Onward - into Tajikistan

Let's cross the border into Tajikistan, they said.
It's easy, they said.
It's very quick, they said .............

Hmmmmm. About as quick and easy as getting into Turkmenistan (ok, it was slightly better than that). However, we did have the added excitement of a running battle with an unruly bunch of Chinese tourists (the Chinese are so rude!) who were always trying to barge in the queue, or generally barging! In the end severe words were spoken (by me, at them) and I'm pleased to say the battle was won by us 🤣💪😁.

We had only taken about an hour to get to the border from Samarkand but one and a half hours to get through but we finally made it into TJ!

But before we move on, what about the country?
☝️Tajikistan is the smallest of the five Central Asia states with no gas and no oil resources also the poorest. In fact it's 93% mountains. Furthermore, it has over 10,000 glaciers!
☝️It shares borders with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in the north and west, China to the east and Afghanistan to the south.
☝️It's the only country of the post Soviet states that had a state religion - 98% of the population are Sunni Muslims. Interestingly the president has introduced a ban on hijabs in schools and universities as he is worried that Islamic fundamentalism might gain a foothold in the country. Well, long beards are also forbidden
☝️It's also the country with the lowest number of Russians in the whole former Soviet Union. While at the same time it's the country that's most dependent on migrant Tajik workers in Russia sending money back.

Meantime we successfully met our guide and driver. Can't possibly spell the guides name but it sounds very similar to "feistyboy", so that's what we'll call him. Our driver is Bobo.

We've travelled for barely 5 minutes and we arrived at the first stop - Sarazm.

Located just west of Panjakent this is a UNESCO WHS since 2010 and is one of the oldest settlements in Central Asia, dating back over 5,500 years to the 4th and 3rd millennia BC.

For years, local farmers had been finding strange ancient objects while working the land — pottery, bronze tools and ornaments — but nobody initially realised the significance.
Then, in 1976, a local man called Ashurali Taylonov, a farmer and Second World War veteran, told archaeologist Abdullojon Isakov about an axe that he had kept at home for about six years. Isakov immediately recognised that it could indicate an archaeological site and organised an investigation.

The following year, the first proper excavations revealed buildings, decorated pottery, grinding stones and other material, confirming that this was not just an isolated find but a substantial ancient settlement.

The most important find to date from this site is the so-called 'Lady of Sarazm', who was buried in the 4th century BC wearing beautiful jewellery of lapis beads and bracelets of seashells. 

However, most of the stat finds - including the original jewellery und bronze mirror from the Princess grave - are now in larger museums n Panjakent and Dushanbe, so Sarazm itself feels more like stripped-back stage set than a treasure room

Sarazm was abandoned about 2000 BC although the reasons aren't clear, the current view is it may have been connected to changing environmental conditions.

At any rate it's very impressive and as only a tiny percentage of the 236 hectares have been excavated there's definitely more to be discovered. .

After lunch we headed through the local bazaar and then the obligatory visit to the local mosque....

Next we went to Ancient Panjakent, a major Sogdian city, founded around the 5th century AD and flourishing until the 8th century. It was an important trading and cultural centre on the Silk Road.
The city had temples, palaces, houses, workshops and a citadel, and is particularly famous for its remarkably preserved wall paintings, showing banquets, battles, mythology and everyday Sogdian life.
It was abandoned in the early 8th century, around the time of the Arab conquest of Central Asia. Its ruins provide one of the best insights into the sophisticated Sogdian civilization. The archaeologist is the same one that hasn't finished at Sarazm yet. Apparently Ancient Panjakent is the priority. Maybe he needs some help!

Final stop for the day is at the Rudaki Museum. Founded in 1958, it is really a museum of the history and culture of the Panjakent region, rather than just a museum about the poet Rudaki. Its most important collections include archaeological finds from Sarazm and Ancient Panjakent, including pottery, tools, household objects and some of the famous Sogdian frescoes. There are also displays on traditional Tajik life, clothing, crafts and more recent, Soviet, history.

I thought it was quite a nice little, well structured museum.

Visits all done we headed to our hotel , the Panjakent Plaza. Apparently this is the best in the city - we're jolly glad we aren't elsewhere then (it's not very 5 ⭐). Never mind, got to take the rough with the smooth!Read more