For the past two Sundays Mikey and I have picked a direction to ride outside the city. Our first Sunday, we headed East towards Hissar. Hissar is the location of an ancient fort that is in the process of having it's entrance rebuilt. We have read that on certain holidays, buskachi matches take place inside the old fort, pictured to the left. We will keep this in mind for the future.
It is really amazing how quickly the development of Dushanbe transitions into small village communities. We have had the experience that Tajiks are very generous and engaging, especially when you get out of the city. On one occassion, a man we met gave us 3 liters of Pepsi to take with us.
This past weekend, we rode our bikes into the Varzob gorge region, it's pretty, really pretty. The mountains around Dushanbe are becoming snow capped, while in the city it remains quite warm.
And at the end of each ride it's always good to return home...Dushanbe :) Mikey and I have just found an apartment that we will be moving into soon, it is located on the same street as the botanical gardens... the best place in the city to go for a run. Things are coming together!
Wow, what a start to your year abroad. We love following your posts and can't wait for the next.
ReplyDeleteCoincidentally, Chelsea's team won the Virginia State Open Buskachi tournement last month- look out nationals.
All the best
The boy on the donkey reminds me of my kids riding too small bicycles. What have they harvested?
ReplyDeleteWhat they are hauling on the mini donkey is corn. Apparently there is an old wives tail that if a women rides on a donkey backwards she will be blessed with riches...I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a donkey :)
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