Yaghnob Valley Tourism
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We are developing a homestay and tourism network in the Yaghnob valley.
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The Yaghnobi
To understand the history of the Yaghnobi you have to go back to the ancient Sogdian kingdom. On the eastern edges of the Persian empire, this ancient people group were great city builders. Founding the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Panjekent to name a few, they developed a thriving civilization built on trade. They weathered the invasion of Alexander the Great and the establishment of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. In the early 700s Samarkand and the other Sogdian strongholds fell to the Muslim armies. The majority of Sogdians were Zoroastrian with minority groups of Nestorian Christian, Buddhist, and Manichean. Many of the Zoroastrian majority fled into the mountains of the heartland that is now the Sugd oblast of Tajikistan. Most were found, but those living on the Yaghnob river high in the valley were not. Over time they converted to Islam, but continued to live on the river and in the valley.
In the 1900s the Soviet Union came, but had little control until at least the 1950s. In 1970 the 3000 some Yaghnobi living in the valley were removed at gunpoint by helicopter to work in the cotton fields. This lead to a time of disruption as they tried to return and their homes were destroyed by the army. During perestroika they were allowed to return, but only a handful have, with most opting to remain in a couple of enclaves in the cities of Dushanbe and Zafarabad.
Today the valley population numbers in the low 400s. Life is hard, but they are a proud people with thousands of years of history. They work hard, grow potatoes, and have even built mini-hydroelectric generators to power their villages. A visit to this incredible place and people involves a 150km drive from Dushanbe (the last 50km is rough gravel) during the 4-6 months that the road is passable. After reaching the school house you can walk to some of the surrounding settlements and spend the night either at the school or in one of the more primitive homestays. It’s worth it to hear their stories first hand!
