Korvon market

                           

On arrival at Korvon you are immediately aware that this is the largest of the markets in Dushanbe. I took this small video just to set the seen I am sure anyone who has visited a market overseas will have similar memories. 
I was hoping this market was going to be slightly more varied with its items for sale, but found it was mainly for the sales of clothes and household goods, unless I managed to miss a large section where the food is kept.

In any case it was an interesting experience on a beautiful sunny day with temperature up to about 20 degrees, and that was after snow the week before.
Here is a picture of Rudaki street  near to where I live last Saturday!

So on with the market and a picture of some locally made traditional ladies clothing 

I found some local dried fruit, nuts and pulses here but not the selection available at the green market which is far more food orientated and I will do a separate post on that one another time. 

One thing I hadn't seen until today was a busker I managed to get this photo with a little financial persuasion, he is playing a dutar a tradition two string instrument usually made from mulberry wood. There are some locals however  only to happy to pose for the camera, go on give us a wave.... 

Field trip

Tuesday the 5th of March saw my first field trip with 3rd year Tourism group, our destination was Hissar, located 30km from Dushanbe.
This is one of most important landmarks of Tajikistan, set in over 86 Hectares of picturesque mountainous scenery with its archaeological  and architectural  monuments Hissar has been inhabited from the stone age 3rd and 4th millennia BC.
Later Hissar valley territory was a part of the Bactria,  and then part of Greek Bactrian and Kushan states. Today only the orbicular mounds known as 'Tepa' or 'hill' remain. In the middle ages Hissar was well known for its crafts and markets, in the 18th and 19th century it has been known as Hissar province one of 28 domains of the Bukhara Emirate. Hissar fortress which has survived since those times is considered the most famous landmark of the reserve.
A few of the many photos I took that day, as you can see the students love having there photo taken! till next time take care.

Army day and a night at the opera

The 23rd of February saw two very different sides to Dushanbe, it began at 9 am with army day parade, a national holiday for the creation of the Tajik army and this year was its 20th anniversary.  Speaking at the event was Emomalii Rahmon the president of Tajikistan.

In his speech he called for Armed forces of Tajikistan  to prepare themselves that in 2014 the anti-terrorist coalition forces in Afghanistan are going to depart from this country for good,  Rahmon hoped that Afghanistan will achieve peace and stability with the help of its own forces. He pointed out that the army of Tajikistan has to be ready for protection of its borders against any kind of external threats. The most authentic threats are terrorism and extremism, the president emphasized. Amongst the CIS countries, Tajikistan shares a common border with Afghanistan of 1344 kilometres, one of the largest as compared to others.(Russian Radio)

Tajik troops happy to see us and giving us a wave, and even the toddlers getting involved in the action.

'Eyes right' another regiment takes its place in the parade along Rudaki Street, as the women stand to attention. 



Orange beret's marching, sorry couldn't find out the significance of the orange! and in the last photo the drive by inspection from the General.

After all the military splendor and a plov lunch with colleagues at the University where I am placed it was time for something with less testosterone involved.     


The Opera

This beautiful building was a real surprise not only because of all its elegance and architectural magnificence which left us all with stiff necks, the ticket price was 10 Somoni which is about £1.50!  we sat and watched 'The barber of Seville' from the front row, with the orchestra playing and the casts voices in fine tune it made no difference it was performed in Russian, the occasion was grand.
until next time take care x

Figaro and the gang....