Termiz to Dushanbe

Asia » Tajikistan
September 15th 2008

Published: September 17th 2008

Well, I had heard so many bad things about the road down from Penjikent to Dushanbe, whether to go through the tunnel of doom or the pass of many nightmares! It seemed like the choice that Frodo and the rest of the nine walkers had to make, whether to cross the pass of Caradhras or whether to go through the mines of Moria.... (had to get a bit of LOTR somewhere into this blog)! Added to this the road is being mended in the daytime so you can only travel at night...

So took a shared taxi down to Denau and then on to Termiz.... It sounds so easy when you put it like that, however negotiating the reality is often somewhat different and much messier! As it often is… Imagine people crowding around all talking at once, and you trying to work out what is the best deal for you… In Uzbekistan you have to negotiate hard! And even once that is done, they still try and slip extra payments in…As a lone woman you have an added excitement of who is going to be in the car with you. Most times so far have been lucky and been in a car with some women - though as on the way to the Uzbek border, they are not always good news as they held us up for about an hour as they didn’t have their passports. Or that is what I understood!

I wanted to go to the border town of Termiz because of the archaeological museum and the many sites around there. What I had not bargained for was how nice it was to get off the muddy tourist path, people were so helpful, and really wanted to chat. We managed to communicate somehow, in spite of noone speaking the same language! If both sides are keen and keeping it simple, it is amazing how much you can say!

Like the marshrutka driver who waited with me in the hot sun for almost 15 mins just to check that I got on the right onward marshrutka to my destination. He had already told me that it was number 15 and the number is clearly marked on the front of the marshrutka but bless him, he wanted to make sure I got to my destination safely!

I was visiting the tomb of Hakim al Termizi, a Sufi from Samanid times, living in, you guessed it Termiz.

The road to old Termiz goes along the famous river, the Amu Darya, or Oxus river as it was known by the Greeks, which you can see in the distance. Hence the ancient name of all of this part of the world - up to the Syr Darya as Transoxiana, ‘across the Oxus’. The river has always been the border between civilizations, now of course also the border to Afghanistan in the south.

Finally got to the shrine, which is in a 12th century building…. Inside has been repainted, so the old painting work has been covered up sadly. But the cenotaph dates from 15th century when Ulug Beg donated it. Unfortunately peaceful contemplation of the scene was rather interrupted by the swarms of flies in the shrine (yuk)!

Had fun hanging out with the girls in the bazaar all of us laughing lots - me i didn't understand why, but they were certainly having fun, and more interested in spending time with me than selling me anything.... which is always refreshing!

There is a great archaeological museum ranging from Neanderthal times to the present day including buddhas and beautiful fragments of paintings of Tocharian princesses... Don’t miss the room of treasures, that the guards opened specially which include silver jewelry and weapons. The building is grand with marble steps and a large dome… The toilets however are foul, pit toilet round the back! C’est ca central asie!

Now in Dushanbe (capital city of TJ, also means Monday as it grew quickly from a Monday market town, after the Soviet invasion). Crossing the border from Uzbekistan was interesting... land borders always a bit crazy, especially crossing on foot. You just keep walking until random border guards ask you for your passport etc. Filling out forms is also a big thing... both leaving Uz an d arrivi ng in TJ!

Strange how can go from one thing to another so quickly. Ended up being taken by a Tajik guy speaking English and German (often in on sentance) who met at the border to a German cultural/ aid agency. So hot and sweaty from the border sat in on meeting about refugees with two German guys in smart casual friday clothes - all in Deutsch - very interesting, but pretty random! Afterwards a UN guy helped me find the hotel... Nothing like taking all the help offered!

Now staying in Vaksh hotel where i have a room with a balcony and view of the opera so that's ok! It's had a pretty bad write up, but I like its central location - price 38USD / night - Dushanbe is expensive place to stay! By the fourth day even the floor lady-lionesses were more friendly!

The hotel do your OVIR and its right on Rudaki, which means that I can go out and about along Rudaki at night as there are so many people wandering up and down, families and small kids playing beside the neo-classical mansions and government agencies. Getting used to everything being in Cyrillic, which means that looking for something simple such as water can be an adventure.

Copyright Notice: All Rights Reserved