Dushanbe City

Dushanbe City

Modern Dushanbe ironically is an ancient city with great historical

heritage and at the same time it is rather young (it is 90 years old).

Dushanbe is the political, economic, cultural and administrative centre – the capital of Tajikistan, modern and brimming with lush green vegetation. Dushanbe (until 1961 was called Stalinabad) is located in the centre of the Gissar valley at an altitude of more than 800 meters above the sea level. From the North and East, it is surrounded by foothills, crowned with snow-white caps of the Gissar range. The Gissar range reaches from both sides of Varzob River (within the boundaries of the city called Dushanbe). There are some 120 glaciers in the upper part of the Varzob river basin creating a favorable microclimate in the mountain gorges and in outskirts of Dushanbe. The Varzob River generously grants drinking water and irrigates neighboring orchards and fields. And the picturesque mountain gorge offers a place for recreation and a comfortable base where guests from all parts of the world come to explore and relax.

Due to the closeness of the mountains, the inhabitants of the capital can feel a light breeze and evening freshness in the hot periods of the summers. There is a distinctly continental climate in Dushanbe with arid and hot summers and humid cool winters. The most beautiful time of year is the warm and dry autumn – time for harvesting.

The true age of Dushanbe is subject to scientific arguments as numerous discoveries of archaeologists, ethnographers and historians found buried treasures of Sasanid silver coins, wedge-shaped copper axes of the 2nd century B.C., skilfully made earrings from alloyed gold and silver, bronze and gold-plated detail of horse harness with relief image of a head of Greek god Dionysus), give evidence that almost 2500 years ago this place was inhabited by people who lived in a relatively highly developed culture of handicrafts and city buildings.