The Pamiri mountains in summertime, photographed on the way to the Tajik-Kyrgyz border.
Pamir is a mountain range with its most part in the northeast of Republic of Tajikistan; it is the ocean of white and blue mountains. When you fly on a helicopter above Pamir it is as if you are in a movie - you see rows and rows of mountain ridges, snow-white tops, suspended glaciers, cracked ice "rivers” and green valleys.
In Farsi language Pamir means «the Roof of the World" ("Pa-mi-ihr"). These majestic mountains touch the sky indeed. So it seems when you look at them from the ground level. And when you look from one of its tops you clearly see that Pamir is the place from which the highest mountain systems spread in all directions - the Karakorum and the Himalayas in the south, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Tien Shan in the northeast.
The network of deep and wide valleys lies in the midst of the mountain peaks of 7,000 meters and higher; the numerous plateaus are crossed by gorges of rapid mountain streams and the deepest gorges. Each step there takes your breath away, so only dare-devils can survive there along with elusive mountain animals: argalis, mountain goats (kiiks), snow leopards (irbises). According to a legend Pamir is where Yeti lives.
Pamir people live only in the valleys (very high though). They speak various dialects and practice Ismailism - the separated branch of Islam. Their lifestyle is extremely severe and poor. Nevertheless, the natural hospitality of local residents in spite of poverty simply amazes most of travelers. They will always offer a place under their roof, a sheepskin blanket and hot "shir chai» - the tea with goat milk, salt and butter.
Pamir Highway is special road; it is probably the highest mountain route in the world. The 728 km distance is covered in 2 days and it turns into a real adventure. The road abounds with numerous bends which are at times so close to the edges of the deepest precipices that sometimes one of the car wheels might hang above the abyss. Safety measures are useless there: many sites have been broken by landslips and
avalanches.
Tags: silk road tajikistan pamir central asia travel tourism photography SuperShot mywinners
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Man with Kyrgyz headgear at Murgab (Pamir, Tajikistan); a lot of Kyrgyz people lives outside Kyrgystan.
Pamir is a mountain range with its most part in the northeast of Republic of Tajikistan; it is the ocean of white and blue mountains. When you fly on a helicopter above Pamir it is as if you are in a movie - you see rows and rows of mountain ridges, snow-white tops, suspended glaciers, cracked ice "rivers” and green valleys.
In Farsi language Pamir means «the Roof of the World" ("Pa-mi-ihr"). These majestic mountains touch the sky indeed. So it seems when you look at them from the ground level. And when you look from one of its tops you clearly see that Pamir is the place from which the highest mountain systems spread in all directions - the Karakorum and the Himalayas in the south, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Tien Shan in the northeast.
The network of deep and wide valleys lies in the midst of the mountain peaks of 7,000 meters and higher; the numerous plateaus are crossed by gorges of rapid mountain streams and the deepest gorges. Each step there takes your breath away, so only dare-devils can survive there along with elusive mountain animals: argalis, mountain goats (kiiks), snow leopards (irbises). According to a legend Pamir is where Yeti lives.
Pamir people live only in the valleys (very high though). They speak various dialects and practice Ismailism - the separated branch of Islam. Their lifestyle is extremely severe and poor. Nevertheless, the natural hospitality of local residents in spite of poverty simply amazes most of travelers. They will always offer a place under their roof, a sheepskin blanket and hot "shir chai» - the tea with goat milk, salt and butter.
Pamir Highway is special road; it is probably the highest mountain route in the world. The 728 km distance is covered in 2 days and it turns into a real adventure. The road abounds with numerous bends which are at times so close to the edges of the deepest precipices that sometimes one of the car wheels might hang above the abyss. Safety measures are useless there: many sites have been broken by landslips and
avalanches.
Tags: silk road tajikistan central asia travel pamir tourism photography
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The highlight of the Museum of National Antiquities at Dushanbe is the 13m- long sleeping Buddha of Adjina-Tepe (Witches Hill), excavated in 1966. It dates from the Kushan era, 1500 years ago, and was recently revealed as the largest Buddha figure in Central Asia.
Dushanbe - the Capital of Tajikistan
Dushanbe, the capital city of the republic, is located in Hissar Valley in the south of Tajikistan. Before the revolution the site of the present capital of Tajikistan was occupied by three small kishlaks: Sary Assija, Shahmansur and Dushanbe (dushanbe means "Monday" in Tajik; the market-day in the kishlak). Although the name of the city is rather new, its historical past dated back as far as 3 thousand years. Archeologists have dug out the remains of Greek-Bactrian settlements, the site of ancient settlement from Kushan period (7th - 8th centuries), site of ancient Shishi Khon village and other medieval settlements. In the early 20th century Dushanbe was the summer residence of Hissar beks. In 1920 the last of Bukhara emirs Said Alimhon fled from Bukhara and made Dushanbe his residence. But Bolsheviks forced him to leave Dushanbe and run abroad. On July 14th, 1922 Dushanbe was taken by Bolsheviks. The Soviet power was established in the city. Dushanbe became the capital of newly-formed Tajik SSR. However, it could hardly be called a city. There was a small settlement of 4 houses with wooden floors, 42 wagons and 283 inhabitants. In than 70-year's time a small mountain kishlak has grown into green, modern, industrial city with more than 600 thousand inhabitants. From 1929 to 1990 it was the capital of Tajik SSR, and since 1991 it has been capital of independent Tajikistan.
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On te way to Komsomolobad (Tajikistan).
Tajiks are one of the most ancient nations of the world. Life in area situated at the main crossroads of eastern civilizations has given them continuous access to the achievements of other cultures. First settlement on the territory of today's Tajikistan date back to the end of upper Paleolithic period (15-20 thousand years ago). Archaeological finds, the works of Herodotus and other written evidence provide information on trading relations, customs, and rituals of the nation. For many centuries the country, involved mainly in trading with neighbours suffered from foreign invasions by the troops of Alexander the Great, steppe nomads, Arabs and Tatar-Mongols.
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Tajik child (Pamir).
Pamir is a mountain range with its most part in the northeast of Republic of Tajikistan; it is the ocean of white and blue mountains. When you fly on a helicopter above Pamir it is as if you are in a movie - you see rows and rows of mountain ridges, snow-white tops, suspended glaciers, cracked ice "rivers” and green valleys.
In Farsi language Pamir means «the Roof of the World" ("Pa-mi-ihr"). These majestic mountains touch the sky indeed. So it seems when you look at them from the ground level. And when you look from one of its tops you clearly see that Pamir is the place from which the highest mountain systems spread in all directions - the Karakorum and the Himalayas in the south, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Tien Shan in the northeast.
The network of deep and wide valleys lies in the midst of the mountain peaks of 7,000 meters and higher; the numerous plateaus are crossed by gorges of rapid mountain streams and the deepest gorges. Each step there takes your breath away, so only dare-devils can survive there along with elusive mountain animals: argalis, mountain goats (kiiks), snow leopards (irbises). According to a legend Pamir is where Yeti lives.
Pamir people live only in the valleys (very high though). They speak various dialects and practice Ismailism - the separated branch of Islam. Their lifestyle is extremely severe and poor. Nevertheless, the natural hospitality of local residents in spite of poverty simply amazes most of travelers. They will always offer a place under their roof, a sheepskin blanket and hot "shir chai» - the tea with goat milk, salt and butter.
Pamir Highway is special road; it is probably the highest mountain route in the world. The 728 km distance is covered in 2 days and it turns into a real adventure. The road abounds with numerous bends which are at times so close to the edges of the deepest precipices that sometimes one of the car wheels might hang above the abyss. Safety measures are useless there: many sites have been broken by landslips and
avalanches.
Tags: silk road tajikistan pamir central asia travel tourism photography
© All Rights Reserved