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POMIR, feet of the sun,
Man and mountain and river are one.
Through pride in the land and pride in the earth
The people now celebrate a rebirth.
To give is to love, to love is to give;
To sing is to breathe, to dance is to live.
The feet caress the earth below,
Drawing the strength, releasing the flow.
The hands reach up to the sky above,
Catching the beauty, expressing the love.
Freshness and innocence, tenderness, grace -
In this Garden of Eden my soul's found its place.
Earth, fire, water and air:
The fire's in my heart, the water's a tear |
click on picture to
enlarge (photo by Bradley Mayhew) |
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This website is
dedicated to the children and other people of the Pamirs, a region
they know as POMIR – “the roof of the world”, although some claim that
POMIR means “feet of the sun”. The Pamirs are one of the last "undiscovered"
tourist destinations.
This mountainous area, a large part of which is located in Gorno-Badakhshan
in Tajikistan, is one of the most inaccessible in the world. A
former British Ambassador to Tajikistan described the fascination and
beauty of the region as “one of the world’s best kept secrets”. The
website is sponsored as a non-profit activity by a few lovers of the
region who want to share this “secret” with others who are in
search of an unusual and challenging experience. In doing so, a
supplementary goal is to bring additional revenue to the
remarkable inhabitants of POMIR, among the poorest in the world, by
encouraging travellers to go there.
The aim is not to replace the many useful existing websites and other
sources containing information on Tajikistan and the Pamirs but to
bring together in one place as much as possible of what today’s
explorer needs or would like to know before setting out on the
adventure that is POMIR: accurate and helpful information on “getting
there” and “getting around” together with description and pictures of
some of the features of the region, not least its unforgettable
children and
other people
When visiting the Pamirs, bear in mind that you are enjoying
a tradition of hospitality that has existed since time immemorial. While there are
now a large number of "official" homestays, you can be certain of finding a place
to stay in every house and in every village in the Pamirs - you may, however, find it very difficult
to pay your hosts for their hospitality, but be sure to do so, even if it
means hiding a few bank notes under your breakfast plate when you leave. In this way you are
making an investment in the well-being of these wonderful people and in the future of their children.
Your feedback on the contents and intent of this
website is welcome. If you would like to comment or ask a question
please send a message by clicking
here. N.B.
Because of spam, this contact address is frequently changed, so even if
you have used it before and saved the address,
please click again to be sure your mail gets through.
Don't forget to have a look at the advertisements by clicking on the icon at the
top left of this page or
here.
This free service is offered to small businesses and local communities in the Pamirs to
enable them to inform tourists about their tourism initiatives.
THE PAMIRS: CLOSE TO HEAVEN - GET THERE BEFORE THE TOURISTS COME
Many thanks to Misha Romanyuk for the design of the website
and to Alexander Goutkin for putting the panoramas together.
All text and
photographs (c) Robert Middleton 2002
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December 2011
Official Tajik Tourism Committee confirms that double-entry visas (essential if
you plan to travel from Tajikistan to Afghanistan and back) can be obtained at Dushanbe airport.
August 2011
Second edition of Odyssey guidebook TAJIKISTAN AND THE HIGH PAMIRS available
from September 2011 - see
here.
Pre-orders can be placed with your favourite bookseller.
August 2011
Three-part film for investment promotion in the Pamirs available on YouTube -
funded by GTZ. See
here.
July 2011
PAMIRS MAP - the second edition of Markus Hauser's map of the Pamirs has
just been published and is available from Gecko Maps - see
here
May 2011
ANOTHER VISA NONSENSE BY THE TAJIK GOVERNMENT - see
here
April 2011
Updated section on Maps, including new edition of Markus Hauser's Pamirs map - see
here
April 2011
Updated visa information - see
here
March 2011
New Section on Tour Operators and other services - see
here and
here
March 2011
Article on the Pamirs in Marin Magazine (California) - author's conclusion:
"here in the Pamir Range, I felt at home" - see
here
February 2011
Preserving History & Building Capacity: The University of Central Asia recently organized a workshop to identify
the scope and status of primary sources related to the Pamir region - See
here
February 2011
CNN Traveller publishes in-depth article on the Pamirs - See
here
January 2011
University of Central Asia publishes three-volume study on the Musical Arts of the Pamirs - See
here
November 2010
Itineraries in the Pamirs prepared for tour operators at WTM London in November 2010 - See
here
August 2010
BBC News In Pictures features the Pamirs - see
here.
December 2009
New York Times publishes well-researched article on travel in the Pamirs - See
here
December 2009
IMPORTANT NOTICE ON SAFETY - See bottom of
Travel
page
November 2009
Important first-hand information concerning Kulma Pass (to China) and Kalmyk pass (Kyrgyz Alai to Rasht valley). See bottom of the page
Visas and Permits
14 March 2008
Survey of the archaeological sites of the Western Pamirs published
by University of Central Asia - see
here and
here
22 Feb 2008
Bibliography of Tajikistan and the High Pamirs available for researchers
here
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