THE RIVER THAT DIVIDES

The road connecting Dushanbe to Khorog runs along the River Panj. It is interesting to compare the two parts of the same world. The roads in Tajikistan are well made while in Afghanistan there are no pakka roads. The bridges are made up of concrete on the Tajik side while in Afghanistan the bridges are made up of ropes and wood. On Tajik side the automobile is used for traveling or commercial purpose that can take the speed up to 100 km per hour while on the Afghanistan side the donkeys are used as means of transportation. One can find a continuous electric cable running along the roadside in Tajikistan while there are no electric cables on the Afghan side. The houses are made up of bricks in Tajikistan while in Afghanistan the houses are made up of mud. It is greener in Tajikistan than Afghanistan. The cattle in Tajikistan are more healthy and fat than in Afghanistan. The milk is carried from Tajikistan to Afghanistan in vehicles and within Afghanistan the milk is carried on the donkey back to get distributed to the customers. The women are covered from head to toe in Afghanistan while in Tajikistan the women just wear a scarf on their heads. In fact, in summers the cloths of the females in Khorog are more Europeanized. The place of women in Badakshon, particularly amongst the Ismailis is above the male member. In Afghanistan the idea of women emancipation does not exist.
The air route from Dushanbe to Khorog is the most difficult flying zone as it is at high altitude that passes through ‘fan of mountains’. It looks like a Japanese or Chinese traditional fan from the plane. In fact the plane flies over Afghanistan for a short while before getting back to Tajikistan and land on Khorog airport.




A teacher in Murghab noted: “Even during the Soviet Union time, the so-called most prosperous period, here in Murghab we did not have more than two TV channels and only the most well-connected people had color TVs. Now, with easy access to cheap Chinese products, most of the families in Murghab enjoy the 32 channels that can be accessed through satellite antennas that most households now possess” (Naimov 2006).