Sights in Dushanbe
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A
Bekhzod National Museum
The Bekhzod National Museum, on a commanding site on Maydani Ayni, includes standard exhibits on natural history, art, ethnography and archaeology, but little English text. There are a few gems among the filler, including a lovely minbar (mosque pulpit) and mihrab (niche marking the direction of Mecca) from Istaravshan and a fine painting of Lenin meeting oppressed women of the world in Moscow's Red Square.
There's a chilling reconstruction of a zindan (jail) on the 2nd floor. The top floor is given over to a Soviet/presidential collection - look for the alabaster carvings in the stairwell.
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B
Museum of National Antiquities
The Museum of National Antiquities is the best in the country, focusing on the Greco-Bactrian sites of Takht-i-Sangin (including a small ivory image of Alexander the Great) and Kobadiyan, plus original Sogdian murals from Penjikent and a 6th-century scabbard and hilt in the shape of a griffin. The highlight is the 13m-long sleeping Buddha of Adjina-Tepe (Witches Hill), excavated in 1966.
It dates from the Kushan era, 1500 years ago, and was recently revealed as the largest Buddha figure in Central Asia. Photos aren't allowed. You must put on plastic booties before entering.
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C
Museum of Musical Instruments
The Museum of Musical Instruments is also known as the Gurminj Museum after the owner, Badakhshani actor Gurminj Zavkybekov. There are lots of antique instruments, including a gijak (fiddle), doira (tambourine/drum) and rubab (six-stringed mandolin), plus old photos and memorabilia. Ask about upcoming musical concerts. The museum is hidden across from the mosaic of justice and next to a district court.
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Barakat Bazaar
While not particularly exotic or Eastern in flavour, the large, covered Barakat Bazaar is the centre of commercial activity in Dushanbe. Pick up an embroidered tupi (skullcap) for US$3, or a chapan (cloak) for around US$8. You'll also find plenty of sequined, gold-stitched trousers and colourful dresses. It's north of the Hotel Tajikistan.
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D
Haji Yakoub Mosque and Medressa
With its crescent-topped minaret and burnished golden dome, the Haji Yakoub mosque and medressa, just west of the Hotel Avesto, is one of the few visible manifestations of Islam in Dushanbe. The mosque is named after Haji Yakoub, a Tajik religious leader who fled to Afghanistan. Women are only allowed in the courtyard.
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E
Statue of Ismail Samani
Dushanbe's most visible monument to nation-building is the rather kitsch Statue of Ismail Samani, the 10th-century Samanid ruler, occupying prime place on Maydani Azadi (Freedom Square). The monument replaced a much smaller statue of Lenin, which now stands in the Bagh-i-Markazi (Central Park).
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F
Writers' Union Building
Tajikistan's Persian past is invoked in the façade of the Writers' Union Building. It's adorned like a medieval cathedral with saintly, sculpted-stone figures of Sadruddin Ayni, Omar Khayam, Firdausi and other writers from the Persian pantheon.
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