Tajikistan: The Roof of the World and the Polo Played With a Goat
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Tajikistan is the most mountainous country in Central Asia — over 90 percent of its territory is mountain, and the Pamir range in the east, called the Roof of the World, contains some of the highest and most remote terrain on earth. The Wakhan Corridor, a narrow strip of Afghan territory that separates Tajikistan from Pakistan, was the most remote section of the ancient Silk Road. The passes through the Pamirs at 4,000 to 5,000 metres altitude were used by traders for centuries, and the caravanserais that sheltered them are still visible as ruins in the landscape.
Buzkashi — polo played with a headless goat carcass — is the traditional sport of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia. Riders compete to carry the carcass to a goal, against teams who attempt to take it. The sport requires extraordinary horsemanship and physical strength; the horses are trained specifically for buzkashi. The game is played at celebrations, at Nowruz (the Persian New Year), and at festivals throughout the year in rural Tajikistan. The rules vary by region. The essential contest — who can control the carcass — does not.
Tajik culture is Persian in its literary and musical traditions — Tajikistan is the Central Asian country most closely connected to the Persian cultural sphere, sharing language, classical poetry (Rumi and Hafez are claimed by Tajiks as much as by Iranians), and a musical tradition of sophisticated classical forms. The shashmaqam — six-mode classical music — is the most formal expression of this tradition, performed by master musicians who spend years learning its intricacies.
