In this video I'm taking you to Dushanbe the capital of Tajikistan and we will also do
a day trip to the Fann Mountains and the gorgeous Iskanderkul Lake the golden you see around me is all
gold leaf it's quite an easy nice hike and it's about 25 minutes and we are almost at the lake
Wwelcome to Dushanbe the capital of Tajikistan now I am coming from Pamir Highway the most epic road
trip I've ever done if you haven't checked it out click on the link above and check out
the video and I also want to tell you what Dushanbe is it's the capital but Dushanbe in Farsi
means Monday it's famous because it used to be a big Monday Market here and that's why the city's
name turned out to be Dushanbe during the Soviet era it was called Salinabad but then
it was changed back to Dushanbe later when they gained independence which was really nice
this behind me is the so many square and the so many the statue of the king
so many who is considered the father of modern Tajikistan he was also the king
that renounced Zoroastiaism and embraced Islam which is the current religion of Tajikistan so
let's look around this beautiful square and then we continue on further
Isn't this a cute little square I mean it's also great for
people watching because a lot of people who you know locals who come around
so we have a mosque to see now let's go check it out
I am in the Haji Yaqoob Mosque now and this is located quite in the center of the city
and it's really beautiful with that typical Persian architecture look at that behind me
it's quite a gorgeous mosque and I would recommend coming here in the morning because that's a time
when there's no prayers and you can easily go around there's no restrictions that you can't
go in if you are non-muslim I mean I would I would really like to spend a bit more time
in the courtyard because it's really really beautiful but let me show you inside as well
the interior is brand new but there's that unmistakable impression of Persian
architecture it is really beautiful it's also quite interesting how Tajiks
interpret religion they are fairly moderate and like most Central Asian
countries who are under Soviet rule they are really easy when it comes to religion
it is time to say goodbye to this beautiful mosque and I am taking you to a palace next
while a really big surprise when it comes to Dushanbe
Welcome to Tajikistan
I found a place where you can see all of the traditional craftsmanship of the
Tajik people and this is the Navruz palace I'm standing in the Great Hall and this is
bling to its ultimate core it's really beautiful all the golden you see around
me is all gold leaf and this is actually the largest dome in Central Asia
and really beautifully decorated and what I like is the rooms are
very thematic so we started from the entrance the waiting room which is all mirror
and then we came into the other hall which is right behind this it's all wood and what I really find
fascinating is none of the columns have a repeating pattern it's all
different the floors are all different types of wood these are not tiles these
are all different types of wood that are from Tajikistan
this all mini trees made with pieces pieces stones semi-precious stones of Tajikistan and
special for this whole broad from all different areas of Tajikistan 52 000 kilos of semi precious
stone these stories our masters made from kamurizinibes of pictures he was military's
14th century this story from Umar khayam shahna Mayfield and two last stories from poem
this Hall is basically all of the different types of craftsmanship the artists that came
to signify all the beauty that Tajik culture is so if you don't do anything else here this
is one place you definitely don't want to miss when you come to Tajikistan even if you're
staying in Dushanbe for just a few minutes and the lady who gives the tour is absolutely
amazing she's really lively friendly so she will give you a lot more information than me
don't miss this let me show you a bit more now Rose Palace is not a Residential Palace rather it
is an official working Palace and all the official delegations are received and entertained here well
the best part is it is actually available to hire for weddings so you always get to see
some nice weddings which I really enjoyed this is the ismaili center of Dushanbe
and what I really like about this building is this architecture it takes the inspiration from Bokhara
style which makes it really beautiful because it's all modern inside let's go check it out
Dushanbe can be fairly hot and it was a really nice despite from all that heat
the building is really tranquil serene it has a soothing element but don't forget to check if
they have any tours available because you can't go there on your own
I am in Mehergon Market which is the biggest I believe in the entire country and this is a treasure trove if you want
to understand little things that are different for Tajik culture so right behind me is the
tea stall and they do all sorts of different teas from you know herbs herbal teas from you know flowers
green teas black teas and there's a huge amount that you can have here and you can see behind me
the little teapot that's where all the different varieties are let's go check it out
another thing I'm amazed by the size of the grapes here
look at this these are huge and they're actually really really sweet as well
you cannot miss these dinner dance music shows and these are the typical dinner events there they're
not dull at all and there's no one dancing for you actually people who are eating they
would get up when the music starts they would dance a little then they would go back and eat
it is honestly so engaging super loud but once you get used to it it is so amazing it's just
so much fun watching and the music is so you know upbeat for dancing the people come and
go all the time it is really nice let me show you what I'm talking about
I am officially a fan of Tajik dinners they're amazing they're so fun and they're so alive and
you get to meet new people everyone was so friendly they made it feel so welcome and
yeah I danced a little I mean the three-legged cow could do it better than me but I did it I
tried it because I didn't want to be rude and I actually wanted to dance a little as well it's
really nice we have to get up early tomorrow so I'm gonna head home see you later
Good morning. We are heading to the Fann Mountain today Iskanderkul Lake and some more
stuff so we've left in the morning quite early because
it takes about three three and a half hours to get there and we don't want to miss all the fun so the
first part is this beautiful valley called Varzob and then we continue on and onward and I will
show you what else you can see on the way until we get to Iskanderkul and I'm excited about that
We made a stop on the way at a viewpoint and the scenery was
completely different from anything that we'd seen so far the mountains
are very different when it comes to Pamir and Wakhan versus here
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Welcome to the Fann Mountains or Zarafshan Mountains that they're locally called look at the beautiful
view behind me and what I'm really really happy about right now is the sun has come out if you
see all that way we came through all these clouds and even here it rained a little bit so I was a
bit worried because I didn't bring any jacket or anything so yeah do keep one just in case
but we got lucky and the sun's come out let's go check out lake next
this is our first view of Iskanderkul Lake and look at that beautiful stream that's going that's the
one we saw before an interesting fact for you Tajikistan is 93 mountains and they're more than 3
000 lakes there there are a lot of valleys and pretty much every valley has its own river so
they have a lot of dams electricity here is really cheap because of that and it is
amazing how much nature and fresh water they have I am absolutely in love with
this country if you like adventure this is one place you definitely don't want to miss I promise you
so we've gotten to Iskanderkul Lake and it is really cold outside a lot windy as well but
luckily it's not raining so we're just gonna get some tea some food I'll show you around the lake
a little bit and then we'll go see a waterfall if it's not raining I am really regretting not
bringing a jacket today this is a good way to warm up the weather was so nice in Dushanbe it just put
me in this false sense of security and I didn't bring my jacket it actually did get pretty cold
and cloudy and we ended up not doing the boat ride on the lake well this is all we get to see
I always wanted to see a Marco Polo Chip and Tadaaa
it's dead though so I don't know if it counts and they're also much larger in the wild
we are heading on the way to see a beautiful waterfall
Tajikistan is insanely beautiful but this incredible country requires some careful
planning so I've created a playlist that gives you all essential information to get to this beautiful
country and have an amazing amazing time so click on the link above and check it out
the way is actually very easy just need to bring some good shoes don't forget that
it's quite an easy nice hike and it's about 25 minutes and we are
almost at the lake not the lake sorry the waterfall let's go check it out
Welcome to my own waterfall I totally got it to myself and it is beautiful I honestly had no
idea Tajikistan was this beautiful let me show you this we will do a couple more stops before
ending the day but every place here is absolutely spectacular don't believe me watch this
the most interesting thing I found out about this waterfall well it
doesn't really have a name I couldn't even find it on Google Maps
so the rain has stopped and this behind me is the Snake Lake I thought it looked like
a snake in a winding but apparently they have some water snakes in the lake and
that's why it's called the Snake Lake brave enough to swim go for it on the other side
is the viewpoint where you can see this kind of cool lake so let me show you that
this is the viewpoint of Iskanderkul Lake and you can barely see it it's so cloudy it
started to rain again unless it's literally the only time I didn't bring my jacket or
umbrella I always keep them with me and I don't want to get wet and cold because it's my last day
it did start raining cats and dogs so we are heading back to Dushanbe look I found a rainbow
saying goodbye to Tajikistan how sweet is that everything about this country is amazing
it's an amazing country and honestly before coming here I didn't expect it to be this
beautiful this amazing this diverse and I mean I've had such a beautiful experience
a big reason is the people of this beautiful country so definitely definitely definitely
come here make it your next stop there's so much to see and do here the people will make
it absolutely amazing for you I'm heading to Uzbekistan tomorrow so it's time to go
pack my bags I will see you there click on the link above and meet me in Uzbekistan