Tajikistan Cultural Tours

Located high above the mountains of Pamir range, a trip to the smallest country in Central Asia, Tajikistan, should definitely be in your list. Being a Central Asian country, Tajikistan has its own distinct culture just like its neighbors. Tajikistan cultural tours often come as surprise to tourists who don't expect too much and rather come to visit its picturesque lakes, but then are gifted with a unique lifestyle and warminzifatravel.comh and hospitality of the locals.

Culture Of Tajikistan

The culture of Tajikistan as we know it today has developed over a period of several thousand years. Majority of the people in this land are Muslims which make up 90% of the population. Their culture and language has similarities with those of Iran and Afghanistan. Tajiks are ethnically Persian and make up about 65% of the population. You'll find two different cultures of Tajik people, one is metropolitan and other highland or Kuhiston. Metropolitan lifestyle prevails in cities like Dushanbe, Khudjand, and Panjikent, while more stringent and conservative lifestyle is followed in the northern part of the country which is the Fergana Valley. This part is densely populated and separated from the rest of the country by the mountains.

Art is an integral part of Tajik culture. Since the opening of the Great Silk Road, the region has been the home to some of the finest artisans who were really skilled at creating artworks and jewelery making. A strong folk art tradition still remains across the nation and the country produces excellent quality of textiles, embriodery and other decorative items which are exported to Europe and other parts of the world.

The area was inhabited since the 4000 BC by nomadic groups. In the following centuries, it got absorbed into the Achaemenid Empire and was ruled by different empires with their own cultures. However, Zoroastrianism was practised in this region which was adoped by then-Persian emperors as a state religion. It was highly prevalent during the Samanid era but gradually declined. Next came the Greek conquerer Alexander the Great who incorporated the region into his Greeco-Bactrian Empire. Islam was introduced into the region in around 5th Century BC. The Uzbek also had a mark on Tajikistan when the Emirates and Khanates and both Bukhoro and Kokand ruled some portion of the total region. Lately, it was the Soviet Union which ruled the region and during that epoch, the Russians merged Uzbekistan and Tajikistan together into a single entity called Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Tajik SSR. Cities like Bukhoro, Samarkand, Herat, and Balkh which are no longer part of the country played a major role in the development of its culture and the country as a whole.