Q. Err. . .where?
A. Tajikistan. It’s a former Soviet Republic, which borders Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Its capital is Dushanbe, and we’re raising money for a particular region in the country – the Gorno Badakhashan Autonomous Oblast (we prefer to call it the Pamir Mountains).
Q. Cool, what’s there?
A. Well, mountains. And lots of them. Picture Tibetan plateaus and you can’t go far wrong. In fact, better still, check out our photo gallery. Oh, and yes, it is very cool – you’ll need to wrap up warm.
Q. Why are you walking across America then, why not walk across Tajikistan?
A. That also sounds like fun (why don’t you have a go?). However, we’ve never really seen America – so a selfish reason is that we just want to see the country. Another motivation is that through raising money for the projects in Tajikistan, we also want to raise awareness of the country and its people. And that would be a little redundant if we were to do in Tajikistan! Oh yeah, and the mountains are just that bit too high in Tajikistan…
Q. I want to find out more!
A. Good, you can. Check out www.pamirs.org for loads of information on the history, culture and tourism opportunities in the region. The custodian of the website, Robert Middleton, has also written a comprehensive guide to the region, which is well worth checking out if you’re interested.
Q. Will you come talk to our school/club/organisation about Tajikistan?
A. Abso-bloomin’-lutely! If you’re in the UK, or near our walking route in the USA, we’d be more than happy to pop in to talk about Tajikistan and the Pamirs. We’re not experts in the region (by a long shot!), but we are enthusiastic about increasing awareness about the country. It is the main purpose of The Pamir Trust, after all. So, whatever you’re interested in, be it culture, history, tourism – or just an overview of the country – drop us an email to nick@walkamerica.co.uk.
