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Dushanbe

Capital of TajikistanIn the Hisor Valley of western Tajikistan, Dushanbe stands where the Varzob River, flowing south, meets the Kofarnihon. The Hisor Range rises to the north and east of the city.

Why it's the capital

Dushanbe was only a small town when, in October 1924, it was proclaimed the capital of the new Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1929 the Tajik republic separated from the Uzbek republic and became a full Soviet republic, with the city as its capital.

Fun facts

  1. Dushanbe means 'Monday' in Tajik, because a large bazaar was held here every Monday.
  2. From 1929 to 1961 the city was called Stalinabad, after the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, until it got its old name back in November 1961.
  3. The Dushanbe Flagpole, in front of the Palace of Nation, is 165 m tall and was the tallest flagpole in the world from 2011 until 2014.

Finding it on the globe

Draw a line from Kabul straight north to Tashkent: Dushanbe sits on that line, a little more than halfway along, in the western part of Tajikistan.

Sources: Wikipedia: Dushanbe, Wikipedia: Dushanbe Flagpole