Anniversary dinner out on the first day of Ramadan

It's the first day of Ramadan. Some (but not all) cafes, food kiosks, ice cream and soda vendors have closed shop during the day. (I wonder how they can survive if they're not working for a month.) The meal to break the fast can be eaten after 7:40 pm.

We haven't eaten out much in Dushanbe and we thought it would nice to celebrate our anniversary with dinner in a nice restaurant. But where to go, given it's Ramadan here? 

We chose to walk a block to the Tajikistan Hotel where we'd heard (no big signs anywhere) there was a Chinese restaurant. When we got there at 6:15 (walking through a cavernous empty lobby), sure enough, the smell of garlic greeted us. The restaurant was already half-filled, mostly with Chinese patrons. There was an extensive menu (the kind where English translations are not very idiomatic, such as "welded vegetables" (mixed?) and "saliva chicken" (mouth-watering?)). The Tajik wait staff were knowledgeable. The Chinese hostess said the chef was from Xinjiang. We got three dishes--green beans, eggplant, and beef.

The authentic (i.e., oily and flavorful) taste took me back to days in China. The rest of the experience was unique. Coming into one ear was a TV station playing a Russian channel and into the other ear was a table full of men speaking Mandarin; in between were the wait staff speaking Tajik. We threw a few English words in for good measure.

Somehow, it was a perfect celebration of our 34 years together!

Empires and influence

Tajikistan used to be part of the Soviet Union, and there's a lot of Russian influence here. I teach at a branch of Moscow State University. I see and hear the Russian language a lot in my circles here in Dushanbe. People watch Russian TV. When the Russian economy booms, there are jobs there which draw Tajiks north. Russia is considered a good ally.

Front entrance of Moscow State University (Lomonsov), Dushanbe branch

A Russian-Tajik school

But there are also signs that the old Soviet empire is no more. Soviet memorabilia is something for souvenir stores. Statues of the old heroes are only found in out-of-the-way locations.

Souvenir shop on Rudaki Blvd.

Lenin statue on the campus of a technical institute in Panjakent

The new influence is from the east: China. Signs of China's investment in Tajikistan, part of the New Silk Road initiative as well as a focus on border security, are quite visible. (Or maybe I'm just paying attention to these signs because of my two years in China and interest in the country.) They range from the small:

Chinese-made goods in the so-called "China Bazaar," Dushanbe

to the very significant:

Big new road project in the middle of Dushanbe. Many new roads in Tajikistan are Chinese-built.

Construction near our apartment in the center of Dushanbe (new state theater?)

Some seem a bit quaint now:

"Tajik China Friendship Bus"

Others represent the current sophisticated reach of the Chinese brand:

A Li-Ning store in Dushanbe's new shopping mall (it's like a Chinese Nike)

"Palace of China-Tajik Friendship"

I've also met people who teach Chinese at the Confucius Institute as well as people studying there.

And what of the U.S.? Well, my presence here is part of the U.S. State Department's goal, through the Fulbright program, of "advancing mutual understanding."

Teacher workshop at the Kulob American Corner

The American Corners and Education USA rooms here are very popular.

Education USA room in the Dushanbe American Corner

According to embassy social media posts and website documents, the U.S. cares about and invests in border security, reducing narcotics trafficking, disaster preparedness, USAID projects in agriculture and clean water, women in sports, freedom of the press, etc.  For what it's worth, I think our ambassador here is wonderful.

This post wouldn't be complete without talking about the empires of the past which are being used to shape Tajik identity today. Scythia, Sogdiana, Persia, Sassanid, and Samanid were all empires that ruled this part of the world in the past. The Emir of the Samanid empire (892-907), Ismail ibn Ahmad, in particular, has been appropriated as a worthy ancestor of Tajiks. He's known here as Ismoil Somoni.

Ismoil Somoni statue, Rudaki Park

From the same era, they have claimed the Persian poet Rudaki (858-941) as the father of their literary traditions.

Empires come and go, don't they? Hoping to see "what remains forever" have an influence in Tajikistan as well.

Contrast #3 - fathers, children, old age

Tajiks say that honoring and taking care of one's parents is an important value. This photo represents that ideal.

April 2017, near Xitoi Bazaar

But apparently not everyone has family to support them in their old age:

April 2017, near Sadbarg

I wonder about these young fathers. Will their children grow up believing that since their parents cared for them when they were young, they should care for their parents when they get old?

Navruz holiday, March 2017, Rudaki Park

P.S. An expert in Tajik culture just told me that I've misinterpreted the second picture. Even if an old Tajik man had no children, the extended family would take care of him and he would never go begging. Beggars are from another ethnic group, Roma or gypsies, who consider begging to be their profession.

Contrast #2 - soap

Today's contrast is about soap--but that's just one of many kinds of consumer goods. The new supermarkets have lots of imported goods (which make our lives as expats easier and which rich Tajiks enjoy).

But many ordinary Tajiks wouldn't dream of paying 75 cents or a dollar for a bar of soap.

Instead, they get a bar of unwrapped cheap soap in the bazaar for three cents.

Who can afford what here?

 P.S. An expert in Tajik culture told me that the yellow and brown unwrapped soap is for laundry or carpets, not personal bathing. I should have chosen for my contrast photo packaged laundry soap not western brands of personal bar soap.

My latest teaching

I haven't always been thinking of photos in the last few weeks of work. But one of the students who faithfully attends my Saturday workshops for teachers at the American Corner, Anvar, has been taking pictures and sending them to me. So, here are a few for you to enjoy:

From my session on Critical Thinking

From my session on How to Improve your English

From my session on How to Improve your English. You might be able to make out in the slide behind me the illustration of an ant pushing a rock up a hill. Yes, learning a language is hard work!

From my session on How to Improve your English. I think I must be telling them a crazy story about my attempts to revive the Russian I studied in college.

One picture I took was from a class taught by a colleague at MGU. She was starting a unit on sustainable tourism with her International Relations majors and asked me to give them my perspective as someone who had recently done a three-day trip to Panjakent and Seven Lakes as a tourist.

These young people are eager to promote the Tajik brand. I'm happy to join them.

(Besides being positive about their friendly and beautiful country, I did tell them that if any of them are interested in infrastructure improvements such as clean drinking water, more paved roads with avalanche protection, and better internet, or in political issues such as more open borders with Uzbekistan--that would also help tourism.)

Contrast #1

As in every place, there are some interesting contrasts in Dushanbe. I'll try to post about them periodically.

School girls in uniform, Dushanbe, April

Young women window-shopping on Rudaki Blvd, Dushanbe, April

Older women returning home after doing market shopping, Tursonzoda Blvd, Dushanbe, May

Tajik fabric: atlas and adras

I've always loved fabric design (thanks, Mom, for inspiring tie dye, batik, and more!). Here in Tajikistan, one can't help notice the great fabrics women wear:

In the U.S. we may know the fabric as "ikat" (which is an Indonesian term). Here in Tajikistan, it's called "atlas" if it's made of silk and "adras" if there's cotton in the weave.

Traditionally, it's handwoven on a narrow loom, as I got to see in this demonstration at a craft fair at the Ismaili Center in Dushanbe this weekend:

That makes it relatively expensive, so many people wear atlas print fabrics:

I got some adras at the craft fair I mentioned:

Now the decision is what to have made with it. What looks good on a tall, slender, Tajik woman might not on me! :-)

P.S. in case you're interested in Central Asian designers working with this type of fabric see:
https://www.bibihanum.com/
https://www.salomat-ikat.com/

City beautification

There seem to be a lot of remodeling and beautification efforts in Dushanbe (at least in the center where we live):

Remodel of the shops in the underpass near TSUM.

Shop remodel at Rudaki & Ismali Somoni Blvds

Repainting a classic building on  Shotemur St

Redoing sidewalk tile on Shotemur

Some of the many women who plant flowers in the city's parks and sidewalk strips

Kind of exciting! Thinking a bit more about it, I wonder if this typical for spring/summer here. Or perhaps it's a particular effort of Dushanbe's mayor, Rustam Emomali, the 29-year old son of the president, appointed by his father. (I suppose if one doesn't have much experience governing, it could be tempting to set forth decrees about beautifying the city with fresh signs, paint jobs, and tile work. That's also easier and more visible than projects like clean drinking water.) I'm sorry I don't know Tajik and am unable to read anything that might discuss the origin, economics, and goals of these efforts.

Speaking of beautification, there's a tradition called "subbotnik" here, a legacy of the Soviet Union. Workplaces ask their employees to come in on Saturday or Sunday and do service such as cleaning up the campus. Schools can also ask this of students.

Students in February painting their school fence

A colleague at the university was quite peeved that after working six days a week, faculty and staff were being asked to come in on Sunday for "subbotnik." "The new mayor has asked for three straight months of this! We already have gardening and cleaning staff whose jobs it is to do these tasks we waste our time on."

Regardless of whether an area has been targeted for a new paint job or is its squalid old self, I want to choose to see what is beautiful--sometimes as obvious as these flowers, but other times, requiring eyes that see the heart.

Old communal hot water pipes...and early May irises

Our courtyard apartment...roses in mid-May

More signs of summer

Besides the temps in the high 80s and the 90's, here are some more signs of summer in Dushanbe:

The markets are full of apricots and I made cobbler to share with some friends for dinner:

People in Dushanbe are eating lots of ice cream (яхмос):

Softserve on Rudaki Blvd

Highschoolers in our apartment courtyard

A mom gives in. Rudaki/Flagpole Park.

The roses are in bloom:

Rudaki/Flagpole Park. I'm guessing these are sisters with their brother.

Rudaki/Flagpole Park

Rudaki/Flagpole Park. Get the little brother to take a family photo.

The  green and gray building in background is one of the first "malls" in the city and a landmark for transit. садбарг means "rose." (The statue is of Ayni (1878-1954), considered the father of Tajik arts and letters.)

 Paddleboating seems like a good idea:

Rudaki/Flagpole Park

Rudaki/Flagpole Park

And we are grateful for the city's fountains (and the country's plentiful supply of water--though one should never take such a thing for granted):

Rudaki/Flagpole Park