These pictures are from a USAID Farmer to Farmer trip in 2002. Tajikistan has a 1,000 mile border with Afghanistan and the Taliban had come through after the breakup of the Soviet Union to sponsor a civil war there as well. It was eventually put down by the Russians, but in the process, much of the infrastructure was destroyed. I was there to help restore aquaculture.
Thank you for sharing your photos! I had a friend from college who was an exchange student from Tajikistan, but I never knew what his home country was like. I was surprised to see the photos of the sculptures. I was expecting those things to be destroyed. I like how your photos show your interactions with the people you met.