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

• 1 Dushanbe — the country's capital and largest city is home national institutions like museums and government buildings
• 2 Gharm — a town of 9,000 people on the right bank of the Surkhob River, 185 km from Dushanbe
• 3 Hisor — known for its Soviet-era replica of a historical fortress
• 4 Tursunzoda — at the centre of a major rice-growing region, it is home to the largest aluminum plant in Central Asia
• 5 Vakhdat — 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 (DYU ^IATA) 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.