General Information for Missions to Tajikistan

Here is a description of some dishes from the Tajik cuisine:
Plov - made up of scraps of mutton or beef with shredded carrots and rice, fried in a large
wok; Shashlyk - skewered chunks of mutton or beef grilled over charcoal, served with raw
sliced onions; Manty - large dough steam cooked sacks stuffed with minced or chopped
meat; samsa or sambusa and chiburekki (deep-fried or baked dough cakes stuffed usually
with minced or chopped meat and onions) are all popular as snacks; shurpo - meat and
vegetables soup; laghman - similar to shurpo, but comes with noodles.
Time
GMT + 5. No time changes in winter or summer.
Electricity
220 volts AC, 50Hz. Round, 2-pin continental plugs.
Money
Currency: The Tajik currency is Somoni. 1 Somoni = 100 Dirams. Notes are in
denominations of Somoni 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1. Dirams, issued as notes and coins, are in
denominations of diram 50, 20, 5 and 1. The exchange rate for September 2006 is US$1 =
3.40 Smn.
Currency exchange: The preferred hard currency is the US Dollar and Euro, although other
hard currencies are also acceptable but exchange rate is lower than in other countries. Old
banknotes are normally accepted but at a lower rate. Owing to a shortage of change, a
supply of small notes should be carried. International banking services are not available.
Please, avoid changing money with private persons, all money should be changed at the
exchange points around the town (many are along Rudaki Avenue, close to Central
Department Store "TSUM").
Credit & debit cards: All bills are settled in cash, no cards are accepted and therefore a
sufficient amount of cash should be brought to Tajikistan. ATM machines for Visa,
Mastercards are available in places such as: "Avesto" hotel, "Tajikistan" hotel,
"Agroninvestbank", "TSUM "(Central Department Store), "DAEWOO" shop but cannot be
relied upon.
Travel in/from Dushanbe
To reach a certain destination in Dushanbe by public transportation you can either take a taxi
but fix a price before entering a car (prices vary from 5 to 30 Somoni depending on distance),
mini-bus (marshrutka) or bus - cost is 0.40 Smn per trip.
Dushanbe is connected to Khujand, Kulab and Khorog, the administrative center of Gorno-
Badakhshan (GBAO) by car and plane. Due to the mountainous terrain of GBAO, it is often
preferred to travel by helicopter or plane but the flights are not regular since they are
dependent on good weather.
Air Travel
There are not many Air companies in TJ such as: TajikAir, representations of Turkish Airline,
Russian and Kyrgyz Airlines. Airfare to Russia countries changes depending on a season
and demand (e.g. cost in summer in the direction Dushanbe-Moscow is higher than in winter