Temurmalik

TEMURMALIK – A SIGHTSEEING PLACE OF THE NATURE LOVER TOURISTS

A brief historical information. Temurmalik district with its center town named Soviet (the former Kizilmazor) is located in a distance of 206-207 km by motor roads from the center of Republic of Tajikistan, Dushanbe city. The district neighbors with districts Vose’, Kulob, Baljuvon, Khovaling, Danghara, and from the side of Olimotoi prairies with the Farkhor district by means of Toshbuloq village.

The center of the district is a town named Soviet. For the sake of keeping the soviet era naming heritage its name was lest unchanged by district members of the Majlis (parliament). The center of the district is situated on the banks of Surkhob river, among moderately high hills that stretch 3 to 3.5 km from beginning of Shibinai village to the water pumping facilities, and is located on a height of 900 m from the sea level. Eastern and southern parts of the town lands consist of grail and sand with its water level being high, whereas its northern and western part consists of white soil.

Temurmalik district was established officially on the January 19, 1936 with the name “Soviet”, and later in the country’s sovereignty period named after the hero of Tajik nation Temurmalik. Population of the district consists of mainly from Tajiks. Being a division of Khatlon region, and a part of a group of districts of Kulob valley, Temurmalik district’s past is interconnected with the history of ancient Huttalan. It is known from the historic sources and findings of the archaeologists that the main occupation of the people of this land from the very beginning was agriculture and farming, being the watering point of historical culture of Aryans. These ideas are supported by the archaeological findings of Hulbuk, Farkhor, Munk, Baljuvon, Kubodiyon, Danghara and Tutkavul.

Infrastructure service. Temurmalik district is ready to welcome tourists with its favorable infrastructure, and both local and international tourists have their opportunity to spend their recreation times fruitfully in its attractive and worth-to-see sites. Internal district roads are being regularly served and repaired, and passenger transportation for traveling inside and outside of the district is organized in a proper way, with low fares. The district has a central hospital, a healthcare center, the famous health resort named “Obi Shifo”, the health-improving health resort named “Nigora”, meeting complete set of world standards, a rehabilitation center, 3 local hospitals, 25 health care facilities, as well as a museum named after Boboyunus Khudoyzoda, and numerous markets and shops.

Attractive travelling areas. Temurmalik is a very attractive destination for tourists related to the geology field. It is situated between the mountain chains of Ilontog, Khujai Nur, Kuhi Khuja Sartez, which are located in a length of 60 to 80 km. The rives Surkhob, Tohirsu, and Obi Shurak cross the district. Being a well-known river in the country, Surkhob river has in its composition sweet, sour, salty, and sour gas waters, all rich with chemical elements. Seasonal climate of Temurmalik district has a special nature. Its west and north part is relatively rainy, whereas in its east and south part raininess is observed less.

Its mountain soils consist of stones and mineral powders like flat stone, gypsum, lime, sand and in some parts of red potter’s soil, black soil and white soil. Its lands are mostly of alkali soil type. Geological composition of its lands comprises deposits of salt, coal, uranium, gas, and according to some geological scientific information, petrol deposits. Salt deposits Khoja Sartez, Tanobchi, Devonabobo, Dahai Namak have been providing the people with dietary salt from earlier years to our days. Healing properties of water and mud from the Tanobchi hill have been long well-known by the medical science, and are being used for recovery and healing. Mud from Temurmalik district, which has a temperature of 25-30 centigrade degrees, is well used by the ailing at the site of its formation. The mud is widely used for healing illnesses like skin diseases, leg pain, waist pain, as well as for normalizing body tissues. In addition to that, in Temurmalik one may find more than 3000 types of herbs, which are used to prepare home-made remedies.Healing herbs are mostly seen in mountains Ilontog, Khujai Nur, sites of Zangibobo, and Dastarkozi, and in mountains Khoja Sartez. Mountains and foothills of the district are fruitful soils for various trees of pistachio, mirabelle, oleaster, poplar, plane tree, Bolle’s poplar, maple, hawthorn, wild cherry, plum, mulberry, apple, sea-buckthorn, pole tree, rosehip, almond, pushol, grape, barberry, plum, sweet cherry, wallnut, archa, piperidge, pear, and as well as healing herbs like ajik, inula, rhubarb, ferula, fetid gum, dill, fennel, kravchak, caraway, kuzarkuni, mushrooms, mountain onion (anzur), garlic, alpomodiyon, licorice, bush basil, John’s-wort, ziziphora, subinak, mint, siyohalaf, payi zogak, capers, angelica, persicaria, horsetail, dandelion, shamanulok, absinthe, tulip, onconotus, camel’s-thorn, desert-candle, shifok, Tom Thumb, sedge, margilan, govkisirak, seeded juicy and white herbs and others, more than 100 kinds of which are known to modern medical science. And yet, healing properties of most of the herbs still needs to be studied by biologists and pharmacologists.

In the domain of birds, reptiles and animals, the district is the habitat for more than 115 of their types. Most frequently observed birds are partridges, pigeons, sparrows, ringdoves, turtle doves, local and seasonal sparrows, crows, jackdaws, magpie, karog, falcons, owls, hawks, eagles, griffons, mynas, nightingales, swallows, julik, hoopoe, wagtail, zarghov, bunting, quail; while among animals and reptiles, most frequently seen are bears, wolves, foxes, hogs, wild cats, snakes, porcupines, sables, marmots and others.

Folk craftsmanship and skills. Temurmalik district is historically known for its craftsmen and various folk crafts. Nowadays the following crafts are maintained in the territory of the district like weaving, spinning, tanning, footwear sewing, forging, carpet and felt surface patterning, suzaniembroidering, hewing of wooden dishes, saddle and bridle making, jewelry making, potting, cradle hewing, carpentry, architecture, wood carving and others. Apart from that, skillful women of Temurmalik district are good at preparing local dishes like palav, oshi tupa, oshi burida, kurutob, mantoo, shirbat, shurbo, shir birinj, shir ravghan, shakarob, umoch, nashoista, kalama, tahmol and others.

The particularities of the district. Temurmalik district’s nature is rich in flowers and rare herbs, which are not seen in other parts of the region. For instance, there are 3000 types of flowers and herbs are known to the locals, from which only 100 types are studies by the science, and the rest of them need to be studied by pharmacologists. One of the peculiarities in culinary field of the local people is preparation of the dish named tahmol, which is done on the surface of a stone fry pan, which gives the food a delicious and pleasant taste.