First, a word to the pencil pushers and stamp lickers in Tajikistan's Washington consulate: You guys are friggin' lying idiots.
Not only did they keep my passport hostage for 3 1/2 weeks, they screwed up the dates on my visa, gave me one week instead of two, and misspelled my name. The upshot, at best, I have only one day in Tajikistan. Supposedly, too, the border I'm going to cross is one of the most corrupt ones in Central Asia. I hire a driver and guide to smooth the way.
On the Uzbek side, my driver/guide is a history buff and his Tajik counterpart, Kholmahmad who meets me at the border, was the former head director of Intourist for Tajikistan as well as a translator for the Soviets during their occupation in Afghanistan. I have no problems.
Penjikent is the first town over the border, and it appears fairly prosperous--hardly representative of the rest of the country, one that remains in the bottom 20% of the world in terms of poverty. My guide is proud of his Tajik ancestry, as he shows me around Penjikent's museum. Tajik heros are those of the ancient Persians, whose empire they were once part of.
Just outside of town are the ruins of Penjikent, an ancient city founded by fire worshipers (not exactly Zoroastrians a French archaeologist on the site explains to me). This former Silk Road stop was put to the torch during the Islamic conquest and never rebuilt. There's not much left to the ruins, as the elements have eroded everything down. Fantastic frescoes have been removed and placed in museums. It's still satisfying to know, however, that Alexander the Great stood on this spot.
A shady chaikhana makes a pleasant place for lunch with Kholmahmad who explains life in Tajikistan and then asks how hard is it to get a visa for the U.S. (a question I hear often).
The ruins of Penjikent. How they can tell this is even an ancient city is beyond me.
One of the frescoes taken from Penjikent
No comments:
Post a Comment