Iskanderkul
Iskanderkul is a mountain lake of glacial origin in Tajikistan's Sughd Province. It lies at an altitude of 2,195 meters (7,201 ft) on the northern slopes of the Gissar Range in the Fann Mountains. Triangular in shape, it has a surface area of 3.4 square kilometers (1.3 sq mi) and is up to 72 metres (236 ft) deep. Claimed to be one of the most beautiful mountain lakes in the former Soviet Union, it is a popular tourist destination.
It was formed by the congestion of the Saratogh River. It is 134 km from Dushanbe and 23 km from the Dushanbe—Khujand road.
The lake takes its name from Alexander Zulqarnain: Iskander is the Persian pronunciation of Alexander, and kul is lake in turkic.
The outflow of the lake is the Iskander Darya, which joins the Yaghnob River to form the Fan Darya, a major left tributary of the Zeravshan River.
Chiluchor Chashma
Location – Khatlon region, Nosir Khisrav district (formerly Beshkent district). 12km west of Shahrituz settlement, in sovkhoz №4. Transportation – regular bus service Shahrituz-Beshkent, minibus Shahrituz - Chiluchor Chashma, Departure from Shahrituz bus terminal. Chiluchor Chashma (“Forty-Four Springs”) is a place which is widely known in Tajikistan and in neighbouring Uzbekistan, because from the foot of a small hill in the area which was previously a not desert (before irrigation works in the Soviet period), five large springs emerged from underground which, in turn, divide into 39 smaller ones. The water from the springs flows together to form a channel 12–13m wide and full of fish. It is interesting to note that the fish do not swim downstream in the channel but stay within 8–900m of its beginnings. Local people have a legend about the origin of the spring. When Caliph Ali (Hazrati Ali) stayed in this area preaching Islam, which was a new faith for the local population, the nearby Romit River dried up.
Ali then cursed the river, calling it Kofarnihon, i.e. the “faithless river”. After arriving at presentday Chiluchor Chashma, Ali offered up a prayer to Allah asking for water, hit the ground at the foot of the nearby hill, and where he touched ground with his fingers, five of the purest springs welled up. Chiluchor Chashma is a place of pilgrimage. People visit the place to perform prayers, ablutions, sacrifices and to bathe in the springs. It is considered that the water of 17 of the springs is healing. Each of these reservoirs has its local name and medicinal designation:
Chashmai Muin – for hair loss;
Khuni Bini – for nose bleeding;
Chashmai Moron,
Khunukzadagon – for snake bites and inflammation;
Ustukhondard – for bone diseases;
Tablarza – for malaria;
Shifo – medicinal;
Fishori Khun – for high blood pressure;
Sardard for headaches;
Peskho – for psoriasis;
Murod – for depression;
Befarzand – for infertility;
Gurda – for kidney diseases;
Dilu Jigar – for cardiac and liver diseases;
Devonaho – for mental diseases;
Chashmu Gush – for eye and ear diseases;
Khorish – for itching.
In the eastern area near the springs there is a small hill with a little mausoleum at the top. It is said that Saint Kambar Bobo, who according to the legend was head of Hazrat Ali’s stable, is buried there. There are also the graves of four more saints nearby whose names are unknown. Nowadays there is a large orchard and several comfortable rooms for visitors. Most pilgrims come here during April-September.
Khulbuk
The Palace of the Governor of Khulbuk is located in the center of village of Kurban-Shaid in the city of Vose in the Khatlon Region of Tajikistan. The palace was situated in the south-west part of the ancient town of Khisht-Tepa. Khulbuk was a center of the Huttal Region in 9th-12th centuries BCE. The site is proposed to be put on the World Heritage list of sites who have "outstanding universal value" to the world.
