Dushanbe

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Dushanbe
View of Presidential Palace

Seal
Dushanbe is located in Tajikistan
Dushanbe
Location of Dushanbe in Tajikistan
Coordinates: 38°32′12″N 68°46′48″E / 38.53667°N 68.78000°E / 38.53667; 68.78000Coordinates: 38°32′12″N 68°46′48″E / 38.53667°N 68.78000°E / 38.53667; 68.78000
Country  Tajikistan
Government
 • Mayor Mahmadsaid Ubaydulloyev
Area
 • Total 124.6 km2 (48.1 sq mi)
Elevation 706 m (2,316 ft)
Population (2008)[1]
 • Total 679,400
 • Density Bad rounding here5,500/km2 (Bad rounding here14,000/sq mi)
Time zone GMT (UTC+5)
 • Summer (DST) GMT (UTC+5)
Website www.dushanbe.tj

Dushanbe (Tajik: Душанбе, Dushanbe, Dyushambe until 1929; Stalinabad, Tajik: Сталинобод until 1961), population 679,400 people (2008 est.), is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. Dushanbe means "Monday" in Tajik (Persian language),[2] and the name reflects the fact that the city grew on the site of a village that originally was a popular Monday marketplace.

Contents

History [edit]

See also: Timeline of Dushanbe history

Situated at the confluence of two rivers, Varzob and Kofarnihon, Dushanbe is the capital of Tajikistan. Although archaeological remnants dating to the 5th century BC have been discovered in the area, there is little to suggest that Dushanbe was more than a small village until the early 20th century. In 1920, the last Emir of Bukhara briefly took refuge in Dushanbe (then called Dyushambe) after being overthrown by the Bolshevik revolution. He fled to Afghanistan after the Red Army conquered the area the next year.

Monument of Amir Ismail Samani.

Dushanbe, which means "Monday" in Persian, (فارسی), developed on the site of a Monday marketplace village, Dyushambe-Bozor,[3] and its former name Dyushambe was a Russified version of the word meaning "Monday" in Persian[4] (du-shanbe from du two + shanbe Saturday, lit. "second day after Saturday").

The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic was created in 1929, and following that event the city of Dushanbe developed at a rapid pace.[5]

The city was renamed as Stalinabad between 1931 and 1961.[5]

The Soviets transformed the area into a centre for cotton and silk production, and tens of thousands of people relocated to the city. The population also increased with thousands of Tajiks migrating to Tajikistan following the transfer of Bukhara and Samarkand to the Uzbek SSR.[6]

Severe rioting occurred in February 1990, after it was rumored that Moscow planned to relocate tens of thousands of Armenian refugees to Tajikistan. The Dushanbe riots were primarily fueled by concerns about housing shortages for the Tajik population, but they coincided with a wave of nationalist unrest that swept Transcaucasia and other Central Asian states during the twilight of Gorbachev's era.[7]

Demographics [edit]

Astronaut View of Dushanbe

The population of Dushanbe is about 679,400 and is made up of ethnic Tajiks (c. 83.4%), Uzbeks (9.1%), Russians (5.1%), and other (2.4%).

Population of Dushanbe
Year Population
1926 6,000
1936 83,000
1956 227,000
1971 388,000
1991 582,000
2002 579,000
2006 661,000

Districts [edit]

Districts of Dushanbe

Dushanbe is divided into the following districts:

  1. Avicenna (Tajik: Абӯалӣ ибни Сино, Abūalī ibni Sino)
  2. Ferdowsi (Tajik: Фирдавсӣ, Firdavsī)
  3. Ismail Samani (Tajik: Исмоили Сомонӣ, Ismoili Somonī)
  4. Shah Mansur (Tajik: Шоҳмансур, Shohmansur)

Climate [edit]

Dushanbe features a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa),[8] with some continental climate influences (Köppen: Dsa).[8] The summers are hot and dry and the winters are chilly, but not very cold. The climate is damper than other Central Asian capitals, with an average annual rainfall over 500 millimetres (20 in) as moist air is funnelled by the surrounding valley during the winter and spring. Winters are not as cold as further north owing to the shielding of the city by mountain from extremely cold air from Siberia.

Climate data for Dushanbe
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 21.1
(70)		 22.8
(73)		 27.8
(82)		 32.2
(90)		 37.8
(100)		 40.0
(104)		 42.2
(108)		 40.0
(104)		 37.2
(99)		 32.8
(91)		 25.0
(77)		 20.0
(68)		 42.2
(108)
Average high °C (°F) 9.4
(48.9)		 10.6
(51.1)		 15.6
(60.1)		 20.6
(69.1)		 26.1
(79)		 32.8
(91)		 35.6
(96.1)		 34.4
(93.9)		 30.0
(86)		 23.3
(73.9)		 15.6
(60.1)		 10.6
(51.1)		 22.1
(71.8)
Average low °C (°F) −0.6
(30.9)		 1.7
(35.1)		 5.6
(42.1)		 9.4
(48.9)		 13.3
(55.9)		 17.8
(64)		 19.4
(66.9)		 17.2
(63)		 12.8
(55)		 7.8
(46)		 3.3
(37.9)		 0.6
(33.1)		 9.0
(48.2)
Record low °C (°F) −17.8
(0)		 −13.9
(7)		 −10
(14)		 0.0
(32)		 6.1
(43)		 11.1
(52)		 13.9
(57)		 10.0
(50)		 3.9
(39)		 −2.2
(28)		 −6.1
(21)		 −10
(14)		 −17.8
(0)
Precipitation mm (inches) 66.3
(2.61)		 75.4
(2.969)		 107.5
(4.232)		 105.0
(4.134)		 66.0
(2.598)		 5.5
(0.217)		 3.2
(0.126)		 0.5
(0.02)		 3.1
(0.122)		 30.6
(1.205)		 44.7
(1.76)		 59.8
(2.354)		 567.6
(22.347)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 8.5 9.1 13.4 9.8 7.8 1.5 0.7 0.1 0.8 3.7 5.3 8.1 68.8
Mean monthly sunshine hours 120.9 121.5 155.0 198.0 282.1 336.0 353.4 337.9 288.0 223.2 165.0 117.8 2,698.8
Source: Sistema de Clasificación Bioclimática Mundial[9] Hong Kong Observatory [10]

Economy [edit]

Puppet theatre

Tajik Air has its head office on the grounds of Dushanbe Airport in Dushanbe.[11] Somon Air has its head office in Dushanbe.[12]

Main sights [edit]

The former Dushanbe Synagogue.
Dushanbe government building.

Take a look also on some good pictures of the Dushanbe: Dushanbe - TimeLapse

Education [edit]

Tajik State National University.

A number of educational facilities are based in Dushanbe:

Transport [edit]

The city is served by Dushanbe Airport and the Dushanbe trolleybus system.

Eu 733 0-10-0 in a Park near the main railway station.

Sister cities [edit]

The Palace of Unity (Vahdat Palace).

Dushanbe has 13 twin cities.[5]

See also [edit]

Portal icon Tajikistan portal

References [edit]

  1. ^ Population of the Republic of Tajikistan as of 1 January, State Statistical Committee, Dushanbe, 2008 (Russian)
  2. ^ D. Saimaddinov, S. D. Kholmatova, and S. Karimov, Tajik-Russian Dictionary, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan, Rudaki Institute of Language and Literature, Scientific Center for Persian-Tajik Culture, Dushanbe, 2006.
  3. ^ Dushanbe in Dictionary of Geographic Names (Russian)
  4. ^ Francis Joseph Steingass, A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary, on-line edition
  5. ^ a b c "Regions: Dushanbe & Surroundings". Official Website of the Tourism Authority of Tajikistan. Committee of Youth Affairs, Sports and Tourism. Retrieved 10 May 2013. 
  6. ^ "Dushanbe: History". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 10 May 2013. 
  7. ^ Ethnic rioting in Dushanbe, New York Times, 13 February 1990. Retrieved 18 October 2008
  8. ^ a b Updated Asian map of the Köppen climate classification system
  9. ^ "TAJIKISTAN - DUSHANBE". Centro de Investigaciones Fitosociológicas. Retrieved 10 November 2011. 
  10. ^ "Climatological Normals of Dushanbe". Hong Kong Observatory. Retrieved 10 June 2010. 
  11. ^ "Directory: World Airlines." Flight International. 30 March-5 April 2004. 78. "Titov Street 31/2, Dushanbe Airport, Dushanbe, 734006, Tajikistan."
  12. ^ "Contacts." Somon Air. Retrieved on 4 December 2010. "Contacts: 40, Titova Str. Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 734012." Address in Tajik: "734012, Таджикистан, Душанбе, ул. Титова, 40"[dead link]
This article incorporates information from this version of the equivalent article on the Russian Wikipedia.

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dushanbe

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