Dushanbe - 069

Weeks ago, I noticed a ridge on the other side of the Varzob River that I thought might afford a good view of the mountains in the distance. I checked a map and saw that a road ran along the ridge. Recently I packed up my little traveling pouch of camera and lenses and headed out the door for a quick stroll up the ridge. Well, you know how the top of a hill always seems to be just beyond the next rise? Four miles later, I was at the top, or at least as far as paths would take me. After I passed construction of Central Asia's largest mosque and got to where the paved road ended on the map, the dusty dirt track continued for another mile or so across a broad open field and through an old hilltop community that was in the process of becoming a decidedly more upscale development, with homes five times bigger in various stages of completion - but none inhabited - sprouting everywhere like mushrooms. Where the water for these homes will come from, I can't imagine. The electrical lines over the road were humming like ten thousand angry bees.

You can see some of what I found along the way in photos 060-073 in my Dushanbe gallery.