July 7th, 2019

We went to the Ismaili Center in Dushanbe today. It is only one of six in the world I think. In the past at museums and sites we have always had Tajik guides, who we couldn’t understand. But today for the first time I could actually understand some of what the guide was saying in Tajiki about the center and mosque. Small victory!

            We also went to the Narouz Palace. I wish the internet is strong enough to upload photos because it is the picture of extravagance. Each room was more extravagant than the last, though the themes and aesthetics didn’t seem to match up. One room would be super colorful, another covered in gold leaf, and another a cedar ballroom straight out of a Disney movie with a grand stair case to match. In the gold room, they held political meetings with each chair painted in gold leaf and covered in jewels. There as also the single largest crystal chandelier I have ever seen. In fact it was the largest chandelier I had ever seen, regardless of material. I don’t know how it didn’t come crashing down. The cost of building the room, we were told by our guide, was a state secret and financed by private business and national banks, not apparently from the Tajik national budget. Still it was interesting to see this towering above a country where many homes don’t even have running water. Even more extravagant was how out front behind another grand staircase was a massive plastic model mountain complete with plastic mountain goats and a fountain running down it. Photos don’t really capture any of the scale of it as well.

(Sorry about the blurry photos)

            After the palace, we went to Salsa, a restaurant that billed itself as Mexican-Italian fusion cuisine. I was skeptical, but it was actually really good for Tajik food. I hope we go again. It was kind of pricy, costing us about 550 somoni for a group of 12, which I guess in the US would not be that expensive. After that we went back to Rudaki Plaza and hung out the Tajik students from yesterday. It is the first group of Tajiks we have been able to have in-depth conversations with since their English is really good. It has been really interesting to learn about the experiences of teenagers who despite the 6000 mile divided share some universal traits and interests.

            Interesting observation: For class we are memorizing a proverb that is the polar opposite of the classic American proverb “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” The Tajik proverb translates literally to “Wound of an ax will go, [but] wound of speech won’t [go].” I don’t have to think about what this reflects about the culture, but I will form a hypothesis when I get a chance.