Mawlana Hazar Imam opens “a park for all seasons” in the Khorog city centre

Khorog, Tajikistan, 10 October 2009 — A newly revitalised Khorog City Park was inaugurated today by First Deputy Prime Minister Asadullo Gulomov of the Republic of Tajikistan, in the presence of Mawlana Hazar Imam. The Park is a significant new green space that will serve the residents of the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region in Tajikistan.
Situated at the centre of Khorog, the Park is located in a bend of the Gunt River, and includes a river promenade, a pond, a children's play area, a restaurant and teahouse, and an open-air theatre.
“Access to green spaces is clearly an important value for the residents of Khorog,” observed Mawlana Hazar Imam. He envisioned the Park as a place in which families would come together and spend quality time. It is to be “a place of continuity — playing an intimate role from the earliest weeks of a child’s life until that child grows to become a grown-up with his or her own family.”

It is also “a park for all seasons,” he said, with “music and dance and other cultural events” in the open-air theatre, “swimming in the summer” and “skating in the winter.” It will transform itself “to capture the particular beauty of each particular time of the year.”
The land on which the Park is built was gifted to Mawlana Hazar Imam at the occasion of the 40th anniversary of his Imamat. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture consulted extensively with the people of Khorog to ensure its design would meet the local population’s needs and reflect its aspirations. Construction and rehabilitation began in 2005 and was completed earlier this year.
“The development of Khorog City Park has been a cooperative response in many respects,” said Mawlana Hazar Imam. He added that it is “one of the earliest symbols of the processes of change for which I hope and pray in this region.” He described its inauguration is a prelude to further cooperative development projects between the Ismaili Imamat and authorities in Khorog and the wider region, citing progress in the Khorog campus of the University of Central Asia and the possibility of enhancing the capacity of the Khorog airport.

The ceremony was also attended by the Governor of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, Qodir Qosim, and the Governor of Afghanistan’s Badakhshan Province, Alhaj Bazmuhammad Ahmadi. Princess Zahra, Prince Hussain and Princess Khaliya, who accompanied Hazar Imam to Khorog were also present.
While in Khorog, Mawlana Hazar Imam also met with the Governor of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast. Hazar Imam’s visit to Khorog is part of a three-day visit to Tajikistan, during which he is also expected to preside over the inauguration of the Ismaili Centre, Dushanbe, and meet with senior government officials.


source:theismaili.org

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Prince Rahim Aga Khan visits Gorno Badakhshan

Author: Shonavruz Afzalshoyev


KHOROG, June 4, 2009, Asia-Plus -- Prince Rahim Aga Khan, the eldest son of His Highness the Aga Khan, arrived in Khorog on June 4.

On arrival in Khorog, Prince Rahim went to the Ishkashim district, where he got acquainted with activity of the branch of the First MicroFinance Bank (FMFB) in the district and reviewed projects of the Mountain Societies Development Support Program (MSDSP) of the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) there.

The same day, Prince Rahim visited FMFB’s branch in Khorog, the campus of the School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPCE) of the University of Central Asia (UCA) in Khorog and the Khorog Central Park that is being rehabilitated under financial support of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).

Today afternoon, Prince Rahim Aga Khan is also visiting the Pamir Energy Economy (PamirEnergy) and the Pamir-1 hydropower plant as well as is being reviewing a number of other AKDN projects in other districts of the region.

As it had been reported earlier, Prince Rahim arrived in Tajikistan on June 2 at a start of a five-day visit to Central Asia, which also includes Kyrgyzstan.

Prince Rahim is an executive Director of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) -- the economic development arm of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). He also serves as an Executive Director at the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM). He travels regularly to Asia and Africa to oversee the industrial plants, hotel properties and financial institutions, including microfinance program, of the AKDN.

http://asiaplus.tj/en/news/27/52570.html


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Civic participation and institutional expertise assist villages in Tajikistan to prepare for natural disaster

A FOCUS Community Mobiliser meets with community members in the Roshqala district in 2004, to discuss the results of a hazard and vulnerability assessment. Photo: Courtesy of FOCUS
“I know that my family and I are living in one of the most hazardous villages in the Bartang valley — mudflows occur here very often,” says 20-year-old Shabnam. She lives in the village of Shudjand, located at the entrance of the Bartang Valley in Rushan district, within Tajikistan’s mountainous Gorno-Badakhshan province.
Thousands of families living in Tajikistan experience earthquakes and other hazards throughout the year that impact their lives and livelihoods. Avalanches, mudslides and flooding frequently cut off transport links and disrupt communication lines, leaving communities stranded and unable to access emergency assistance.

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Music and Poetry from the Pamir Mountains

Badakhshan is the name of the mountainous Pamir region in the east of Tajikistan, bordering on China, Afghan-Badakhshan and the Kyrgyz Republic. The Pamiris, as the people of this area are referred to, are divided into different ethnic groups according to their origin and language. The musical traditions of Badakshan have been influenced by the surrounding Muslim cultural context, but the inaccessibility of the Pamir Mountains has been an important factor in the development and preservation of some of the unique musical practices of Badakhshan, such as animal-imitation dances and varieties of songs. Since Badakhshan has been a point of cultural exchange between the East and the West for centuries, various influences can be discerned. For instance, similarities between certain instruments reflect a cross-mountain relationship between the Pamirs and the Himalayas, while tonal traces in Kyrgyz tunes of the Eastern province of Badakhshan suggest influences from China.
Use the links below to hear music samples according to region, instrument or genre
Regions
Instruments
Genres
Music is still passed down from generation to generation, thus continuing the rich oral tradition of the area. In addition to this, Central Asian music enjoys a rich history in archaeological finds and writings. Sculptures and wall paintings found in Badakhshan, dating from the first decades BCE, show angular harps, flutes, drums of different shapes, and lute-like instruments. Attempts are being made to preserve this cultural heritage. For example, in Khorog, the capital of Tajik-Badakhshan, there is a museum with a splendid collection of musical instruments and in Yamgan, located in Afghan Badakhshan, a local museum is being built with the help of the villagers, which will house manuscripts, carpets and other cultural objects of the Pamiris.
Most village musicians are trained and experienced, but not professional players insofar as music is not their main occupation. There are, however, a few professional musicians, like the sitar-player Mamadato Tavalloev, who make a living through their performances.
Small ensembles of various instruments perform at public festivals, domestic events like birth and circumcisions, and also while grazing the herds. Russian cultural influence during the Soviet era led to the formation of larger ensembles in the cities, bringing together traditional and Western instruments.
Notes
1) For a detailed study of the folk music and poetry of the Ismailis in Tajik Badakhshan, see Gabrielle Rachel van den Berg, Minstrel Poetry from the Pamir Mountains: A Study of the Songs and Poems of the Ismailis of Tajik Badakhshan, PhD thesis, State University of Leiden, 1997.
2) This gallery is based on the work of Jan van Belle, Gabrielle van den Berg and Jos Janssen. The Institute would like to thank them for collecting the material, providing translations and compiling the samples and information for our use.

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Jamat in Badakhshan celebrates Navroz with an historic cross-border concert

Audience members eagerly await the start of the concert in Shugnan, Afghanistan. Photo: Adil Ahamed
On the morning of 20 March 2008, a group of 20 Tajik musicians crossed over the Pyanj River separating Tajikistan from Afghanistan to perform traditional songs and dances and mark the beginning of an historic two-day Navroz concert, the first of its kind in the history of Badakhshan.
The cross-border performances in Shugnan, Afghanistan and Khorog, Tajikistan were arranged by the Aga Khan Development Network in partnership with the Governments of Tajikistan and Afghanistan, as part of the celebration of Navroz during the Golden Jubilee year. Among the performers were the renowned Tajik national singers Faizali Hasanov, Jumakhon Rajabov, Umar Timurov and Maysara Dildorova, as well as the Badakhshan Ensemble headed by Sohiba Davlatshoeva.
Members of the Badakhshan Ensemble perform traditional Pamiri music and dance for the Afghan audience. Photo: Malik Faizullah
The Afghan concert took place in the area of Ka’lai Bar Panja and was attended by an audience of approximately 10 000, the majority of whom were Jamati members who had travelled from other parts of Afghan Badakshan to attend the celebration. In his opening remarks Zainullobiddini Kamariddin, Governor of the Afghan district of Shugnan, thanked the organisers of the event and noted that “such events serve to promote further cultural relationship between the two countries and prepare the foundation for more extensive cooperation in other areas.”
The next day, Afghan performers crossed the Friendship Bridge to join the Navroz celebrations in Khorog, a town of 25 000 and the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, where they performed a traditional programme in an open-air setting.
Over 10 000 people traveled from different parts of Badakhshan province in Afghanistan to attend the concert. Photo: Adil Ahamed
The Tem Friendship Bridge was built by AKDN and opened by Mawlana Hazar Imam in 2002 in the presence of the President of Tajikistan and officials from Afghanistan. The crossing of these bridges by the musicians epitomized the notions of mutual cooperation and understanding that Hazar Imam is seeking to foster on both sides of this border.
Navroz, a historical tradition in Central Asia symbolizing the beginning of the New Year, is celebrated widely throughout Tajikistan through traditional songs, dances, theatrical performances, and authentic Tajik cuisine.

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