Farkhor

FARKHOR – AT THE CENTRE OF FIVE THOUSAND YEARS OF THE TAJIK RISE IN THE CIVILIZATION BUILDING GUIDE

A brief historical information. Farkhor district was founded on November 30^, 1930. The district is divided into 10 communities, among which are, 1 town community and 9 rural communities. Farkhor district is located on the south and east side of the country and on the south and west side of Khatlon region. It neighbors from north with districts of Danghara and Vose’, from the south and west side with districts of Panj, Jaloliddini Balkhi, Vakhsh, from east side with Hamadoni district, and from south side with Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Area of Farkhor is 1,18 thousand square kilometers. It is a home for more than 163,7 people, from which 87,4 percent are Tajiks, 12,1 percent are Uzbeks and 0,5 percent is comprised of other ethnics.

Land of Farkhor has many historical monuments, and the oldest ones are remnants of the Stone Age. From monuments of middle centuries there are ruins of Shurteppa and  Mazorteppa, which are located in a distance of 3 km from north of today’s Farkhor.

Farkhor district’s today’s territory in the middle ages was a part of the historical Khutalon region. Farkhor’s name is seen in the middle ages sources as «Forghar» or «Borghar», and in those times, it was the name of a region located between Porghar and Akshu river». This toponym’s actual form is Porghar, with «Forgar» and «Borgar» being its arabicized form. (Because Arabs did not have the voice «p» in their language, during their rule in Farorud region, they have changed the voice “f” in Tajik and Persian language of local people to “P”, e.g. pors-fors, piruz–firuz, pil–fil and so on). Ferdowsi also mentions in his «Shahname» a place named «Porghar».

The district is divided mainly into four territories: Olimotoy mountains, Siyoh (Karatov) mountain ranges, Urtabuz hill the and intermountain plain, which is sometimes known by the scholars as Farkhor valley.

Siyoh mountain ranges are located from south and west of the district to the north and east, which comprises about 75 percent of district’s area. Trees of pistachios, almond, mirabelle, elm and other one year and perennial plants can be seen on the mountains. The peak of the mountains is named Shohi Ahtam, which has an altitude of 800-1500 m above sea level.

Attractive travelling areas. Farkhor district with its history of more than 5,000 years has long been attracting attention of travelers, as hundreds of historical monuments have been revealed today in this old land of Tajiks. In particular, the historical site of Saksan okhur, which was studied by the archaeologists of the Soviet Union A. Litvincsky, and Kh.Y. Middinov in 1966-1967, 1973-1977. Community residents also call it Shaftolu teppa. Valuable historical findings have been discovered in this historical site, which date back to the time of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. Also, the ancient city of Farkhor, which has not yet been fully archaeological studied — is the Shur teppa, which is located in the eastern part of the district within three kilometers of its center. From the archaeological perspectives, it is possible that Shur teppa once was the center of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. Ancient findings, including remains of house structures and flat walls and giant columns, reflect the glory and high taste of distant Tajik ancestors.

Archaeologists also presume that during its existence Farkhor has been flooded many times. In order to survive flood disasters, locals have chosen to live on the hills and even bury their deads in the hills. It should be reminded that all the sites where historical findings have emerged are situated on the mountains. Among them are Shur teppa, Shahr teppa, Tamosho tepa, Karaul tepa, Kalai Pushkok, Jairali teppa, makoni moron, Urutabuz site, Ghayb shahid, Saksan okhur and others. Also, Tajik researchers in 2003 have found a coffin from the Bobosafol village, which resembles those used in ancient Egypt. In such coffins, high-status people were used to get buried being embalmed. Being called «tabanguk», «tanbar», or «tabangur», that type of coffins were never found in Central Asia before. Thus, all historical findings of Farkhor district are found interesting by archaeologists and tourists.

Infrastructure service. Farkhor district has built a large number of facilities and recreation sites that properly provide comfort and convenience for tourists and visitors. In particular, a national tea house, an entertainment garden, a hotel, a magnificent restaurant, a historical museum, a recreational resort named «Nasimi Farkhor», fruit gardens and so on, play a significant role in creating a favorable environment for tourists. Among these are passenger terminal, healthcare centers, markets and shop, and others are available for public service in the district.

Folk craftsmanship and skills. In Farkhor district old crafts like gold thread sewing, chakan embroidery, adras weaving, cooking, carpentry, and forging are preserved.

The particularities of the district. The district has some of the oldest historical monuments, that date back to the Stone Age. One of them is the historical site of the Zole Zar (Father of Rostam-e Dastan), and the other is Saksan okhur, which are extremely unique. The most important aspect of Farkhor is that one is sure to come across to a historical finding, once excavated a few meters anywhere in Farkhor. Locals have been finding large old vessels with a height of about three meters and pots and patterned porcelain pieces. In the pursuit of such findings a body of an animal was found in Farkhor, similar to the ancient dinosaurs.