Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
3
¨
Entertainment
Ayni¨Opera¨&¨Ballet¨Theatre¨
THEATRE
(
%
221 62 91, 221 44 22; Rudaki 28;
h
Oct-Jun)
Built while WWII was raging, the 1942
Opera House was completely refitted in
2009 and its gardens re-landscaped in 2013.
Classy interior. Mostly opera and ballet
productions.
Borbat¨Concert¨Hall¨
PERFORMANCE VENUE
(
%
223 51 86; Somoni 26)
The Borbat Concert
Hall hosts occasional Tajik music concerts.
7
¨Shopping
TsUM¨
SOUVENIRS
(Rudaki 83;
h
9am-6pm Mon-Sat)
Amid the
shampoo and mobile-phone sellers, is the
city's original department store selling wa-
ter pipes, traditional musical instruments,
glazed earthenware, figurines and lovely
Iranian boxes. Go upstairs to find ammo-
nites, Soviet-era medals and Tajik robes.
Silk¨Road¨
SOUVENIRS
(Shotemur 32;
h
9am-6pm Mon-Fri)
Good for
mineral trees, stone mosaics, embroidery,
scarves and those hard-to-find postcards.
Tajik¨Painters¨Union¨Exhibition¨Hall¨
ART
(cnr Rudaki & Somoni;
h
10am-5pm Mon-Fri, to
3pm Sat)
Three floors of modern Tajik art,
much for sale.
Barzish¨Sport¨
SPORTS
(Rudaki 91;
h
8am-6pm Mon-Sat)
Sports and
outdoors equipment.
in suburban basements. There's free internet in
the gigantic National library (p316) once you've
registered for a 10TJS library card.
Klub Plazma
(Rudaki 84; per hr 5TJS;
h
24hr)
City centre.
MEDICAL SERVICES
Prospekt Medical Clinic
(
%
90-000 55 01,
224 30 92; www.prospektclinic.tj; Niyazi 34;
h
8am-4.30pm Mon-Fri) Central, expat-
favoured medical services.
Eurodent
(
%
881 10 07, 95-135 65 78; www.
eurodent.tj; Rudaki 135A;
h
8am-7pm) Highly
rated dentists.
MONEY
ATMs and licensed moneychangers are wide-
spread across the city, most centrally on Rudaki
around the Shotemur junction.
POST
Post Office
(Poshtamt; Bukhoro 47;
h
9am-
6pm Mon-Sat)
REGISTRATION & PERMITS
OVIR
(
%
227 67 11; Mirzo Tursunzoda 5;
h
8am-noon & 1-5pm Mon-Fri, 8am-noon Sat)
gBAO permits are issued in one working day.
You'll need to pay the 20TJS fee to Agroinvest-
bank beside gulistan Tur Hotel then bring the
receipt to this office.
TELEPHONE
Central Telephone Office
(Rudaki 55;
h
24hr)
Internet phone service available for cheaper
international calls.
TRAVEL & TOUR AGENCIES
Hamsafar Travel
(
%
501 45 93, 228 00 93;
www.hamsafar-travel.com; Pulod Tolis 5/11;
h
noon-6pm Mon-Sat) Backpacker-orientated
agency. As long as he's there, Ruslan can arrange
short-notice 4WD, trekking and tailor-made tours.
For directions see Adventurer's Inn (p317).
East Vision
(
%
93-858 55 55; www.travel
tajikistan.tj; Rudaki 40a;
h
9am-6pm Mon-Sat,
10am-5pm Sun) Sells maps, gives travel advice
and organises tours, rural homestays and air
tickets. Mirzo speaks English well.
Tajikintourservice
(
%
22 15 55; www.tis.tj;
Druzhba Narodov (Dusti Khalkho) 23) Major
travel agency offering flight bookings and visa
support.
8
Information
What's On In Dushanbe (WOID)
is an expat-
oriented email newsletter with a wealth of clas-
siieds, jobs, events, restaurant ads etc. Ask
marians@tajnet.tj to put you on the mailing list.
CULTURAL CENTRES
Bactria Centre
(
%
227 05 54; www.bactria.net;
Tursunzoda 12a;
h
9am-5pm Mon-Fri) lan-
guage classes available in Russian and Persian,
concerts, art exhibitions and a showroom of
Tajikistan artisan crafts. Check their Facebook
site for events. The buidling is hidden down a
short laneway behind 10 Tursunzoda opposite a
new 10-storey apartment building.
INTERNET ACCESS
For good free wi-i and excellent cofee, linger
at Segafredo (p322) or the American
Morning
Star Café
(
%
228 9464; www.morningstarcafe.
net; Said Nosirov 47; sandwiches 9-13TJS, cofee
16-20TJS;
h
8am-5pm Mon-Sat;
vE
). Numer-
ous internet clubs charging 5TJS per hour hide
8
Getting¨There¨&¨Away
AIR
If you're arriving in Tajikistan via
Dushanbe
Airport
(http://airport.tj; Titov 32/2) brace
yourself for a long, tedious wait to get through
immigration. Things should improve once the
new terminal is built.
