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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 help 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
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 initatives.
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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August 2010
BBC News In Pictures features the Pamirs - see
here.
August 2010
FLOODS IN BARTANG CLOSE ACCESS TO VALLEY
The inhabitants of many villages in the Bartang valley are cut off because of major damage to roads and bridges - see
here. We are in process of setting up a fund to help in repair works. If you
would like to contribute, please send an e-mail
here
May 2010
Partnership with the Zerafshan Tourism Board (ZTB) in a project with Pamirs tour operators -
learn more about another beautiful region of Tajikistan
here
15 April 2010
BAD NEWS! CONTRADICTORY INFORMATION ABOUT VISA PROCEDURE - See
Visas page
March 2010
New section "White Water" added - See
here
January 2010
Itineraries in the Pamirs and Zerafshan prepared for tour operators at ITB Berlin in March 2010 - See
here
January 2010
New tour operator PamirLink offers special Eco-Cultural packages that include volunteer
project work - 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
August 2009
Contents and sample chapter of the Odyssey guide Tajikistan and the High Pamirs added. See
here,
here
and
here.
For an extract from "Great Game" chapter see
here.
14 March 2008
Survey of the archaeological sites of the Western Pamirs published
by University of Central Asia - see
here
22 Feb 2008
Bibliography of Tajikistan and the High Pamirs available for researchers
here
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