Lakeside News’ Senior Reporter Pam Keene continues her adventures around the globe with her latest installment – Marco Polo’s Silk Road. The adventure took her to parts of the former Soviet Union where she experienced life in Central Asia beyond her expectations.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 this part of Central Asia was divided into five countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Called “The Stans,” each has its own distinct history, its own independent governments, laws and characteristics that are built on centuries of changing rulers and occupation.
Memorial to Somoni, the Hero of Tajikistan.
People thought I was crazy to head to “The Stans” at the end of September for more than three weeks of travel. For me, it was another of those “why not?” travel decisions I made, partly because of a childhood fascination with Marco Polo.
The romance of a westerner making his way from Venice, Italy, to the Far East appealed to me. The son of an Italian goods trader who traveled to the East in the 13th century, Marco first accompanied his uncle and his father Niccolo on trade journeys to China when he was in his teens. Several stories – difficult to prove – have Niccolo selling his son to Kublai Khan, perhaps as a slave in Khan’s court, maybe a tax collector or as a representative of Kublai Khan as he explored the Far East.
Whatever his role, Polo traveled between Europe and China, even living in China for 17 years. He is credited with introducing Chinese inventions such as paper money, porcelain, fine silks, fireworks, gunpowder and even spaghetti to the Italians and the rest of Europe.
Over the centuries, the area between Russia and China experienced rule by the Mongols and Genghis Khan, the Timurid Empire and the Russians. After the Russian Revolution, the Soviet Union took over many border countries and territories, including the area of the Stans to the southeast, plus Ukraine, Soviet Georgia, Estonia and Lithuania. Remnants of these empires are evident in The Stans: the language is a blend of Cyrillic/Russian, words are often formed from a mix of Cyrillic and Arabic letters, with a mix of Sanskrit and local dialects mixed in.
Like the Baltic states, such as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, Central Asian countries gained their independence when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Of the two Stans we visited – Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – the contrasts were evident as each developed its own governments, infrastructures and modernizations.
Six days in Tajikistan, first in the capital Dushanbe and then in Khujand, revealed the results of a civil war that slowed modernization. Parts of each city were well-developed, tearing down old Soviet structures and replacing them with modern multi-story buildings.
The second largest reclining Buddha -13 feet long and made of clay.
In Dushanbe, our hotel was located in an older section of the city, but just a half-dozen blocks from 9-story high-rise modern buildings featuring retail on the ground floor, offices and condos or apartments higher up. Large cranes hoisted I-beams and preformed concrete slabs and equipment alongside wide avenue-like streets.
One of the highlights was a visit to the Tajik Museum of Antiquities, which houses the second-largest reclining Buddha (13 meters long) in the world. The first, in Bangkok, is made of gold. The Tajik reclining Buddha is made of clay.
The massive three-story Meghron Market in Dushanbe.
My friend Pat and I explored neighborhoods throughout Dushanbe, and I mean explored. The goal was the Mehrgon market, a huge three-story covered marketplace that sold everything from fine spices, nuts and dried fruits to meat, cheese, more than a dozen varieties of rice and the distinctive round flat breads served at most meals. Children’s toys, clothing, shoes, hair salons, home goods and bridal trousseau components boggled my mind.
We visited the botanical garden and several parks, each planted with dozens of blossoming roses, plus lush annuals and perennials and intermittent gazebos punctuating the landscape.
Women are the main landscape workers and always wear long sleeves and green vests and were happy to pose for photos.
Everywhere flower beds were filled with pansies, Dusty Miller annuals and well-groomed shrubs. Women in green uniforms worked in unison to fill each flower bed in swirls of color.
As we reached the main square, we were introduced to the “Hero of Dushanbe and Tajikistan,” a 120-foot statue of Ismoil Somoni, the forefather of the Tajik nation. The country’s currency is called “somoni,” and it sounds like “some money” so we all got the joke.
A long plaza behind the monument was punctuated by dancing fountains. There we met a group of high school students who were eager to learn more about us as Americans. These teenaged young women were articulate, spoke incredibly good English and shared their aspirations with us. This was just one example of how much the people of Tajikistan want to know more about Americans.
Four high-school girls asked us Americans many questions and shared their aspirations.
It was not unusual for elementary school students to speak to us as we passed on the sidewalks. “Hello, how are you?” they said in clear English. We said “fine,” then they asked “what’s your name?” and we replied, asking them in return. “Then they asked where we were from: America.” Sometimes the conversation ended there, but they were always eager to make selfies with us.
Older male school students dress in coast, ties, and carry briefcases.
Students wore uniforms: for the girls skirts and white blouses with either a neat blazer or a sweater. The boys, no matter their age, wore dress slacks and jackets, white shirts and ties in their school colors. They were all very polite.
For the final three days of our pre-trip in Tajikistan, we rode by motorcoach across the mountains to Khujand, the country’s second-largest city and part of the Silk Road. It was also an outpost established in the 4th century BC by Alexander the Great. Along the way, we marveled at the amount of road construction with massive machinery cutting its way across the mountains. We drove through a number of tunnels built to create the country’s newest major transportation artery and accommodate large semi-trucks.
Our time in Khujand included the Muslihiddin Memorial Complex, built around the mausoleum of Sheik Muslihiddin, a poet and ruler of Khujand during the 12th century. The complex includes a brick minaret built in 186 an a 20th century mosque.
The Russian influence was evident as we visited the Arbob Cultural Palace, the former headquarters of a Soviet collective farm. Built in the 1950s in the style of St. Petersburg’s Winter Palace, it was breathtaking.
Our six-day pre-trip drew to a close as we prepared for the next two weeks of our journey – immersion in Uzbekistan – where we would visit elaborate mosques where Muslims worship, and madrasas, educational institutions that teach both Islamic and secular subjects.
As we headed to Uzbekistan, we passed through the desert and past acres and acres of cotton fields, the main crop in Uzbekistan. We would soon join the seven travelers to complete our group of 13.
Next month: Cotton fields, white Chevys, many brides and a true contrast between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
Photos: by Pamela A. Keene
