Sunday, May 12, 2013
Happy Mother’s Day to all you Mom’s and a special Happy Birthday to my mother, LaVonne.
It has been another long day as our driver wanted to allow plenty of time to cross the border. We were up and on our way by 6:45am. The scenery during the short 1 1/2 hour drive south of Tashkent to the Tajik border at Oybek was totally new for us. The gently rolling, green hills, that reminded Mark of Wisconsin, were framed by the foothills of the Tajikistan Mountains in the distance. The sky was overcast, gray and slightly humid. Genia walked us as far as he was allowed, which was only to the first check point. We said our good byes and thanked him for giving us an especially memorable experience of Uzbekistan. He had been not only an excellent guide, but a good traveling companion as well. Then we passed into no man’s land for about a quarter of a mile rolling our own bags. A couple more check points and we were in introducing ourselves to our new Tajik guide, Husrav. All together the crossing took 45 minutes and we walked our bags about 1/3rd of a mile. Husrav, who is only 23 and very cute, thought our crossing was a new record and we were all happy it did not take longer.
Then we met our new driver and piled into the car. It did not take long to realize that the car did not have a functioning air conditioner. As soon as we got to our hotel in the town of Khojand, about 45 minutes from the border, we requested the driver find another car. While we were at lunch, the driver found us two different cars; one for the rest of the day and another to take us us to Dushanbe, the capital city, tomorrow. Each car came with its own driver, so our driver actually gave away the business because he could not provide functioning AC.
Lunch was in a large “traditional” restaurant where we could choose what we wanted from a menu with photos of the dishes. Unfortunately a good number of dishes were unavailable. Even with the pictures and Husrav describing what was in them, I did not like what I chose as the food was greasy, salty and not very warm. Not a good omen for Tajik food. We asked for beer and were told that it is not served in traditional restaurants in Tajikistan. This was the first time we had been told we could not have alcohol. We made due with the usual green tea.
Neither Mark or I was very interested in seeing another madrassa, mosque or minaret, but we went along with the program and asked Husrav to show us only the highlights.
He did just that. We got to the site, walked a few steps to get a good view of the rather Soviet looking complex, took a couple photos and called it good. We turned around and were now facing a large Russian, colonial looking building that houses the market and went inside to have a look. A large huge space with high ceilings, bright lighting, and rows and rows of colorful vegetables, fruits, bread rings, tomato plants, dried foods and more with vendors busily peddling their wares. The atmosphere was very upbeat and welcoming.
Most ladies wear the traditional dress similar to what we have seen in Uzbekistan–mid-calf, formless, multi-colored print dresses worn over bloomer-like pants in the same print. Traditional women will cover some of their hair with the scarf done in a stylish fashion. Religious women will cover their whole head and neck, except their face. A number of women were wearing white scarves on their heads and Husrav told me that white represented mourning for the loss of a family member.
I approached one such lady at the entrance to the market and asked if I could take her photo. She nodded approval and I proceeded to take several as she had a lovely face with her eyebrows painted in one wide continuous line. I asked Husrav to inquire why she was wearing a white scarf and she proceeded to tell us in a matter of fact way that her husband and brother had died and she was the sole provider for her 5 children. She sold plastic bags in the market to support her family. I was so taken with her accepting and uncomplaining attitude that I couldn’t stop myself from giving her a few dollars in local currency. She broke down in appreciation and we hugged and took more photos. Soon we realized that the market was full of friendly people, many of whom asked us to take their photo. I had a field day and got our guide to translate so we could converse with a number of people. The ladies were not shy and even asked us a few questions. One group wanted to know why I did not have on any jewelry and others wondered if we were married because I did not have on a ring. Everyone asked where we were from and most had heard of California
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Finally, we left the market and drove to a large and opulent palace-like, communist commune, office building, an oxymoron for sure. It was built by a tall and very rotund Soviet comrade who had become the head of a large and prosperous farming commune during the Soviet era. He became famous because of the palace. We saw photos of him with Khrushchev. He died in 1975 and now the palace is open to the public as a museum and is available for large, official government meetings. We walked rather fast through it, in spite of a lovely raked theatre with huge crystal chandeliers, beautiful hand painted wooden ceilings throughout and an entrance hall with large, polished white stone columns, which Husrav said came from under the Indian Ocean (any of you have any idea what that could be?). Once outdoors again, we experienced our first real rain of this trip. It was also chilly as we made a run for the car. We wanted no more sightseeing and went back to the hotel to rest until dinner. Our room is a suite, but it is a very tired place and not very comfortable. Mark thinks it is the worst accommodations we have had so far. I will be very happy if this is the worst. In any event, we were both glad to stop for awhile.
Later Husrav, who is trying so hard to please us, took us to the only restaurant he could find that would serve the two dishes we have come to recognize and tolerate–a pasta soup-like dish called Lagman and a rice stir fry called Plov. Apparently they are usually served only at lunch, which Husrav had not wanted to tell us. The meal was not a very pleasant experience, but we had fun conversing with Husrav anyway. The food here in Central Asia is becoming more and more difficult to eat as there is so much fat and meat in everything including most salads, which are also drowning in sauce.
For the record, here are some of the bits and bites we have learned since entering Tajikistan. The country is about the size of Wisconsin with a population of 8 million of which 80% are Tajik, 15% are Uzbek, 1% are Russian. The population is only 26% urban with the majority of people working in agriculture. Unfortunately, about 46% of the population live below the poverty line according to the Atlas Mark read. The median age is 23 with a growth rate of 1.8% and a life expectancy of 65. Dushanbe, the capital, has about 1 million people. Although the country is a secular state, 85% are Suni Muslim and 5% are Shia. Most are Muslim in name only with about 30% practicing islam, including Husrav. The currency is the Somoni, of which 4.8 equal a dollar. Income taxes very, but farmers pay 18%. Husrav’s father, who is a teacher pays about the same, but Husrav does not know how much he pays as it is taken out of his pay check before he gets it. I found it interesting that he did not seem a bit concerned about the amount of tax he pays. Perhaps many people think as he does.
Tajikistan became independent on September 9, 1991. A civil war began in 1992 and lasted until 1997. The fight was between those who wanted a secular country and those who wanted an islamic state. A constitutional government was formed, elections were held and the pro secular leader was elected president in 1994 while the war continued. The war cost 10 billion dollars and 100,000 lives. In the end an agreement was signed in Moscow between the leaders of the two sides and the country became secular with the opposition receiving a 30% representation in the new government. President Emomali (61) was elected for two 5-year terms, then changed the constitution to 2 7-year terms, allowing him to stay in power. Elections are due to occur on November 6 this year. There are currently 8 parties and Husrav is hoping the party of the current president wins, but that a different person is elected. It will be interesting to see if power will transfer peacefully.
The effects of the long war and lack of employment opportunity are two big reasons the country is so far behind all the other Central Asia countries in developing a stable economy. Today one million Tajiks work in Russia and send money home. About 20% of the people work in agriculture, 20% in industry, of which aluminum is the biggest product, and 60% in services. Meanwhile about 2000 Chinese are living and working in Tajikistan in road and tunnel construction, because Tajiks do not have the needed skills.
There is more I could say about Tajikistan, but I suspect you have heard more than you care to know so I will stop.
Tomorrow we have another long drive from Khojand to Dushambe. Unlike previous drives, however, this one will be through two high mountain passes.
Until I write again,
Have a good day of night, whichever timezone you are enjoying.
Julia
Adventures with Julia 