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    The mountains, including the Tian Shan Mountains (pictured), give Kyrgyzstan a unique culture, partially formed from this isolation from the mountains. Go Now!

Architecture of Tajikistan

Tajik Architecture - Yurt
Yurt

For most of Tajikistan's early history, architecture was limited to domestic dwellings (homes) and for most people this consisted of a round portable house called a yurt that catered to the nomadic lifestyle. Yurts still exist today in Tajikistan, although the people are moving in the direction of more permanent settlements, especially under Soviet rule.

However, the Tajik people also built incredible monuments in the form of both mosques and mausoleums. These structures though are primarily in Samarkand and Bukhara, which are now in Uzbekistan due to the Soviets shifting of borders. Due to this shifting in borders, Tajikistan today has no true historic architecture outside an occasional fort, house, or mosque, few of which deserve particular mention. The town of Sogd (500-700s) has some interesting stone ruins as does the city of Khujand, which was on the Silk Road.

The Russians arrived in the 1800s and in the 1900s the Soviets took over, building most of the country's standing architecture. These buildings were focused on use, not style as many of the buildings were factories, multi-storied housing complexes, and commercial buildings. Despite the great growth at this time, there are few cities in Tajikistan as it is very mountainous and most of the Soviet influence is seen in the capital of Dushanbe.

This page was last updated: May, 2014