Ok I hope you enjoy all those pictures I just uploaded. Now let me tell you a little bit of the story behind them. Last Saturday the 11th of April I went with my colleague and friend Farhod to his village and a nearby city named Istarafshan. We traveled by van there and it took us only about an hour because the Chinese repaired this road last year and it is beautiful. They repaired it and in exchange the Tajik government let some Chinese settle in this vacinity.
Anyway Saturday was a very wet day it was raining most of the day. But I have good REI boots and a waterproof jacket so I made the best of it. We first went to Istarafshan and went to an ancient castle overlooking the city. All that remains of the castle today is a grassy field and a brick gateway that was constructed in 2001 for the aniversery. This was a Zoroastrian castle they needed it to protect themselves from the Muslims. Then we went to the market and looked around it was big and slightly interesting. I had some great sheep shish-kabob. It was a lot like the market in Khujand but still it was worth it. The museum in town was closed. We also went to the local mosque in town and a park with a lot of monuments dedicated to famous Tajik writers and artists.
Then we went to Farhod's village named Nijoni. It lies about 8 bumpy km. from Istarafshan. Tucked behind some hills. This is where Farhod grew up. The majority of the population is Uzbek speaking and their race is Uzbek too. Farhod is too. The vilage is even older than Istarafshan it is 3,000 years old and Istarafshan is only 2,000. It was really like stepping back in time when I was in this village. I was the first American ever to visit this village. Life was just very simple, traditional, undisturbed, protected. It seemed like nothing had changed in 200 years. People's houses were built from mud and straw. Every family had a donkey. There was the ruins of an ancient castle. Each neighborhood had its own teahouse where men hung out and drank tea or vodka. They also played boardgames here and discussed issues. Farhod told me that if he wanted to talk to a girl from a different neighborhood he had to talk to these men at the teahouse first or there would be big trouble. These teahouse men are like protecting their neighborhood and they standout and just watch and talk. Most women are illiterate. They only go to the fourth grade just enough so they can read a bit and write their name. 100% become housewives and carry on the traditions that have been occuring for generations. We toured the town Farhod and me. We went to the cemetary, watched a football game, went up on the castle, talked to teahouse men. Everyman we met on the street we had to stop and shake his hand and ask how he was. It was like running for an elected office. Men from the village can't marry "city" girls and visa-versa. It is all very strict. In the evening we had a beautifully prepared meal of pilau, and sherbo with the local men. The school director came over and a Russian and English teacher. I had visited their school earlier in the day. I was the first native speaker this English teacher had ever met. He was so happy he called his sister and daughter who were also English teachers and had me talk to them on the phone just so they could speak with a native speaker. Neighbors and friends and relatives also came over. We sat at the low table and had a 4 course traditional Tajik meal prepared on an earthen oven by Farhod's two sisters and this mom. The men all loved looking at pictures from the U.S. They especially loved the picture of Katy in front of a huge Douglas Fir tree that was along the trail to Malikhite Lk. I made a very good impression don't worry.
The next day the skies cleared but it was still chilly I figured that Nijoni must be at a higher elevation than Khujand.
I had to get back to Khujand on Sun. becasue I had a lot of work to do. But Farhod's family was just thrilled to have hosted an American and invited me back. Farhod's sister is an Eng. teacher so she was happy to meet me too. She lives next to her parents house.
One thing I forgot to add is that on Sat. we went out to a reservoiur created for irrigation by the Soviets. It was not too far from Istarafshan. It was beautiful out there and we also walked around an old Soviet sanitorium adjacent to the reserviour. It wasn't raining too hard at this time but I do remember the water dripping off the bill of my baseball cap at one point in the day. Just like home sweet home. Anyway it was good trip it was very interesting like I said it was like stepping back in time and going to a completely different country. Ok I'm exhausted tonight. I'm off on a big all day field trip tomorrow the 19th. take care I'm too tired.