Some roads will be closed in Dushanbe on April 20 due to the International Half-Marathon, according to the Dushanbe Administration.
An official source within the Dushanbe Administration says, “The section from the intersection of Saadi Sherozi and Hofiz Sherozi streets to the Chorbogh traffic police post and from there along Roudki Avenues to the Dousti Square (Ismoili Somoni monument) will be closed for traffic from 8:00 am to 11:00 am.
The race has a time limit of 3 hours. The course is traffic-free during this time period.
The source further noted that sportspeople from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Ethiopia as well as professional sportspeople from Tajikistan are expected to participate in this year’s half-marathon.
It is to be noted that in the previous years, athletes from Dushanbe’s sister cities had also participated in this sports event dedicated to the Capita City Day.
The Capital City Day is marked in Tajikistan on the third Saturday of April and this year, Dushanbe will mark the Capital City Day on April 20.
A number of sports and cultural activities are expected to be carried out in Dushanbe’s parks on this day.
The Dushanbe International Half-Marathon is the main event to celebrate the Tajik Capital City Day.
The first Dushanbe International Half-Marathon took place in April 2010 and athletes from 14 Dushanbe’s sister cities participated in that race.
In 2013, the Dushanbe half-marathon has been added to the calendar of games of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS)
It is to be noted that Dushanbe turns 100 years old this year.
Dushanbe is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. As of January 2022, Dushanbe had a population of 1,201,800 and that population was largely Tajik.
Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe, and from 1929 to 1961 as Stalinabad, after Joseph Stalin. Dushanbe is located in the Hisor Valley and has an elevation of 750–930 m. The city is divided into four districts: Ismoili Somoni; Sino; Firdavsi; and Shohmnsour.
Dushanbe was the location of a large bazaar that operated on Mondays. This gave rise to the name Dushanbe-Bozor from Dushanbe, which means Monday in the Tajik language.
Dushanbe was proclaimed the capital of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as a part of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic in October 1924, and the government started to function formally on March 15, 1925.
In 1929, the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, previously the Tajik ASSR, separated from the Uzbek SSR and its capital Dyushambe was renamed Stalinabad on October 19, 1929, incorporating the nearby villages of Shohmansour, Mavlono, and Sari Osiyo.
On November 10, 1961, as part of de-Stalinization, Stalinabad was renamed back to Dushanbe, the name it retains to this day.
On September 9, 1991, Dushanbe became the capital of an independent Tajikistan.
