Tajikistan has

lots to offer every

kind of tourists

around the world.

From its strategic

location in Central

Asia, unique and

beautifully made

tourist spots,

exceptional ethnic

group and to its

interesting language,

who wouldn’t want

to visit such

enthralling country?

Come and let’s

explore the beautiful

land of Tajikistan.

ORIGIN

Tajik, where the

country’s name

originated, was

derived from from

the name of a pre-

Islamic tribe,

perhaps of

Zoroastrian origin,

and means "crown"

or "royalty.” The

official and

vernacular language

of Tajikistan is Tajik

although their

constitution still

mentions that

Russian is still the

official language for

inter-ethnic

communication.

Those who use the

Tajik language are

part of the main

ethnic group of the

country even

supposing that there

is an extensive

splinter group of

Uzbeks and

Russians, whose

numbers are rapidly

declining. Its

language’s unique

characteristic is that

the vocabulary is

very

conservative retainin

g numerous terms

that have long since

fallen into disuse in

Iran and

Afghanistan. Tajik is

currently written in

the Cyrillic alphabet,

although it was

written in both the

Latin alphabet and

the Persian alphabet

in certain parts of its

history.

RELIGION

On the Tajiks’

religion, Islam, the

predominant religion

of all of Central

Asia, was brought to

the region by the

Arabs in the seventh

century. Since then,

Islam has become an

integral part of Tajik

culture. Tajikistan’s

official culture since

2009 is the Hanafi

school of Sunni

Islam (refers to the

sayings and actions

of Muhammad that

are recorded

in hadiths). In fact,

Tajikitan is the only

culture in the former

Soviet state with an

official religion.

Although majority of

the Tajiks adhere to

the Sunni Islam,

smaller groups

belong to the Shia

Islam. The next

religion widely

practiced in the

country is the

Russian Orthodox.

There are also some

small groups of

Christians and

Jewish residing in

the country. The

government

generally gives the

people the right to

practice any religion

of their choice.

CUISINE

Tajiks’ cuisine

is somewhat similar

to that of Uzbek,

Afghanistan, Iran

and Iraq. The

national food and

drink

are plov and green

tea, respectively.

Traditional

Tajikistani meals

begin with small

dishes of dried fruit,

nuts, and halwa,

followed by soup

and meat, before

finishing with plov.

Tea is regularly

served along with

dishes and is often

unsweetened. Tajiks’

culture offers a lot of

varieties in fruits,

vegetables and nuts.

SPORTS

The mountains

in Tajikistan gives

way to a lot of

outdoor sports such

as such as hill

climbing, biking, roc

k

climbing, skiing, hik

ing, and mountain

climbing. Football

too is a popular sport

in Tajikistan. Its

country’s team

competes in

the FIFA and AFC le

agues. Meanwhile,

Literature isn’t given

much attention in

Tajikistan. Although

there are a lot of

notable Tajik

writers, Tajiks’

literature is not much

popular in the world.

On the other hand,

Tajikistan music is

much closely related

to that of other Asian

music forms. The

classical music

is shashmaqam,

which Uzbeks also

developed classical

music of Tajiks and

made their

distinctive own.

No words spoken

or written can be the

judge of the real beauty

and essence of

Tajikistan. The

country, although

small in size, has a

very rich culture. So

come, let’s explore the

beauty and wonder of

Tajikistan, the smallest

country in central Asia.