This mountainous land is the smallest country in Central Asia but is the traditional on ramp to the Silk Road from China. Three primary caravan routes ran through Tajikistan’s Tien-Shan and Pamir mountain ranges. Only around 7% of the land is arable, nearly all of in the fertile Fergana Valley in the north, which produces the major agricultural crop, cotton, which, along with aluminum, are country’s major exports. Tajikistan’s capital and largest city is Dushanbe, modern and European styled, with broad tree-lined boulevards and a spectacular backdrop of snow capped mountain peaks. The city features numerous squares and monuments commemorating the Persian influences of the past and its surroundings contain many recreational areas, mountain parks and gorges, one with a 100 foot waterfall.

The National Museum of Archaeology contains the 1600 year old ‘Tajik Buddha,’ now thought to be the largest statue of its kind in Central Asia. The museum also houses displays of Zoroastrian and Buddhist artifacts. Khujand is the country’s second largest city and an ancient Silk Road trade center. Located at the entrance to the fertile Fergana Valley, Khujand is cited as the easternmost city established by Alexander the Great. As such, it has a rich history and many preserved architectural and cultural sites. It also happens to be a popular mountaineering center in a country where half the land lies higher than 9,000 feet above sea level and which has a number of peaks taller than 20,000 feet.

Near to the border with Uzbekistan is Penjikent, which lay on the only route from the East to Samarkand and flourished from the 5th Century. Arabs destroyed the city in the 8th Century and the ruins were discovered in the last hundred years. Today, the excavation site has been turned into a memorial reserve where tourists can visit a medieval citadel, palace, public buildings, dwellings and a necropolis. Midway between Penjikent and Dushanbe lies the emerald gem Iskander Kul (lake). The lake is at an elevation of 7,000 among the 4,000 plus peaks of the Fan mountains, which contain many other hiking, fishing or skiing spots for Dushanbe’s residents.

Starting with the most popularized instruments: Tar and kemanche from Central Asia that are very well made and have excellent sound. These instruments, although not from Iran but from the countries just North of the Iranian border, are ideal for Persian music. The Kemane is a spike fiddle but unlike our Turkish spike fiddle which has a gourd body with a skin head these have a body made of strips of staved wood, and are heavier constructed and even feature a leg rest with swivel base- you don’t change the bow angle to change strings but rather turn the whole instrument. The tone is comparable to Persian kemanche, and for all purposes is the same instrument, which is identical to those used in Armenia.

The tar are Central Asian style with the additional side strings, but just like Iranian tar have the skin head, 3 pairs of main strings of metal and waisted body carved from wood. These tar are shaped very much like Iranian tar from last century, with the curves of the upper skin being more wide and rounded than those of the last 50 years. These are the most robust tar we have been able to offer; they even have a neck reinforcement rod for added strength. They vary quite a bit in ornamentation, with some being austerely plain in the manner of Iranian tar, and others having inlaid patterns more in the Uzbeki and Azerbaijani style.

Several countries use the tar as one of the most important art instruments, including Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Tajikistan, and of course Iran; even the Herat region of Afghanistan had the chartar, although it was much rarer than the dutar and rebab and tambur. For many years it’s been difficult to get instruments from this part of the world, and we are fortunate to have a supply of these once rare items from a part of the world that is too little known, particularly its rich musical heritage. For centuries this was the Silk road, the caravan trail from the Middle East to China, and along with silk, spices, jewels, precious metals, etc., musical instruments were carried from place to place.

Many cities along the Silk road, like Samarkand and Bukhara, were known for their great musical cultures, often mixing musical elements from different regions into a rich fusion. Political upheavals of the last century and geographic isolation have kept Central Asia from the mainstream of the world music revival, but things are changing now as the treasures of this part of the world become better known.