian name of Alexander the Great, and is believed to be the site where his horse Bucefalus drowned in battle. The lake and its surroundings provide diverse habitats for local wildlife. Birds are also very abundant here, and surprisingly, the color of the water seems to change from blue-green to milky white during the day. And did you know that Tajikistan has second highest road in the world? Yes. Tajikistan has the second-highest highway in the world (also called M 41). The Pamir Highway is known for its spectacular scenery and secluded route. The road crosses the Pamir Plateau through Central Asia’s Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, it is the only continuous route through the difficult terrain of the mountainous region and is the main supply route to the Tajikistan Autonomous Region. This route has been used for thousands of years as the number of viable routes through the high Pamir Mountains is limited. This road connected trade routes of the ancient Silk Road.
The M 41 is a Soviet Union-designated road, but nowadays road numbers are generally not posted along the road, only destination signs. Now let’s talk about the country’s flag. The flag of Tajikistan is red, white, and green with horizontal stripes and a golden crown in the middle. Green represents agricultural production. Red is a symbol of national sovereignty and white represents the cotton that Tajikistan is famous for. Above the crown are seven gold star arches, representing unity among the country’s diverse social classes, including workers, peasants, and intellectuals. Speaking of flags, Tajikistan has the second tallest flagpole in the world at 165 meters. Dushanbe’s flagpole was once the tallest flagpole in the world, but in 2014 Saudi Arabia broke the record with its 171m flagpole in Jeddah, relegating it to the top spot.
Tajikistan’s tourism industry has grown rapidly in the last decades. The country’s mountainous landscape and little-known culture draw tourists from far and wide. Adventurers and mountaineers also came to the country as it offers many adventure activities such as mountaineering, skiing, and snowboarding. Speaking of tourist attractions, I was surprised to learn that villagers in Tajikistan’s mountainous regions trick tourists into looking for the Yeti, or the Frightening Son Snowman. The villagers hired designated Yeti witnesses whose job was to guide visitors to the secluded valleys where the sightings were said to have taken place and to charge for their services.
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