When in Tajikistan, the latest country we are looking at in our series on former Soviet republics that are now independent countries, one should speak Tajik. It is the official language of Tajikistan, and according to Google and Wikipedia, the Persian-type language is also spoken widely in neighboring Uzbekistan.
Here are some other facts about the landlocked nation:
1) The capital and largest city of Tajikistan is Dushande.
2) Tajikistan was part of the Samandi Empire (existed from circa 800-1000 A.D) which also included parts of Afghanistan, Iran and Russia.
3) The Russians Are Coming was perhaps first uttered in 1864 when the Ruskies invaded Tajikistan, which later lead to it becoming a Soviet republic.
4) Sadly, Tajikistan is the poorest country in central Asia, and the country suffered a major famine in 2001.
5) Amazingly enough, there is a small Jewish population in Tajikistan; they call themselves the Bukhara Jews.
6) Tajikistan is a land-locked country that borders Afghanistan, China, Uzbekistan and Krgyzstan.
SIDEBAR: Tomorrow, we will start a special three-part series on the 10th anniversary of September 11th. Among the entries we hope to post is one Marie-Rae Sopper, who was slated to become the new women's gymnastics coach at the University of California-Santa Barbara. She was killed on her way to California aboard Flight 77 which crashed into the Pentagon. Sopper, who was a collegiate stand-out at Iowa State, was 35 years old.
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