Shahritus

SHAHRITUS – THE AREA OF THE LABORIOUS PEOPLE

A brief historical information. Shahritus is a place which has changed its name form under the influence of the language of turkic conquerors into Shahrituz.

         After the independence of the state, the government has decoded wisely to rename back the affected name of Shahrituz into its original form Shahritus, (some unaware people used to think that the name is derived from the Turkic «tuz», which means “salt”). This name is related to the history of toponyms of ancient Tajik cities, and also is mentioned in the «Shah-name» of Ferdowsi. “Tus” is the name of one of the wise heroes, that after victory over enemy, was appointed as the Commander of Khorasan with the order of the shaninshah Kayhosrov, and it is strongly believed that, «Shahri Tus» (City of Tus) as the name of the district roots back to the ancient history of Tajik nation.

Shahritus district was established in August 29, 1930 with the name Shahrituz, and its center is the town Shahrituz. The district is 1.5 thousand square kilometers and its population is more than 120 thousand. There are 22 nations living in the district, including 70,000 Tajiks, more than 38,000 Uzbeks, and 12,000 are other ethnicities.  From the borders of the district the Kofarnihon and Amudarya rivers pass with the length of over 150 km. In 1978 the Qubodiyon District and the 1996  Nosir Khusrav districts were separated from Shahritus district.

In Shahritus district there are 5 rural communities, including Pakhtaobod, Obshoron, Talbak Sadriddinov, Khudonazar Kholmatov, Jura Nazarov, one town community of Shahritus, and there are more than 30 villages in them, where the agrarians of the district cultivate crops, cotton, vegetables, fruits, grapes, and breed domestic animals.

Shahritus district has passed the historical stages of socialism construction, Second World War (1941-1945), revival years after the civil war of nineties of the past century, and most importantly the times of reaching the independence of the Republic of Tajikistan.

Now the district has more than 50 educational institution, over 40 healthcare institution, over 10 cultural establishments and more than 2000 farming units and various consumer and recreational facilities.

The people of Shahritus district are known for being hospitable, educated, and they have have no fear of the hardships of life.

Infrastructure service. There are 2 hotels in the center of the district, private hotels, modern restaurants and dining places, lots of passenger transport, that presents the tourists a high-level service.

Attractive travelling areas. The population of the district is one of the oldest in Central Asia, and there are many historical monuments in the district. In particular, the ecological and historical site «Chiluchorchashma», located about 10 km from the district of Shahritus, has become a popular tourist attraction for the population of Tajikistan and foreign countries. This historical monument consists of 44 spring, that are divided by their unique features into 17 groups. The spring waters are known to be good for nose bleeding, fever, bone pain, cold, psoriasis, vitiligo, to illuminate the eyes and other illnesses. Every year more than thousands of people come to visit this attractive place and seek healing.

The madrassah of «Khoja Mashhad» is located in the southern part of district, located in Sayyod village named after Talbak Sadriddinov in a distance of 10 km to the center. This historical monument is built in the 9th and 10th centuries and consists of the two-storey building, which has a large area. Historical sources claim that the madrassah of Khoja Mashhad was once one of the largest schools in the world. Students used to come to study in this madrassah from all over Central Asia and Minor Asia, like Nosir Khusravi Kubodiyoni, who also studied at this madrassah.

The tomb of «Khoja Durbod» is located in Chuyanchi village of rural community named Talbak Sadriddinov. The building of the madrassah was built in 11th-12th centuries of the quadrilateral bricks.

The tomb is located about 15 kilometers from the center of the district. The roof of the building has the shape of the dome and the outer part of it is patterned with bricks. Even though the structure of the building is square, the interior wall is octagonal, which is a unique architectural style in Central Asia.

The sacred place “Hazratbobo” is located in the Pakhtaobod village near the Tajik and Uzbek border, on the altitude of 1700 meters above sea level, and in the distance of more than 70 kilometers from the center of the district. This historic building was renovated by the Ministry of Culture in 2008.

In addition to this, the Shahritus district has other historic sites like «Khoja Sarboz», «Khoja Goyib», «Tilo Khaloji» and «Eshoni Miyontura», which are of high value for researchers and for pilgrims of tasawwuf tariqat.

Folk craftsmanship and skills. Otherthan being occupied with agricultural activities, the locals of the district are occupied with crafts like pottery, embroidery, adrasweaving, repair works,  carpet weaving and other handmade crafts, and their products may be used as souvenirs by the tourists.

The particularities of the district. The district has an inimitable nature. In the month of May the first sweet apricots already ripen. In the April, planted onions get ripen and ready for consumption, which is considered as the first harvest in the country.

Also, one may visit the place where Nosiri Khusrav Kubodiyoni had received his education, the place being named Khoja mahshad, which is one of the unique monuments in Shahritus district.