{"id":367,"date":"2019-08-07T02:44:33","date_gmt":"2019-08-07T02:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/?p=367"},"modified":"2019-08-07T03:06:40","modified_gmt":"2019-08-07T03:06:40","slug":"tajikistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/index.php\/2019\/08\/07\/tajikistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Tajikistan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2>Tajikistan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>First some <strong>Information<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li> Visa: 45 days Evisa or 30 days visa in the Embassy, 50$ <\/li><li>GBOA Permit: 20$ <\/li><li>24$ Import tax for the car 15 Days, we extended for another 15 days in Khoroug, 15$ <\/li><li>7$ Tax for some \u201cdisinfection\u201d  <\/li><li>Internet is quiet bad and expensive, you can text, but it will be quiet stressful to work online anywhere east of Kulab. Around 10$ for 3GB <\/li><li>Diesel in the Pamir 1$, in the west around 0,80 Cents, LPG is available outside of the mountains. <\/li><li>Currency is TJS (Tajik Somoni), 1\u20ac = 10,58 TJS; USD is widely accepted, 1USD = 9,44 TJS <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3>The country<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You can\nsplit Tajikistan more or less in three parts, the West with the\nCapital Dushanbe, the North with the City Khujand which is cut off\nfrom the rest of the country through the Fan Mountains and the East,\nGorno-Badakshan Autonomous Region (GBOA). GBOA covers almost half of\nthe country, but only around 200 000 People (Tajikistan has around\n9,3 Millions) are living in this complete crazy mountainous Terrain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1DS1MP2xNRwkbZv9kLxKT1ZAVt6Cu9rfO\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>The climate\ncan reach in summer in the Lowland +40\u00b0C and -60\u00b0C in Winter in the\ncoldest town Bulunkul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dushanbe has\nan altitude of 800m, Ak-Baital Pass (the highest point of the Pamir\nHighway) is 4655m high, Pik Ismoil Somoni is with 7495m the highest\nMountain of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The official\nlanguage is Tajik (a dialect of Persian) and of course everyone can\nspeak Russian as well. In the West a lot of people speak Uzbek (which\nis a Turkic language) and in GBOA are many different languages\nspoken. More or less every valley has its own language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is a\nsecular country, but 98% of the population is practicing Islam. So\nyou will see a lot of mosques and also recognize it on the clothing\nof the locals. GBOA is an exception. Most of the people here follow\nIsma\u00b4ilism, a stream of Shia Islam. You will recognize quickly that\nthe people dress much more open and you will find almost no mosque in\nthis area. Instead there are a lot of Shrines next to the road.  \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tajikistan\nwas a part of the Soviet Union and became independent after the fall\nof the UdSSR. Like in many other states, there was a sudden power\nvacuum and different groups tried to get the power. The result was a\nbloody civil war which lasted for 5 year (1992-1997). \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>The Pamirs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>On a clear\nday in Osh you can see mountains around the city in the distance. The\nmountains in the south looking a little bit bigger then the others,\nthe Pamirs, also called \u201cThe Roof of the world\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The next day\nwe will drive south to enter the Pamirs on the M41, the Pamir\nHighway. I heard so many stories about this road. This road is one of\nthe main reason for us to come all the way to Central Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I read articles, saw pictures and videos from people who crossed this mountains. But no one did it with an 1987 Peugeot Mobilehome. I was a little bit nervous to be honest. I knew most of the road will have tarmac, only the passes will be off-road. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what\ndoes it mean? To use a dirt road in 4655m height, will be a challenge\nfor every kind of car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Will our van make it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0657-1024x685.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-368\" width=\"512\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0657-1024x685.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0657-300x201.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0657-768x514.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0657-1200x803.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 85vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>Our Van in 4000 m heigtht.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>We spent 2\nnights at the Peak Lenin Base Camp to get a little bit used to the\naltitude before we crossed the border to Tajikistan at Kyzyl-Art&nbsp;\n Pass in 4282m height.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was our\nfirst challenge, the pass is a dirt road and in parts so step that I\nthought our van with 75 PS will not make it. I constantly steered\nfrom right to the left and back, just to give the tires more way to\nget the height. Luckily the road was not muddy on this day. In some\nparts you could see 50cm deep tracks from cars, giving you an idea\nhow it can get here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/screenshot_Pass-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-369\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/screenshot_Pass-1024x576.png 1024w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/screenshot_Pass-300x169.png 300w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/screenshot_Pass-768x432.png 768w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/screenshot_Pass-1200x675.png 1200w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/screenshot_Pass.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 85vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>The Road up to the Kyzyl-Art Pass<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3>The Border<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A kilometer or so after the pass is a barrier and some huts. It really doens\u00b4t look like, but this is the border crossing to Tajikistan. We waited sometime until a border guard came and opened the gates for us. It was a really new experience on a border for me.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190608_151714-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-370\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190608_151714-1024x768.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190608_151714-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190608_151714-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190608_151714-1200x900.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 85vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>Border checkpoint<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>No computer, no nothing! Just a small hut, a table, 2 soldiers and a big book. Important to mention is that they will check your GBOA permit here. You need it when arriving at the border. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After getting the entry stamp you drive around a big skeleton of a hall, after this you will find the hut of the customs office. They will call you inside, be aware to take off your shoes (yes!!). It was impossible to breath inside, they just turned on the heater and there was absolute no oxygen in this room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They again\nwrote down every number from the passport, visa and car paper. They\nwere actually friendly to us, we were together with an Iranian\nspeaking friend at this border so we could communicate a little with\neach other. We paid around 24$ for 15 days vehicle tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you are\ndone with that, they will send you to another place which called\n\u201edisinfection\u201c. This is just a joke! I read that some people\ndon\u00b4t pay it, but the police insured us that it is official and\nshowed us how they write everything down. In the end is was just 7$\nwhat we had to pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This guys\nreally take their time, luckily we were the only one at the border.\nLater we met with other travelers telling us that they spent 4-5hours\non this border because 5-6 cars came at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Short after\nthe border I realized \u201cWe made it!\u201d This was the Pamirs! The next\ndays we will not get lower then 3900m. \nTo describe\nthe landscape with words will not get anywhere near to the feeling\nthis places gives you. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is a\ndesert like landscape with huge mountains in the horizon, sometimes\nyou drive inside a canyon or along a beautiful lake. But that\u00b4s not\nthe special thing here. It is more the feeling of the remoteness, the\nharsh weather condition, the beauty of the nature gives you a fearful\nfeeling. We met a lot of bicyclist in this area, I have so much\nrespect of their doings. It must multiply all the feelings I got by\n100 being without a engine here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0597-1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-373\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0597-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0597-1-300x169.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0597-1-768x432.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0597-1-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 85vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>No words needed, in the backround a tent of nomads.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190609_115126-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-371\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190609_115126-1024x768.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190609_115126-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190609_115126-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190609_115126-1200x900.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 85vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>Border fence of chinese border.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Another\namazing thing here is that people are living here. Some Nomads living\nin tents, and there ares some towns on the way. We came to this place\nin June and it was most of the time very windy, cold and even snowing\nsometimes. We asked the people how could it gets in Winter. The\nanswer was between -35 and -40\u00b0C is normal, the record was -57\u00b0C in\nBulunkul. It is impossible for me to imagine how people can live\nhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190610_113552-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-374\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190610_113552-1024x768.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190610_113552-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190610_113552-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190610_113552-1200x900.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 85vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>Market in Murghab, the biggest town on top of the Pamirs.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190610_175753-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-375\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190610_175753-1024x768.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190610_175753-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190610_175753-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190610_175753-1200x900.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 85vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>People in the east of the Pamirs are Kyrgyz.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Once being\non that road I forgot my worries about the car, it was fine! The road\nis in some places in very bad condition and you only can drive very\nslow. But that\u00b4s fine, you will have more time to enjoy the\nlandscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But for sure\nhaving a 4&#215;4 wheel drive in the Pamir will open you more ways, there\nis for example the Zorkylsky Nature Refuge on the Afghan Border to\nwhich we could not go because of our car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>The Wakhan Valley<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Near\nBulunkul is the turn into the Wakhan Valley, a 300km dirt road along\nthe Wakhan river, which is the border to Afghanistan. This should be\nour next challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We didn\u00b4t\nknow much about the road conditions, only that it is off road and has\na pass over 4000m. We asked many as possible people traveling the\nroad in the other direction. Most of them on a motorbike, some in a\nrented 4&#215;4 with a driver. The opinions raged from \u201cYes\u201d to\n\u201cImpossible!\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a\nfew things Duygu and me are 100% the same, if ten people say \u201cno,\nit is impossible for you.\u201d We will not listen to them and refer to\nthe 1 person who said, \u201cyou can try.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we took\nthe turn my pulse was again high! We knew that if we get stocked, we\ncan just wait until a jeep is passing by. We are at home and have\nfood for another week. So no worries. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There was a motorbike crew just coming out of this road, stopping us and telling us not to drive in this road. It will be impossible for us. We said, \u201cwell we will try!\u201d And we did it! First the road is winding up to a pass with over 4000m. It had some tricky passages, but all in all it was easier then the pass on the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0662-1024x685.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-376\" width=\"512\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0662-1024x685.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0662-300x201.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0662-768x514.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0662-1200x803.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 85vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>The Pass to the Wakhan Valley<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>We reached\nthe top, knowing this was one of the key situation on this road.\nUnfortunately is was windy and snowy, so we just stopped for Wallace.\nAfter she was running around for 10 minutes we continued the small\nroad going down towards Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We passed a\nfew small lakes, houses, sheeps and shepherds. Shortly after the pass\nyou will meet a river, just 20-30m on the other side of the river is\nAfghanistan. A very special moment for us as well. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You will\npass a military checkpoint. You will find checkpoints all over the\nPamir Highway and here in the Wakhan Valley is a high presence of\nsoldiers patrolling the border. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190611_163836-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-378\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190611_163836-1024x768.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190611_163836-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190611_163836-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190611_163836-1200x900.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 85vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>One of many checkpoints in GBOA.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>On the\ncheckpoints they just check your papers and write down the details.\nAll the soldiers are very friendly, but be careful if camping near\nthe border river. We did it a lot of times and two times soldiers\ncame and told us to go. \nVery\nfriendly, but it is annoying if you have to find a new place in the\ndark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until Langar\nthere are no villages on the way, just some shelters here and there\nfor the animals. \nThe road is\ngoing all the way along the river, sometimes on the same level, other\ntimes the river is 50m down off the road. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190611_170753-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-377\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190611_170753-1024x768.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190611_170753-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190611_170753-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190611_170753-1200x900.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 85vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>The road down to the Wakhan Valley.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Just before\nLangar the road is going down, it is a very step part. I guess we\nwould have had problems at this part coming up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From here\nyou will have this typical picture of the Wakhan Valley. Big, dry\nmountains the peaks covered in snow, a big river in between with\ngreen green trees, fields and small brown houses. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It feels\nlike a small Oasis after the harsh mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0015-1024x685.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-379\" width=\"512\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0015-1024x685.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0015-300x201.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0015-768x514.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0015-1200x803.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 85vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>This is the green Wakhan Valley, the mountains in the back are in Afghanistan.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The road\nbetween Langar and Khorough passes many small and very beautiful\nvillages. You can find some museums, old fortresses, hot springs and\neven a Buddhist Stuppa in this villages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it is\nmostly just a place to spent your time! We stopped in some villages,\ntaking a walk to a fortress or hot springs. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is a very\nback to basic lifestyle. The houses made out of wood and mud creates\na kind of complex with small fields around. All the irrigation of the\nfields are made with small channels. It is a huge system in which\nthey are open different arms to water different fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The people\nare happy to see people who are passing through, especially the kids\nare very curious and inviting you to play volleyball or soccer with\nthem, so they practice their English with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0023-1024x685.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-380\" width=\"512\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0023-1024x685.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0023-300x201.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0023-768x514.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0023-1200x803.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 85vw, 512px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>All the time\nyou can also see the villages on the Afghan side, sometimes they are\nvery near and you can observe the life over there. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While you\nwill find a lot of cars and small tracks on the Tajik side, you will\nsee more donkeys, camels and motorbike on the Afghan side. As well as\nalso some blue Burkas. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0691-1024x685.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-381\" width=\"512\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0691-1024x685.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0691-300x201.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0691-768x514.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0691-1200x803.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 85vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>A group of camels on the Afghan side.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3>Isma\u00b4ilism<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The religion\nin the Wakhan Valley (like most of  Badakshan) is  Isma\u00b4ilism, it is\na more mystic and spiritual stream of the Shia. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can say\nit is more open, women are not covering their hair, you don\u00b4t find\nto many mosques in this area instead you can find shrines with goat\nskulls. The center of the religion is Ali, the son in law of Mohammed\nwho symbolizes like in Alivata believing equality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nspiritual leader of the Ismailis is Aga Khan, he is one the 10\nrichest person in the world and is supporting the Ismaili Community\nwith several 100 million Dollars every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You don\u00b4t\nrealize to much in the Valley, but once you come to Khorough, the\ncapital of the region, you will find the best University in Central\nAsia, a very good hospital, the small mountain town seems to have\ngood live standard and most of the people speak English, because they\nwent to the Aga Khan University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190614_183238-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-382\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190614_183238-1024x768.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190614_183238-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190614_183238-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_20190614_183238-1200x900.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 85vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption>A shrine next to the road.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Different\nsources told me that the people in Badakshan could not survive\nwithout the financial support of the Aga Khan foundation. It is also\na very interesting experience to see how the people live. On one side\nyou see all the traditions in a small agricultural model, meeting a\nvery modern educational and medical center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you add\nsome financial support and very affordable access to education and\nmedical help it creates are very harmonic picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I say\npicture, because it looked like that to me. Duygu wanted to join one\nof their prayer meetings but was not allowed to enter the building\nwhile they are praying, we saw that they have a high security alert,\ncontrolling all the people who enter the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I hope they\ncan keep their harmony and progress in this area. It was good to see\nit and gave me hope for the rest of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>The road to Dushanbe<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We spent\nmost of our time in Badakshan, driving from Khorough to Dushanbe took\nus three days (~500km), because the road is very small, bad and\nbeautiful \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0013-1024x594.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-383\" width=\"512\" height=\"297\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0013-1024x594.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0013-300x174.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0013-768x445.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/DSC_0013-1200x696.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 85vw, 512px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>There are\nseveral interesting places south of Dushanbe, like springs,\nfortresses and mausoleums, but with temperatures near 40\u00b0C and\ngetting near the end of our Visa we decided to skip this area and\ndrive to Dushanbe, do some shopping, have a pizza and a beer and\ncontinue north into the Fan Mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This mountains are connected to the Pamir and separating Khujand from the rest of the country. You will pass through the \u201cTunnel of death\u201d or also called Ansob Tunnel. It is a 5400 m long tunnel which was notorious because of no light, no tarmac, a lot of water and it had several constructions inside. Nowadays it is still scary but not as dangerous as it was.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Fan\nmountains offers a lot of things for people who like nature, 7 lakes,\nIskanderkul or Kulikaton lake are the most popular ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because of our time left on the visa we just went to Iskanderkul for cooling down after the heat in Dushanbe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tajikistan First some Information: Visa: 45 days Evisa or 30 days visa in the Embassy, 50$ GBOA Permit: 20$ 24$ Import tax for the car 15 Days, we extended for another 15 days in Khoroug, 15$ 7$ Tax for some \u201cdisinfection\u201d Internet is quiet bad and expensive, you can text, but it will be quiet &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/index.php\/2019\/08\/07\/tajikistan\/\" class=\"more-link\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">&#8222;Tajikistan&#8220; <\/span>weiterlesen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[43,110],"tags":[115,59,60,56,111,107,112,9,114,11],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paMWFm-5V","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":392,"href":"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367\/revisions\/392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rockandrollcaravancafe.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}