Rated as the second most liveable city in Tajikistan, Khujand is a place where distinguished city style and impressive landscapes go hand in hand.
Imagine an urban environment where everyone lives within half an hour of beautiful beaches, hiking trails and a dozen enchanting holiday islands. Add a sunny climate, a background rhythm of Eastern culture and a passion for outstanding food, juice, and shopping, or you want to see numerous attractive ancient monuments which have survived medieval citadels and mosques you’re beginning to get the picture of Khujand, Tajikistan our largest and most diverse city. The most known are the mosque and the mausoleum of Sheikh Muslekheddin (17th-18th centuries.).
Khujand Sights
Close to the city is located the well-known Kairakum man-made lake. Khujand is one of the centers of mountaineering. Climbers prefer Ak-Su area located in one of the most picturesque corners of the country Khujand. This massif is distinguished by the beauty of wild nature and very tall rocks. More than just a city, Khujand is a whole region full of things to see and do. Best of all, with so many experiences close by it’s easy to jump from one adventure to the next.
A natural view
Khujand’s diverse landscapes provide countless opportunities to get immersed in nature. In the west, lush native picturesque views plunge down the hills to meet the banks of the river, while the east’s sheltered different types of parks are fringed with colorful-flowering and evergreen trees. The only difference of the city is that most of the places are unspoiled and need to be taken a picture of.
Pigeons and Doves
Tajikistan’s Khujand region varies with the dove watch place, which provides spectacular panoramic views. Once get surrounded by pigeons and doves which feels really free the mind it’s like a must not leave the place. A great view of the mosque with its memorable pigeons and doves is a special day trip destination for visitors and bird watchers.
Shopping and dining in Khujand
Khujand is a shopaholic’s paradise, with everything from top-end designers to open-air street markets. Discover the diverse range of cafes and restaurants offering cuisine from around the globe and check out the buzzing nightlife of the central city. The differences of the foods are in their taste and price with the polite service. You taste absolutely a special taste every time you try a new food.
Something else
Khujand’s history dates back to ancient times. In the opinion of historians, the legendary city of Alexander-Eskhata (Alexandria Extreme) was constructed by Alexander the Great on the place of the present Khujand (the 5th century BC) and become the city of highly developed culture, important commercial, and crafts center. It in many respects speaks it can be explained by its favorable position. Khujand stands at the entrance to the fertile Fergana Valley. Owing to this it was one of the main centers of the Great Silk way and enjoyed prosperity and richness. One of the ancient cities of the Central Asia Khujand has been known since the 7th century. In the 19thcentury Khujand became the center of the district of rapid industrial development allowing itself to become the center of cultural life. The city has 20 large enterprises, universities, cultural establishments.
Come and experience it for yourself. A few days in Khujand, building in a tour or two is the perfect beginning to your Tajikistan vacation.
Take a trip to Khujand – one of the oldest towns not only of Tajikistan but also entire Central Asia. Khujand city tour will consist of visiting bright and colorful oriental bazaar “Payshanba”, the biggest one in Tajikistan, museums, mosques, Hydro Power Station, etc. You will be charmed by their quiet streets, the variety of delicious fruits and hospitality of local people.
Your city tour in Khujand – one of the oldest cities of Tajikistan having to tell the history of Tajikistan and Central Asia, starts from the closest place to visit your hotel. You visit:
| Tourists |
5 |
10 |
| Per person in USD |
50 |
25 |
| Included |
Guide
|
(speaks your language) |
| |
Entry tickets |
Khujand Museum |
| |
Transport |
One Minibus |
The oldest minaret that is still standing is the one you see here close to the Mosque of Shaikh Muslihiddin, in North of Tajikistan, which was built for the same Mosque.
A minaret was a tower that Islamic holy men called muezzins climbed in order to call out the call to prayer, five times a day. At the top, there was an opening for the muezzin (moo-EZZ-in) to call out the prayers so everyone would know that it was time to pray. The oldest minaret that is still standing is the one you see here close to the Mosque of Shaikh Muslihiddin, in North of Tajikistan, which was built for the same Mosque.
For the first times, these were built with woods considering as watchtowers in 200 AD and later the inspiration allowed the architects to build them with the stone in 500 AD, which makes them last longer than ever before. A minaret was a tower that Islamic holy men called muezzins climbed in order to call out the call to prayer, five times a day. It was a tall thin building with stairs inside it (or sometimes outside) and small windows to let in daylight. At the top, there was an opening for the muezzin (moo-EZZ-in) to call out the prayers so everyone would know that it was time to pray.
Most minarets were near mosques, where men (though not women) came to pray. When the Almovarids ruled North Africa and Spain, they disapproved of minarets, and so people built mosques without minarets in those areas during the 1000s AD. But when the Almohads conquered the Almovarids, they built a lot of minarets to show that they had won.
A large religious building complex known as the Sheikh Muslihiddin mausoleum is located in the historical center of Khujand. It was named after Muslihiddin Khujandi, a poet, and ruler of the town, who lived in the 12th century.
His biography, Manokib, has been preserved. According to folk legend, Sheikh Muslihiddin was a holy miracle man. After his death, he was initially buried in Unji village (a suburb of Khujand). However, after some time his followers carried the Sheikh’s ashes to the place where he lies now and built a mausoleum over his tomb.
The 12th-century burial-vault consists of a small burial vault made out of baked bricks decorated with terracotta and spray decor. It was later destroyed during a Mongol invasion and also suffered as a result of the general economic decline of Maveraunnahr in the 13th century. In the 14th century the mausoleum was rebuilt but with a different design and now consisted of two rooms. Its new look existed for some time, but then it was destroyed again for unknown reasons. In the 16th century a new building, quite different from previous one in its construction and plan, was built on the ruins of the old mausoleum. It acquired a new purpose – from being just a mausoleum it turned into a mausoleum-khonako, i.e. a building for prayer and ritual ceremonies.
The memorial has been reconstructed and repaired many times since and that has led to a distortion of the 16th century look of the mausoleum-khonako. In the second half of the 20th century the mausoleum for a long time housed the regional historical museum. In there museum in the building ceased to exist and its displays were taken to another place.
Covered market Panjshanbe is one of the most colorful sights of Khujand. which is located in the center of Khujand, opposite Sheikh Muslihiddin mausoleum. Panjshanbe is considered as one of the oldest markets of Tajikistan.
The Silk Road which passes Khujand city had always made Panjshanbe to be crowded with traders and tourists.The bazaar consists of the main pavilion and many stalls, tents and shops adjust to it.Panjshanbe bazar has many shops offering different kinds of goods and services. It is always noisy there since not only residents of the city but also neighboring villages flock there for shopping.
The main feature of the Panjshanbe market is its unique architecture and design. Construction of the pavilion took place in the middle of the 20th century and finished in 1964. There is a semi-spherical portal above the central entrance adorned with a bright painting and sculptures of man and woman on the sides. When you enter, you will see a long arched hall with a row of columns.
The Historical Museum of Sughd is a regional history museum in Khujand, Tajikistan. It has a wide range of artifacts related to the history of the Sughd region of Tajikistan.
20 km from Khujand there is one of the natural attractions of Sogdian region – Kayrakkum reservoir, stretching for 50 km to the east. This artificial lake was made in the 50-s of the XX century to build a hydroelectric station and control the Syr Darya runoff. The country’s inhabitants, having no access to the ocean, often call it the “Tajik Sea”
The statistics of the Kayrakkum reservoir in figures look quite impressive: its length is 55 km, width is 20 km, maximum depth is 25 meters, and the total water volume is 4.2 km3. The length of the dam is 1,205 meters and while the height is 32 meters. In addition, in cold winters the Kayrakkum freezes, and in summers the air temperature near the coast reaches 30-35 degrees Celsius.
An artificial lake has become a new ecosystem of the region: its waters are rich in fish species (pike, carp, catfish, perch, bream, etc.), moreover, it became a stopover for birds of passage, annually migrating from north Asia to India and other countries.
The Kayrakkum over its half-century history has become a popular holiday destination. It has various sanatoriums, recreation areas and children’s camps stretching along the coast. This is a great place for swimming and fishing. Its coast along the whole length is covered by numerous fruit orchards.
See the castle which throughout the whole history of Khujand, was considered city’s heart. Over 2,500 years, the Khujand fortress expanded together with the city, which always continued to be a symbol of endurance of the people.
Archaeological excavations have revealed that the first fortress was built in the VI-V centuries BC, and consisted of an artificial embankment gradually developed into a thick wall of natural clay. Moreover, in addition to the fortress, there was a city wall occupying 20 hectares. Along the walls, there were deep moats filled with water.
During the heyday of the Great Silk Road Khujand fortress was rebuilt and the city wall as well. By that particular time, the Khujand fortress was considered one of the most inaccessible fortresses in Central Asia.
However, the fortress was fated to fall under the onslaught of the Genghis Khan’s army. In the period from 1219 to 1220 Khujand was under a siege, the number of invaders, at that, exceeded 25,000,000 people, excluding 50,000 captives, intended for work. Some historians argue that the fortress was rebuilt in the XV century, while others believe that the reconstruction began soon after the siege. However, nowadays, the Khujand fortress is the remains of walls and gates, as well as a territory of archaeological digs of the first wall foundation.All in all, the museum fund consists of 1200 exhibits, most of which are available to visitors.
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