Tajikistan 1 Wander the world’s least-visited mountain I 1 range and soak up Silk Road history I 1 © 1 I Fly UK-Dushanbe via Istanbul; journey I time1 is from around 12.5hrs I 1 May-Oct – best trekking months I TAKING THE HIGH ROAD Slicing through some of the world’s highest mountains, the Pamir Highway is Central Asia’s wildest road, a drive of awesome peaks, ancient art and warm Tajik hospitality Words Caroline Eden | Pictures Matthieu Paley Tajikistan Clockwise from left: Spectators watch a Kyrgyz horse festival (right) taking place near Murghab town – an attempt to revive the horse traditions lost during the Soviet era; (bottom right) a tersken-laden truck he mighty peak of 1931 and 1934, the Highway traverses the velour rug. At my feet lay a pile of ornately 7,546m Muztagh Ata Central Asian ’stans, starting in Uzbekistan, decorated silver and pink Persian-style hovered across the looping through Tajikistan – from capital dowry boxes, a nod to the ancient heritage nearby Chinese Dushanbe, along the Afghan border and on that links the Central Asian countries. ‘Driving the Pamir Highway is frontier as morning east to Murghab – before heading north into Many of these places, including Tajikistan’s traders weaved Kyrgyzstan. Driving this road is the epitome southern neighbour Afghanistan, aren’t high T between the metal of adventure; the section between Khorog on a Western traveller’s wish-list. But the epitome of adventure’ container-trucks of Murghab’s windblown and Murghab alone has two passes above turbulent as it is, the history of the region bazaar. Zigzagging through the crowds of 4,000m as it weaves through the least- (from Silk Road to Soviets) is fascinating. wiry Tajiks and hard-drinking Kyrgyz men, visited mountain range in the world. Nowhere is this more true than the fabled I filled my pockets with brightly coloured That night in Murghab, both temperature Wakhan Corridor – the finger of land that boiled sweets and Chinese biscuits in and darkness fell quickly. Fortunately, divides Tajikistan, Afghanistan and preparation to continue my journey on the Pamiri comforts (such as they are) were on Pakistan, and the setting for the Great Game Pamir Highway – one of the world’s most offer at Ibrahim’s three-bedroom homestay. of the 19th century. Today, the ‘Wakhan’ audacious unpaved roads. I attempted to bathe (for an extra $2) in generally refers to the southern Afghan area; Up in the sunlit but cold Pamir Mountains, a sauna-style bathroom outside in the the northern part belongs to the Murghab – Tajikistan’s highest town at courtyard, flapping my arms like a bird to neighbouring Gorno-Badakhshan province a dizzying altitude of 3,650m – feels like the keep warm and grateful for the relatively in Tajikistan – where I was headed. true bam-i-dunya (‘roof of the world’). A few steady hot-water supply, umuvalnik (hand other travellers, mainly trekkers and Silk basin) and clean toilet. Hitting the highway Road buffs, also bartered for road-friendly Feeling much fresher, I went back inside to Under a bright, cloudless sky the next snacks at this mid-way point of the highway, find the house full of cooking, light and morning, I helped my guides Nadi and but we were a hardy minority. A small laughter. I sat down with my hosts to a feast Dilshot load up a heavy-duty 4WD jeep with number of families live amid the desolate, of fresh bread, potato-and-noodle stew, our luggage and huge jerrycans of water, and lunar-like landscapes of eastern Tajikistan. dried mulberries and vodka. The women of we set to leave for the village of Langar. As They are devoted to the land – though they the house, dressed in traditional velvet we skidded off, two Kyrgyz children waved endure it rather than live off it. The Pamir gowns, tended to me, exposing glittering us goodbye, their faces shiny with mutton Highway, or M41 as it’s officially known, is gold teeth every time they smiled. At fat. During Soviet rule sunscreen was readily their link to the rest of the world. bedtime, slightly dazed by altitude, I dozed available but, since independence, locals Built by Soviet military engineers between off on a tiny, rickety cot under a thick, garish have reverted to more traditional methods. > Getty www.paleyphoto.com; @ Paley Matthieu 80 | Wanderlust February 2013 Tajikistan A POTTED HISTORY OF TAJIKISTAN ] Pre-8th century AD – Area now known as Tajikistan part of ancient Persian Empire ] 8th century – Arabs conquer Central Asia; Islam introduced ] 9th-10th century – Persian Samanid dynasty rules Central Asia; Bukhara (Uzbekistan) developed as centre of Muslim culture Clockwise from above: > We drove southwards along the gravelly of Afghan village life, but it’s far easier for a little English along with Russian, Tajik ] 13th century – Genghis Khan conquers Locals at a yurt camp on Highway but even as we did so, the snow- camels to cross the rivers that make up and his native Wakhi, of which there is region; becomes part of Mongol Empire the Afghan border greet strangers; getting into capped peaks of the Hindu Kush beckoned much of Tajikistan’s 1,300km border with traditionally no written form. ] 14th century – Tajikistan becomes part the swing of things at us off onto rougher, unmarked roads. The Afghanistan than it is for people. “Tonight, Badakhshani songs. We play for of Turkic ruler Tamerlane’s empire Bartang Valley near first vehicle we overtook was a weighed- Over the centuries though, many you, from the heart,” Yogdor promised, ] 1860 – Tajikistan divided: north under Khorog; exploring ruins Tsarist Russian rule; south annexed by in the Wakhan Corridor down Lada (car of choice in Central Asia), merchants, agents, spies and explorers have spinning on his stacked, black-leather heels Emirate of Bukhara crammed with five adults, bulbous in layers traversed routes through these mountains. and returning into the house before I could ] 1924 – Tajikistan consolidated into of clothing despite the heat. Men in It wasn’t long before we met their thank him. One of his daughters, dressed in new Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist traditional kalpak hats and women in bright, unmistakable modern counterpart: two a gold brocade salwar kameez with her black Republic (part of Uzbek SSR); Tajik ASSR paisley headscarves waved to us, their faces Lycra-clad cyclists. The red-faced hair in two thick knee-length braids, handed gains republic status in 1929 pressed against the dirty, cracked windows. Westerners waved at us to stop and, once out china cups of green tea in welcome. ] 1980s – Gorbachev’s ‘glasnost’ (openness) leads to formation of We jolted by them, dodging an enormous, they’d caught their breath, asked if they were As evening tinted the sky pink, Nadi, unofficial political groups and resurgent fluffy red marmot that bolted across the far from Langar. Refusing a ride, they Dilshot and I took our places on a tapchan interest in Tajik culture pebble-strewn plain into its hole. wobbled off again, looking vulnerable (tea bed) out in Yogdor’s fruit-filled garden. ] 1990 – Pro-democracy protests; It wasn’t until two hours later that we passed against the precipitous drops and Our host – now dressed in a light safari suit Tajikistan declares sovereignty another vehicle – this time a belching truck. unforgivingly pockmarked road. and an embroidered tubeteika skull cap – and ] 1991 – Tajikistan declares It was piled high with tersken, one of the few his friends picked up their rubob lutes and independence; joins Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) following useful plants that grows in the eastern Songs of the heart daf drums and began singing, as promised. collapse of Soviet Union Pamirs – it is harvested to be burnt as fuel. We reached Langar just as the sun gilded “Love songs,” Nadi said, with a glint in her ] 1992-1997 – Civil war Bumping around another dusty mountain the top of the mountains for the last time eye, before adding, “about Badakhshan. ] 2000 – New parliament set up; new corner, Dilshot brought the car to an abrupt that day. The village, built at the confluence These songs are for their villages.” national currency (somoni) introduced stop, exclaiming, “There! Do you see?” of the Pamir and Wakhan rivers, was The songs were heartfelt and sung with ] 2002 – Tajikistan doubles troops along Nadi and I squinted into the sun as he a welcome contrast to the lifeless plains of closed eyes and swaying bodies. A little girl Afghan frontier to prevent al-Qaeda pointed to the sparkling Pamir River where Murghab and the rugged eastern Pamirs. of three or four, dressed in a velvet robe entering country a caravan of eight golden-brown bactrian Leafy trees, grazing goats and the sounds of dress, danced non-stop, her hands elegantly ] 2006 – President Rahmon wins third term; international observers say camels were cautiously crossing over into rushing water and playing children were turning in the hot night air. election is unfair Afghanistan. “They are making a run for it!” everywhere. I hoped the cyclists had made it. In a place devoid of televisions, shops and ] 2010 – President Rahmon’s People’s According to Dilshot, the men we saw with I stayed with Yogdor, the proprietor of the even radios, performances like this, Nadi Democratic Party wins another huge the animals were Tajiks: “The population of finest homestay in the village (equipped, to told me, are a routine leisure activity for the majority in elections; again, monitors Afghanistan is one-fifth Tajik, you know.” my relief, with a working shower, large hard-working Wakhi people, most of whom say fraud rampant.