Karategin

Karategin is the central province of Tajikistan, home to the capital. It is now known as the Rasht Valley (Russian: Раштская долина; Tajik: Водии Рашт).

Cities

 * — the country's capital and largest city is home national institutions like museums and government buildings
 * — a town of 9,000 people on the right bank of the Surkhob River, 185 km from Dushanbe
 * — known for its Soviet-era replica of a historical fortress
 * — at the centre of a major rice-growing region, it is home to the largest aluminum plant in Central Asia
 * — hosts a prison for those convicted of terrorist crimes, mainly associated with membership in Islamic extremist groups

Understand
During the 1992-1997 Tajikistan Civil War, the region was a stronghold for forces opposed to the Tajik government and became the site of numerous battles.

Get in
Dushanbe Airport is the country's main international Airport. It receives flights from Moscow, Istanbul IST, Urumqi (China), Frankfurt (Germany), Dubai, and Delhi.

See
Dushanbe, as the nation's capital, has most of the sights: museums, mosques, theatres, a botanical garden, and a zoo.

The fort of Hisor, residence of the Bukharan governor, is a reconstruction of a fortress said to date back to Cyrus the Great and to have been captured 21 times.