Dushanbe means Monday, and the name comes from a village market that took place on that day, long before the city arrived. Today Dushanbe is the capital of Tajikistan, a city of nearly seven hundred thousand people in a broad valley beneath the Gissar mountains, laid out on wide, tree-lined avenues with white marble buildings, fountains and parks, a Soviet creation with a distinctly Persian soul. The Tajik language is a form of Persian, and the poets of the region, Rudaki and Ferdowsi among them, are national heroes, whose statues stand in the city.
For motorcyclists, Dushanbe is the western end of the Pamir Highway, the legendary M41, which runs east through the mountains to Khorog, Murghab and on to Osh in Kyrgyzstan. Most riders spend a few days in the city to prepare. Fuel quality in the mountains is uncertain, so some riders carry extra, and spare parts and tyres are better sought here than anywhere on the road. The Tajik e-visa and the permit for the Gorno-Badakhshan region need to be arranged before leaving. Ask in the guesthouses and at the bike shops, where fellow travellers swap tips.
The riding out of the city is easy at first, with wide roads and light traffic. North of town, the Varzob gorge offers cool air, river views and weekend restaurants, and the long Anzob tunnel, which passes under the mountains, has been improved in recent years, though it can still be dark and wet. To the south, the road toward Kulob runs through cotton fields and hills before following the Panj river along the Afghan border. Expect potholes, trucks and goats.
Dushanbe has plenty of fuel stations, bazaars and cafés. Try plov, the rice and meat dish cooked in huge cauldrons, and sambusa pastries, with green tea. The Mehrgon bazaar and the central Green Bazaar sell nuts, dried fruit, melons and fresh bread.
Spring and autumn are the best seasons, because summers are hot and winters in the passes are brutal.