Khorog at last.
on Pam Kerruish (Tajikistan), 11/Apr/2010 06:24, 34 days ago
Firstly, I should tell you that I have deleted my old blogs in case they cause offence;I will try to be more circumspect now -but I daresay I'll get carried away from time to time. Anyway, no worries with this week as I had a great time in Khorog - but I'm cross as my internet didn't work there so I couldn't keep up to date . I thought it was because of the mountains that I couldn't get a signal but I've since found out that I couldn't get a signal when I got back to Dushanbe either. On enquiring I've found that , despite paying my April fee to the server ,Babilon, before I went,I owed them 176somonis! ( a lot! ) Why they didn't tell me that when I paid up for April before I left heaven only knows. It seems they let you run up a bill in one month and then cut you off at the beginning of the next month - but let you pay the charge for it anyway.I'll just have to keep a better eye on it.I finally left for Khorog on Thursday 1st April.I went in a posh GTZ vehicle belonging to a German charity . I was with Eva and Bastiaan - the Dutch couple and a Tajik lady. We had a fast ( 13hours )drive( driver!) down with no need to stop at the checkpoints as it was an approved NGO 4WD with special identifying number plates. However the road was "challenging" ( VSOspeak) as you will see.An interesting Bridge-and right , a bit they call the "car wash" as the road used to run directly under the waterfall.This bit gets flooded and lots of vehicles get stuck here at times. I think they just wait til the water level drops again.An additional hazard is that , as the roads are pot-holed and slidey the drivers drive on both sides - without any thought of on-coming traffic coming over the hill!I found that the most scary thing of all.We were travelling along the Afghan border for a lot of the way. It was visibly poorer than Tajikistan but otherwise similar.Afghanistan.Anyway having got there safely I had a welcoming committee at NUR , the charity for disabled children I was going to.They run a day centre but want to offer a service to house- bound children.I stayed in the flat Lisa ( VSO volunteer who has gone back to Canada )had had which was big and reasonably comfortable but cold except for the bedroom . Fortunately that was big enough to live in for the week. Khorog was a mix of the Cumbrian Lakes ( lots of stone built houses - they are mud brick up here) and "Northern Exposure." It had a nice feel to it though and although it is pretty run down and evidently poor I liked it. The hero there is the Agha Khan - leader of the Ismaili religion who more or less saved them from being wiped out in the Civil War as at that time they were cut off from the rest of Tajikistan.He had survival rations brought in from China , I understand. That explains in part why the Pamiris dont like to be called Tajiks. They regard themselves as better educated, more go -ahead and more open than the rest of Tajikistan-with good cause. The adulation of the Agha Khan gives rise to some tension between him and the President's followers. There are a lot of welcome messages written on the mountains in white stone for the Agha Khan. One was "Welcome our Iman " with a crown , and the government made the Pamiris take the crown off it.Anyway I worked on Friday and Saturday doing a training on "practical social work for home based disabled children " which I think was reasonable successful . They thought social work was giving people cups of tea and a rest and being nice.It was notable that Dr Khamal, the director of the NGO attended this training and was very attentive and interested . ( not an experience I've had before in Tajikistan. ) After I had finished on Saturday I went to the Afghan market with Naneesh,my interpreter. The Afghans are allowed across the bridge each Saturday to sell their stuff. The soldiers stop unauthorised people such as ourselves from crossing the bridge into Afghanistan.Naneesh, my interpreter with the Afghan bridge-and Afghanistan, behind her. There are little groups of Tajik soldiers straggling along all along the BorderNot many and very young. I wouldn't fancy their chances against Ossama Bin Laden.( especially as they say their guns have no bullets in.)I had Sunday off and by now had caught up with the young German couple I'd met in the Uzbek embassy in Dushanbe,Julian and Christina ( in Khorog on their way to Murghab and Osh)and so we arranged to meet to go to the Botanical Garden ( 2nd highest in the world apparently.)[I've just phoned them as I've just remembered that Osh is in Khyrgystan and they told me that they had to come back to Dushanbe because of the unrest there. They came back in one go - 30 +hours -poor things.]Anyway, back to the sheep! ( as they say in New Zealand). We were at the entrance and paying when a man came by in a car and said we shouldn't pay. He and the person issuing the tickets began a real row as we stood helplessly by. Then a nice guy called Anvar came past pushing his 8month baby and asked us for dinner. We declined but said we'd go for a cup of tea after our walk .The botanical garden was rather wintry but potentially beautiful ( and big! )and the visit to the family lovely.By the way, we paid in the end.Christina and Julian. In Anvar's house with Chistina and Julian.Anvar is a computer expert but can speak Tajik, Uzbeck,Russian , Turkish , English and is learning Spanish and French.I found that Khorog has an "American Corner " ( where America promotes English language and things American )and got a nice welcome there - and was suprised that ,in keeping with the lakes feel to the place, that John Ruskin was quoted on the wall outside. Dont know if this was American Corner or some other tenants of the building . I suspect the latter. Anyway I didn't agree with him. Strange though to be written in English lettering ....My interpreter, Naneesh , in her Pamiri house.I did some more training on Monday ( OK I think ) and went to see some disabled children at home on Tuesday. That was sad . They were very isolated and getting worse because there is no physio or similar for them.One of the children lived in a Pamiri house and it was interesting to see that . They are laid out in one big room with 2 "steps" each about 2 feet high forming the living space. A bit like staging( dont know what you do when you cant manage the steps.Stay on the ground level I quess.) The roof is supported by five pillars all of which have a name. Ali , Mohammed, Hussein and ? There are rules where you can sit - or not.They have a fancy central chimney area -the stove being in the middle of the ground level.On Wednesday I took Naneesh and her boyfriend Shamsi, on an Adventure trip to Alichur , a tiny settlement on the way to Murghab . The idea was to see something of the mountains and with luck a yurt. We didn't manage the yurt but we did see Yaks which was great. It was almost as interesting to see Naneesh with her boyfriend , who I learned later , is her fiance. They are marrying in July.The fact she brought him was a revelation as I don't think that would be allowed in the North of Tajikistan. ( Kerstin , VSO, works with one lady who didn't meet her husband til the day of their wedding) Despite being openly affectionate they are still pretty conventional. Naneesh hasn't ever visited his house which she will have to live in when they are married. She has met his Mother but only in passing and when she goes to live there she will be beholden to her. By the way,Nasheen has studied for a law degree in Dushanbe, speaks good English and her family are very education minded.Yak skins keeping tyres from freezing- and Yak skins on Yaks.We met this digger on the high parts of the mountain.I was suprised by Alichur which is featured on the map. It was about 25 houses on a plain. They were all flat roofed and evidently poor. We went to one which was a Cafe of sorts. They had fish which looked like cold kippers, bread and very little else.It was a tough spot.We got stuck on the way back as a biggish wagon skewed across the road and we had to go into the snow at the side to get past . Our very good driver,Mohammed , saved the day while everyone else looked on .During the week I went to the Indian Restaurant in Khorog 3 times. Once with Christina and Julian , and then with Bastiaan and Eva. When I was with them I met a couple from Southport(!)They were working on a "Business Incubator" for GTZ. Eleonor is Russian and Arthur met her when working in Russia . He is a business consultant and travels a lot in developing countries.Finally - I had fun on the day I came back . I had gone to get my plane ticket on Thursday for Friday but they wouldn't issue one and said to come back at 8am on Friday if the weather looked OK. My translator was with me discussing this so I thought it was understood that that was what I would do.Anyway I got to the Airport before 8 only to be told that the plane wouldn't come in from Dushanbe. The weather forecast for Saturday was worse so I was just debating about how to get back into town and get a car ( 4WD) back to Dushanbe when Dr Khamal came rushing across the tarmac! fortunately he was amused rather than angry that I had "escaped" and took me into town and found a good "mauchine " for me to travel in . He then hung about and someone eventually arrived with a present of very fine Pamiri socks and some nuts which will give me a long and healthy life . It was then I realized that I was supposed to have stayed to be seen off.The Khorog AirportAll for now. Pamx