"Dushanbe - a faded jewel" a Dushanbe Travel Page by Nourin

Dushanbe is a clean, green European city with wide, tree-lined streets and pale, elegant buildings lend it an air of faded prosperity, and there are plenty of cafés in which to enjoy tea and local sweets .
Its location beneath the snow-capped Hissar range in the wide valley of the Varzob river.
Between 1929 and 1961, the city of Dushanbe was called Stalinabad. The city of Dushanbe grew out of the village of Dushanbe. Records show that as early as 1676, on each Monday of the week (dushanbe), villagers from the surrounding areas brought their produce to market at this spot.

Almost 600,000 people live in Dushanbe at the present date. They are called Tajiks and they speak a dialect of Persian called Tajiki. All people also speak Russian.

When you're working in Afghanistan Dushanbe is a heaven. There are cafées (!), real restaurants and shops. No one is giving you any attention in the streets and walking in the bazaars is a delight. No one is harassing you to buy anything.