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Eating Our Way Through Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Dushanbe, Tajikistan was still decked out in lights and new coats of paint from the CIS Summit when we arrived mid-October 2007. Our few days there focused around - you guessed it - food, including a search for Indian restaurants, markets, and local specialties.

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Friendship in Lights

Nicknamed the Soviet Union Reunification Summit, the CIS Summit gave Dushanbe, Tajikistan a reason to get all decked out. Although we arrived in Dushanbe about a week after the summit ended, we still got to experience the hype - advertisements, billboards, and flags adorned the streets. To boot, all the buildings on the main street of town received a new coat of paint. We fortunately did not have to endure the random police checks that occurred during the summit.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

I See Outrageous Amounts of Bureaucracy in Your Future!

Lenin still stands in Dushanbe's Bagh-i-Markazi park, otherwise known as Lenin Park to locals.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

New Coat of Paint

All the buildings along Dushanbe's main street - Rudaki - received a new coat of paint before the CIS summit in early October 2007.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

Reminiscent of the Silk Road

The Haji Yakoub Mosque's architecture and design are similar to many of the sites we took in along the Silk Road in Uzbekistan. Mention the Silk Road cities to a Tajik, and he will ensure that you understand that even though the cities are technically incorporated into Uzbekistan, they were historically Tajik cities and belong to Tajikistan. Many ethnic Tajiks still live in Uzbek cities like Bukhara and Samarkand.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

A Voice from Above?

Haji Yakoub Mosque in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

Wall of Tajik Greats

The facade of the Writers' Union Building in Dushanbe is chock-full of Tajikistan's great writers, showing Tajikistan's place in the Persian literary pantheon.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

Taksophone to the Rescue

While all the public telephones in Dushanbe seemed gutted, some entrepreneurs have taken to hooking up their own telephones to the booth and charging people for the use. We haven't figured out how the telephone company bills these entrepreneurs.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

A Trio of Indian Tastes, Dushanbe

Our few days in Dushanbe, Tajikistan seemed to revolve around the search for Indian food. We sampled three different Indian restaurants in three days. This tasty and colorful combination of eggplant, dal, and chutney can be found at Delhi Darbar. Recommended.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

A Hat for the Ages

Dushanbe's streets were filled with young people dressed in suits and formal school attire and older men dressed in these hats.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

Bountiful Harvest

Early October is tomato time in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.Taken at the Varzob Bazaar.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

Lurking Behind Her Loaves

At first, this bread girl at the Varzob Bazaar hid behind her pile of loaves when the camera came out.Within a few minutes, she gained her confidence and turned into a ham. Amazing what a few smiles and encouragement can do. Taken in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.Dig deeper into Central Asian Cuisine and find out the best and worst of food and markets in the Caucasus and Central Asia.  

Bread Girls Unite!

These girls put their competing bread stands aside and joined together for a group photo at Varzob Bazaar in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

Varzob Expressions

We were amazed by the variety of faces at the Varzob Bazaar in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

Years of Experience

From the look in her eyes, this vendor must have seen so much during her life in the Soviet Union and independent Tajikistan.Taken at Varzob Bazaar in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

Perfect Start to Arrabiata

Peppers and tomatoes, the foundations for a perfect arrabiata sauce...if only we had access to a kitchen. Taken at the Varzob Bazaar in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.Dig deeper into Central Asian Cuisine and find out the best and worst of food and markets in the Caucasus and Central Asia.  

A Warm Smile

Taken at Varzob Bazaar in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

Charcoal Brows

Creating a unibrow with eyeliner or charcoal is popular in the Dushanbe market scene, much to the dismay of eyebrow waxers.Taken at Shah Mansur Bazaar in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.Dig deeper into Central Asian Cuisine and find out the best and worst of food and markets in the Caucasus and Central Asia. arket.com  

Radish Mountain

An impressive pile of radishes plays off the surrounding greens at the Shah Mansur Bazaar in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

Holding Court at the Market

Taken at the Shah Mansur Bazaar in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Dig deeper into Central Asian Cuisine and find out the best and worst of food and markets in the Caucasus and Central Asia.  

Gloom 'n Broom

Things go a little slow for this broom vendor at the Shah Mansur Bazaar (Green Market) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

Market Soup

Our guidebook referred to several chickpea specialties that could be found in Tajikistan (in particular, Dushanbe).We searched high and low, but they evaded us.Instead, we discovered this bean soup, gandush kuga, instead. Not quite as flavorful as Mexican bean soup, but not bad with all the fresh herbs on top.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

Lunch Break

Several men take a break for soup and tea at Shah Mansur Bazaar (Green Market) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

Imagining Apple Crisp

This beautiful pile of apples looks like the perfect ingredients for a large dish of apple crisp. Taken at the Shah Mansur Bazaar in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.© www.uncorneredmarket.com  

Alley Kids

Taken in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.© www.uncorneredmarket.com