DUSHANBE SEEMS LIKE A VERY LIVEABLE CITY. The roads are potholed, it's true, traffic can get snarly and we have already purchased the only 12 tiny bottles of Coke Zero in Tajikistan. But Dushanbe is a clean city, bordered on two sides by snow-covered mountains. There is an abundance of stately government buildings and parks, the best of which is the Botanic Gardens. Leaves are popping on all of the trees and the pollen count is climbing into the uncomfortable zone.
Tulips in bloom, Botanic Garden
Except for the opera there isn't much the locals can brag about. They don't have a wonderful shopping street or a famous art museum so they have had to be creative. Dushanbe now sports the world's tallest flagpole - but not the biggest flag - and the world's largest teahouse. That should bring the tourists in droves. We opted for the Botanic Garden on Saturday, hoping for some new birds. We found only two but we weren't disappointed. The tulips are in bloom everywhere and in case you didn't know, tulips originated on the steppes, not in Holland. There is a wonderful trail system and the park is filled with randomly scattered exercise equipment, most of it in surprisingly good condition. We arrived early but weren't alone for long. This is a place for families, many in traditional dress, and spjring time wedding photos. We spent several hours wandering around, sniffling and snuffling with hay fever before heading back to Twins Hotel.
Hissar Complex Twenty somoni note
On Sunday we hired a driver to take us to Hissar, 30-something kilometers from Dushanbe. Hissar has been inhabited since the Stone Age but the fortress gate and walls that are there today are from the 18th and 19th Century and have been renovated since. Lonely Planet doesn't think much of Hissar and recommends saving your money and looking at the picture of the site on the back of the twenty somoni bill. When you consider the $1/km taxi charge they may have a point but we just couldn't pass up the wonderful weather. Once through the picturesque gate you arrive at . . . the other side. It's a bit like one of those towns in Westerns that are just painted facades. Oh, well.
