Man az ziyorat omadam…
Dreams really do come true if you put in the effort. I have long wanted to return to Central Asia.
In 2019, I went with my whole family to my mother’s homeland in Uzbekistan, visiting Samarkand. I got so much pleasure and interest from that trip that I wanted to go back as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the pandemic started, and it was dangerous to travel then.
Thank G-d, the pandemic is over, and we can travel freely and safely. But my dream was not only to return to my mother’s homeland but also to visit the legendary land of Tajikistan, to the city of Dushanbe, which my late grandmother Tamara Husni Isakovna Iskhakova visited when she still lived in the USSR.
My grandmother told me a lot about the great history of the Tajik people, and how she taught the Tajik language and literature to Tajik schoolchildren in Samarkand using books from Dushanbe. She loved reading books in her native language, the works of Hafez, Saadi, Jami, Khayyam, Aini, Tursunzoda, and many others. She always spoke well of Tajikistan.
Ever since, I dreamed of traveling there, and thank G-d, I went with my grandfather Abrash Mirzakandov, who is already over 85 years old. May G-d continue to grant him good health!
Dushanbe with My Grandfather
Earlier this month, in November, my grandfather and I flew from New York to Dushanbe via Istanbul, arriving late in the evening. We were met by our good friend, Shukhrat Vatanovich Saidov, who is the head of landscaping at the Jewish cemeteries in Dushanbe. He acted as our guide and driver.
Our goal was to visit and make ziyorat (a pilgrimage) to the Jewish cemeteries where my distant relatives, such as Yail Moiseevna Israilova, are buried, as well as the ancestors of my friends living in America.
In Dushanbe, great figures of our people are buried, such as Gavriel Samandarov, Yakub Kalontarov, Mikhail Fuzailov, the descendants of Shoista Mullojonova (her family are the in-laws of my grandfather), Gavriel Koptiev, Bension Boris Kimyagarov, Sarajan Yusupova, and many others.
The Jewish cemeteries of Dushanbe, managed by the «Tajikistan» fund, headed by Misha Zavulunov and managed in Dushanbe by Shukhrat Saidov, have become very beautiful and well-kept, but there is still much work to be done.
We saw all the beauty of the city of Dushanbe, how quickly beautiful buildings are being constructed, and how Dushanbe is moving towards the 21st century with the status of a major international center. We visited Dusti (Friendship) Square with the statue of Ismail Samani, ruler of the Samanid dynasty, where Lenin once used to stand. We also saw the city’s main street, Rudaki Avenue (formerly Lenin Avenue); the House of Writers of Tajikistan; the House-Museum of Sadriddin Ayni, regarded as Tajikistan’s national poet; the Kohi Navruz Palace; and the Istiqlol (Independence) Tower, where you can go up almost 100 meters and see a panoramic view of the entire city of Dushanbe.
We also visited the main market, Mehrgon Bazaar, Rudaki Park, the new government building, and even the former homes of friends. We were left with the best impressions and memories of the beauty and hospitality of the city of Dushanbe.
36 Hours in Tashkent
After three days in Dushanbe, my grandfather and I flew to Tashkent, where we spent only a day and a half. Despite the heavy rains, we managed to visit the Navoi Theater and Opera to see a concert of cooperation and creativity between Hungary and Uzbekistan, enjoying the classical music and opera of these two countries. We also visited the Chigatay and Textile cemeteries (the Textile Cemetery is a European-Jewish cemetery located next to a “Textile factory”), where the relatives and close ones of my friends and great figures of our people, such as Isachar Akilov, Berta Davydova, Siroj Aminov, Aron Saidov, Suleiman Yudakov, Manas Leviev, Boris Mosheyev, and many others are buried.
A Return to Samarkand: My Maternal Ancestral Homeland
From Tashkent, we took the Afrosiyob train and headed to Samarkand, the homeland of my mother, grandmother, and grandfather, where almost all my maternal ancestors are buried. We were met by Shokir Talibov who greeted us with,»Beton Beton Samarkand!» We had a great time and recommended him to everyone. Our main goal in Samarkand was to visit the Bukharian-Jewish cemetery. We spent almost five hours there, where I was able to find and photograph the graves not only of all my ancestors and relatives but also of the relatives, friends, and loved ones of my friends.
The Largest Bukharian-Jewish Cemetery in Central Asia
My great-grandfather Isak Du Puli Ilyo Iskhakov, who passed away on November 5, 1971, and was buried on November 7, 1971, is buried there, and I visited the cemetery on the same day, 53 years later! My great-grandmother, his wife, Rachel Murdakhayevna Iskhakova from the Kavudgar family, is also buried there. My great-grandmother, my grandfather’s mother, Rachel Gavrielovna Khaimova-Mirzakandova, known throughout the neighborhood as one of the heads of the Siyob district community council, is also buried there. We also visited the graves of great artists such as Gavriel Mullokandov, Mikhoel Tolmasov, Levicha Babakhanov, and many others. I have so many photos from the cemetery that I can’t find the words to express how much history, people, and personalities are there! It is the largest Bukharian-Jewish cemetery in all of Central Asia!
‘I felt at home’
After the cemetery, we rested at a hotel on Dagbit Street called «Samaria.» The next day, we visited the house of my mother, grandmother, and grandfather in the Jewish neighborhood «Vostok» on Elizarova Street (formerly Denauskaya), as well as the «Gumbaz» synagogue and other relatives’ homes. On the last day before returning to America, we visited the Siyob Bazaar and Registan Square. I was amazed by the architectural grandeur of the Registan ensemble in the old city center.
I can’t find the words to express what I felt in Samarkand. I felt at home.
Thanks to my late grandmother Tamara Khusni, I became fluent in Bukharian-Jewish, Tajik, and Persian languages and continue to speak them with my grandfather.
And thanks to this trip to Central Asia, I became even more proud of being a Bukharian Jew born in America. I am proud of my history, my people, my mother tongue, and I have a desire to go there every year, G-d willing, amen ken yehi ratzon! Tojikistonu Ūzbekiston peshkash!
Robert “Bobby” Nudel-Iskhakov