Category Archive: Kulob

Chilu Chor Chashma

There, right at the foot of a small hill in the midst of the heated desert, five large water springs break into 39 smaller ones. All springs merging form a 12-13 m channel inhabited by a plenty of fish.

Chilu Chor Chashma (“44 springs”) is located 12 km from Shahrituz village and is widely known in Tajikistan.
There, right at the foot of a small hill in the midst of the heated desert, five large water springs break into 39 smaller ones. All springs merging form a 12-13 m channel inhabited by a plenty of fish.
As a legend goes the holy caliph Ali having seen the dried up river Romit reached Chilu Chor Chashma and asked the Allah for some water. At this, he struck the foot of a nearby hill with his hand and five purest springs gushed from the five holes made by his fingertips.
Chilu Chor Chashma is the site pilgrimages. People visiting this place say prayers, perform ablutions, sacrifices, bathe themselves in the sources. The water of the 17 sources is believed to be curative. Each of them has its own name and curative properties:
Ashmai muin – prevents hair loss;
Khuni Bini – stops nose bleeding;
Chashmai Mohron, Khunukzadagon – cures of snake bites and inflammations;
Ustukhondard – helps to cure bones diseases;
Tablarza – cures malaria;
Shifo – medicinal;
Fishori Khun – good for hypertonia;
Sardard – relieves a headache;
Peskho – cures psoriasis;
Murod – is good for depression;
Befarzand – cures infertility;
Gurda – good for kidneys;
Dilu Chigar – cures diseases of heart and liver;
Devonakho – treats mental diseases;
Chashma Gush – cures eyes and ears;
Khorish – cures scabies.
On the territory of Chilu Chor Chashma there is also a small hill with a small mausoleum on top. According to the legend there the holy Kambar Bobo, who was the warden of caliph Ali’s stable, was buried.. There are four more graves of the holy men whose names are unknown.
 

Kulob

The city of Kulob was born 2,700 years ago and for many centuries was an important political, commercial and economic and cultural center of the vast Khatlon area. The city stood on one of the Great Silk way branches and had close trade and economic and cultural links with many Oriental and Western countries.

During the Middle Ages, the city of Kulob was an important political, economic and cultural center. A plenty of maktabs (schools) and madrasah (higher educational institutions) worked there. Various crafts and trades were developed there; literary and scientific clubs were very popular. In the 17th -19th centuries 40 poets lived and created their works. The most known of them were Nasekh (AbdurakhmonKhodzha), KhodzhiKhusainiKangurti, Bismil, Shokhin, etc. The remains of structures and mausoleums testify about the highly developed culture of architecture and construction. At the beginning of the 20th century, Kulob was the largest city in Eastern Bukhara and had 20 blocks. Various kinds of crafts, including weaving (high-quality silk fabrics: brocade, alochi, kurtachi, Suzane), jeweler business, pottery and tanning production, joinery and production of knives, horse harnesses, armor and other metal products were highly developed. In city had flourishing commerce, marketplaces. Kulyab was famous for its embroideries (gulduzi and chakan) which are distinguished by unique forms and colorings. For the first time, the name of Kulyab was mentioned in the 13th century.

Mir Said Ali Hamadoni

Mir Said Ali Hamadoni (the 14th-17ht centuries), Kulob Right in the center of Kulyab in the park zone with centuries-old plane trees stands the memorial complex of Mir Said Ali Hamadoni – the poet, philosopher, and thinker of the 14th century.

His son Muhammad, numerous relatives, as well as Shaikh ShokhiTolikoni from Afghan city Tolukan, the former inspector of the mausoleum and the mosque, are also buried there. The building of the mausoleum is a traditional medieval structure. Originally it had three portal entrances with a domed hall decorated with the carved decor. This structure is dated late 14th century. Later the mosque and the tomb were added to it. In the 1970s the mausoleum was restored. During the restoration works the masters tried to preserve the mausoleum in the shape it had existed for the previous five centuries. They finally managed to do it. Near the mausoleum, there is one more marble gravestone with inscriptions in Arabian and Persian languages and decorated with a geometrical ornament. It is written on the western side of the gravestone that there the son of Khatlon ruler, Amir Muhammad bin Shah Abdulla, was buried. The rectangular tombstone weighs about a ton. The legend says that it was delivered to Kulyab from India on elephants. Today the mausoleum is a place of pilgrimage of the local population and numerous visitors.