Tajikistan

The land of the Pamirs — the 'Roof of the World'

Tajikistan is our south-eastern neighbour, and 93% of it is mountains! The Pamirs are called the 'Roof of the World' — Ismoil Somoni Peak is 7,495 m. Tajiks speak a language close to Persian, and Rudaki and Ibn Sina are their great ancestors too. 'Dushanbe' means 'Monday' — the city grew from a village with a Monday market. One of the world's tallest dams, Nurek (300 m), is here.

Capital: Dushanbe. Language: Tajik, Russian.

Tajikistan covers 143,100 km² with 10 million people (the youngest population in Central Asia — median age 22); 93% is mountains, half above 3,000 m. The Pamirs: Ismoil Somoni Peak (7,495 m, formerly Communism Peak), the Fedchenko Glacier (77 km — the longest outside the polar regions), Lake Sarez (formed by the 1911 earthquake and the Usoi dam). Tajiks are the Persian-speaking people of Central Asia, heirs of the Sogdians and Bactrians; the Samanid state (9th–10th centuries, Bukhara) is seen as the 'foundation of Tajik statehood', and the currency is the somoni. Independence in 1991, civil war 1992–1997. Economy: aluminium (TALCO), hydropower (Nurek 300 m; Rogun 335 m will be the world's tallest dam), cotton, labour migration. The Pamir Highway Khorog–Osh crosses a 4,655 m pass. The border with Uzbekistan is 1,300 km; Tajik is widely spoken in Samarkand and Bukhara.

Fun facts

• The Fedchenko Glacier, 77 km long, is the longest outside the polar regions.
• The Rogun Dam (335 m) will be the world's tallest.
• 'Dushanbe' means 'Monday' — market day.