Chilu-chor chashma
Tschilu- chor chashma ( Tajik Чилу чор чашма , "44 sources", other transcriptions Chiluchorchashma, Chashma chehel o chahor ) is a year-round much visited pilgrimage center and a picnic area under trees near the city of Shahritus in the extreme southwest of Tajikistan . According to an Islamic legend, the spring water in a pond is considered to be medicinal.
location
Coordinates: 37 ° 17 '38.7 " N , 68 ° 2' 18.8" E
Tschilu-chor Tschaschma is located at an altitude of 381 meters in a flat valley eight kilometers west of the small town of Schahritus in the province of Chatlon . From Schahritus, which is 367 meters above sea level in the north-south running valley of the Kofarnihon , the asphalt road leads over a flat, barren chain of hills into a parallel valley . The pilgrimage center can be seen 200 meters south of the road, just before a bend, after which the road leads north past some small settlements in the valley. At the bend, another road branches off across the valley to the west to the village of Beschkent, which lies at the foot of the Tujuntoj chain that closes the valley along the Uzbek border. The Beschkent Valley is 70 kilometers long and 5 kilometers wide. It is the hottest area of Tajikistan with average temperatures of 3 degrees in January and 31 degrees in July. The annual average rainfall is only 140 millimeters.
In the first half of the 20th century, the steppe landscape of the valley was made partially usable for agriculture by the construction of irrigation canals with a Soviet development plan. Cotton , grain and vegetables thrive in the surrounding fields . Some fields are irrigated with the water of the spring, which is divided into small channels ( arik ) and diverted to the south. The scattered settlement of Tash-Kuprjuk, consisting of a few houses, lies just under a kilometer to the west between the fields. On the north side, the foothills of the vegetation-free hills reach the source.
investment
The place of pilgrimage is visited all year round, but especially in the hot summer months between June and September, when the picnic areas under the green, shady mulberry trees and pastures offer themselves as a cool oasis in the middle of the bare, dry surroundings. Each family sits on one of the wooden racks ( Taptschan ) that are set up in several rows under the trees. There are washing areas and cooking areas where families can prepare their own food and a tea house ( tschoichona ). A guest house offers overnight accommodation in several large rooms.
A few meters south of the picnic area, five springs arise at the foot of a small hill, protruding from the cracks of a jagged limestone rock in 39 places, justifying the number of "44 springs". The spring water emerges at a constant 14 ° C all year round, the total amount of water is 1500 liters / second. The water comes from the Kofarnihon, from which it flows underground due to a tectonic fault in the paleogenic limestone.
The springs form a rock pond with crystal clear water, the temperature of which is 18 to 20 ° C. The water initially flows west in a 12 to 13 meter wide canal. The main canal leaves the perimeter fence of the pilgrim's place after 100 meters and becomes a reed-covered river, which narrows after another 200 meters. In the area of the source there are numerous fish that move around in dense schools and are not allowed to be caught. The fish do not move further than about 800 meters from the source. The three main species are Varicorhinus heratensis Steindachneri , which is also found in Serafshan , Alburnoides bipunctatus eichwaldi and carp ( Cyprinus carpio ), all of which belong to the carp family (Cyprinidae).
A network of pedestrian bridges and paths spans the small bays of the rock pond in which the individual springs arise. The pond must not be polluted and its water must only be taken for drinking. To do this, dealers sell empty plastic bottles. The water is considered medicinal and, depending on the source, should help against various ailments, such as nosebleeds, snakebites, infertility, headaches, high blood pressure, heart and liver diseases. Across a bridge over the canal, still within the picnic area, there is a bathing opportunity for men. Outside the facility, the water has lost its healing power.
From the spring stairs lead up to a hill, on the top of which there is a mausoleum , Persian gumbaz (corresponds to Arabic qubba ). A cenotaph over five meters long is venerated in the building and is dedicated to Kambar Bobo (also: Bobokamber). He is considered to be the groom Hazrat Alis (around 600-661), who was the cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Mohammed and caliph . The holy Kambar Bobo is said to come from a Syrian family. A supernatural height is symbolic of the special holiness of the worshiped. The Islamization of today's Tajikistan only began under the Umayyads from the 8th century.
meaning
Marco Polo is said to have visited the place in 1376 and prophesied that a large (sacred) tree would still be here in 500 years. In fact, there is a sacred tree by the pond, in the branches of which pilgrims tie white rags to make their wishes come true. Until 1961, Tschilu-chor Tschaschma was an important national pilgrimage destination. Later the Soviet leadership forbade the worship, which became possible again after the independence of Tajikistan in 1991.
According to one of the legends that explain the magical-religious significance of the place, Hazrat Ali traveled with his soldiers through the dry land. Everyone was thirsty and had nothing to drink, especially Kambar Bobo, who was injured, was very thirsty. Ali pleaded for divine assistance that night and the next morning he touched the ground 44 times with his fingertips so that the water of the spring came out. This cured Kambar Bobo.
According to a variant of this legend, Ali was in the area preaching Islam. During his stay, the nearby river dried up. Ali therefore cursed the river and gave it the name Kofarnihon , "unbelieving river" (from Arabic kafir , "unbeliever"). When Ali arrived at today's location, he sent a prayer to Allah asking for water. Then he touched the earth with five fingers and immediately five springs poured out.
The non-governmental pilgrimage site is administered by an Islamic dignitary ( sheikh ) who, in order to justify his claim to the management of the most visited and thus financially most profitable Islamic site in the south-west of the country, documents a perfect chain of descent (Arabic silsila ) in a descent book ( schajaranoma , from Arabic schajara , "tree" and noma, nāma , Tajik / Persian "book") are required. There is a dispute between the current sheikh of Chilu-chor chashma and another Islamic dignitary, who comes from another village in the vicinity of Kubodijon like that and who also claims to run the pilgrimage site by referring to his religious origins in ʿAbd al -Qādir al-Jīlānī (1077 / 78–1166), the founder of the Qādirīya order.
literature
- Robert Middleton, Huw Thomas: Tajikistan and the High Pamirs. Odyssey Books & Guides, Hong Kong 2012, pp. 218–220.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Beshkent. In: Kamoludin Abdullaev, Shahram Akbarzadeh: Historical Dictionary of Tajikistan. Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2010, p. 80.
- ↑ Inom Normatov: Geothermal Water Resources of the Republic of Tajikistan and a Perspective on Their Use . (PDF) Proceedings World Geothermal Congress 2010. Bali, Indonesia, 25. – 29. April 2010, p. 2.
- ↑ MR Daniiarov: Parasitic fauna of fishes in the "Chilu-chor Chashma" Spring (Tadzhik SSR) with a constant and high water temperature . In: Parazitologiia . tape 9 , no. 4 (July-August), 1975, ISSN 0031-1847 , pp. 312-314 , PMID 130595 (English abstract).
- ^ Robert Middleton, Huw Thomas: Tajikistan and the High Pamirs. P. 219.
- ↑ Chiluchor chashma . Tourism Information Portal of Tajikistan
- ↑ Hafiz Boboyorov: Collective Identities and patronage networks in Southern Tajikistan. (ZEF Development Studies) Lit, Münster 2013, pp. 87, 200.