Ayni

Ayni (Tajik: Айни) is a small town in the Zeravshan Valley of west-central Tajikistan. Most travelers will zip on by this town, but it played an important role in the region's history.

Ayni is a small but historic town situated at the crossroads of two major roads in Tajikistan: the north-south road connecting Dushanbe and Khujand and the east-west road connecting Panjakent and the Uzbek border.

Ayni was founded as a Sogdian settlement at a critical juncture between two mountain passes along one of the Silk Road paths. Later, the town became an important site during the Islamicization of Tajikistan. An ancient minaret still stands in the town from this period. In the 20th century, it became an important site for Tajik nationalists, and the town was renamed from Zahmatobod to Ayni after the Tajik national poet, Sadruddin Ayni.

The town is pretty small but divided in two by the Zeravshan river. The town can be walked pretty easily, although the bridge across the river is mainly for automobiles.

Aside from numerous small towns and villages nestled between the mountains, there are four major cities the traveler may be interested in from Ayni:

• Heading north, the first major town is Istaravshan, then Khujand.
• Heading west, the town of Panjakent is home to some of the best archeological sites in Tajikistan, and is a natural stop on the way to the Uzbek border.
• Heading south, the first major town is the capital of Dushanbe.