Explore the Teahouse

THE HiSTORY

In 1987, during his first visit to Boulder, Mayor Maksud Ikramov of Dushanbe announced that his city would gift Boulder a traditional Tajik teahouse to honor the new sister city relationship. From 1987 to 1990, more than 40 skilled artisans in Tajikistan created the intricate decorative elements that define the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse today. These include the hand-carved and hand-painted ceiling, ornate tables, stools, carved columns, and the colorful ceramic panels on the exterior. Many of these artistic traditions have been passed down for generations within Tajik families, preserving centuries of craftsmanship.

The project was a true international collaboration: chief architect Lado Shanidze of Tajikistan guided the design, while American architect Vern Seieroe oversaw the adaptation and reconstruction in Boulder. Together, they ensured that this remarkable work of art would become a lasting cultural landmark and a symbol of global friendship.

The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse is a living reflection of an artistic tradition that stretches back nearly 2,000 years in Central Asia. Among the master woodcarvers who contributed to its creation were Manon Khaidarov and Mirpulat Mirakhmatov, renowned artisans who later traveled to Boulder to help reassemble the Teahouse.

The Boulder Chapter of the Teahouse Story

The handcrafted elements of the Teahouse were completed in Tajikistan, then carefully packed into about 200 crates and shipped to Boulder in 1990. With no site yet selected for construction, the crates were stored at a Boulder water treatment facility, where they remained for nearly a decade while the city and community determined how best to honor this extraordinary gift [1][2][3].

During this period, the City of Boulder pledged a parcel of land along 13th Street beside Boulder Creek as the future home of the Teahouse. The riverside location was both symbolic and practical: in Tajik tradition, teahouses are often built near water, and the central setting made the Teahouse easily accessible to the Boulder community.

The decision to build the Teahouse, however, was not without controversy. Some residents questioned dedicating prime city land to a foreign structure, while others worried about costs and maintenance. Concerns about overruns, which reportedly rose from $250,000 to nearly $800,000, added to the debate. And because Tajikistan was still part of the Soviet Union when the Teahouse was gifted, a few critics viewed it with suspicion, interpreting the project through Cold War politics and even raising fears of espionage [2]. Supporters, on the other hand, saw it as a rare opportunity to celebrate international friendship and preserve traditional Tajik artistry in Boulder.

To resolve financial concerns, the Boulder–Dushanbe Sister Cities organization partnered with the city to create a practical funding plan. Rather than relying heavily on taxpayer money, lease revenues from the operating restaurant inside the Teahouse would help cover costs. This approach, along with years of local fundraising, allowed the project to move forward [1].

By 1997, construction began, guided by American architect Vern Seieroe and Tajik master craftsmen who traveled to Boulder to assist with reassembly. In 1998, the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse officially opened, transforming crates that had sat in storage for nearly a decade into one of Boulder’s most beloved cultural landmarks.

References

  1. Wikipedia. “Dushanbe Tea House.” Retrieved 2025.

  2. Westword. “The Dushanbe Teahouse’s Long Strange Trip.” 1998.

  3. Fresh Cup Magazine. “Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse.” 2017.


ColorFul Ceramic Panels

Eight vivid ceramic panels, crafted by artist Victor Zabolotnikov, grace the exterior of the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse. Traditionally described as representing the Tree of Life, each panel shows a stylized floral arrangement rising from a vase and framed within a mihrab-inspired arch, a design element from Persian and Islamic architecture that symbolizes sanctuary and spiritual reflection.

The panels incorporate motifs of grapes, pomegranates, butterflies, flowers, and vines—symbols of fertility, blessing, and the ancient vision of the Paradise Garden, where nature’s abundance and divine harmony come together. In Persian art, the Tree of Life and the Paradise Garden are closely connected, both expressing ideas of renewal, immortality, and the eternal cycle of nature.

Constructed in Tajikistan as interlocking sections, the panels were sculpted, glazed, and fired piece by piece before being carefully prepared for shipment to Boulder. Reports note that Zabolotnikov even traveled with glazes to help complete and oversee the final installation, ensuring the panels retained their intended brilliance [1][2][3]. Today, these radiant works remain one of the most iconic features of the Teahouse, welcoming visitors with a vivid expression of cultural heritage and the timeless symbolism of life and abundance.

References

  1. Saudi Aramco World (June 1998). Rocky Mountain Chai. Link

  2. Asia-Plus News Agency (2017). Таджикские мастера оставили след в США (“Tajik masters left their mark in the USA”). Link

  3. Asia-Plus News Agency (2018). 30 лет дружбы Душанбе и Боулдера (“30 Years of Friendship between Dushanbe and Boulder”). Link

Teahouse Interior

The Hand-Carved and Painted Ceiling

The ceiling of the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse is one of its most breathtaking features, a dazzling tapestry of hand-carved and hand-painted Persian designs that celebrates centuries of artistic tradition. This extraordinary ceiling was crafted entirely in Tajikistan, where master artisans worked in the time-honored way, just as their ancestors had done for generations. No power tools were used in its creation. Every detail — from the smallest floral motif to the most elaborate geometric star — was shaped, chiseled, and painted by hand with remarkable precision and care.

Suspended beneath this vibrant canopy are twelve intricately carved cedar columns, also created in Tajikistan and shipped to Boulder as part of the original gift. Each column is unique, bearing its own pattern of symbolic motifs, and together they frame the interior with an air of timeless grandeur.

Among the most moving details of the Teahouse are the signatures of the artisans themselves, quietly marking their legacy. Master woodcarvers Manon Khaidarov and Mirpulat Mirakhmatov, who were among those who later came to Boulder to help reassemble the Teahouse, carved their names high in the ceiling. The painters inscribed their names on a green-painted panel above the entry to the kitchen, a subtle testament to their artistry and presence.

A message carved into the ceiling reads, “Artisans of ancient Khojand whose works are magical,” honoring the city in Tajikistan from which many of the artists came. This inscription stands as a tribute to their devotion and skill — and as a reminder that the Teahouse is not only a work of architecture, but a living museum of cultural heritage and human connection.

The Ganch Panels of Kodir Rhakimov

Along the walls of the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse, a series of intricately carved plaster panels by master artist Kodir Rhakimov showcase the ancient Persian art of ganch. Ganch carving, a delicate and centuries-old technique, has adorned mosques, palaces, and madrasas throughout Central Asia and Persia, where artisans transformed simple plaster into lace-like ornamentation.

Rhakimov’s panels are a striking fusion of eras and styles. While the medium and motifs are rooted in the timeless traditions of the Persian Empire, his oil paintings woven among the carvings reflect the bold, modern aesthetics of Soviet-era art, creating an evocative dialogue between past and present. This interplay of ancient craftsmanship and contemporary vision makes his work truly unique within the Teahouse.

Kodir created these ganch panels during his time in Boulder, a labor of love that took many months to complete. He began by preparing a secret blend of plaster, allowing it to cure to just the right consistency. Once ready, he spread the material onto wooden easels and began the painstakingly precise process of carving. Working with specialized tools and a steady hand, he sculpted intricate floral and geometric patterns into the fragile surface, one careful stroke at a time.

Each finished panel is made up of many individual hand-carved tiles, which were later assembled like a puzzle to form the complete design. After they were installed in the Teahouse, Kodir devoted another six weeks of meticulous work refining and perfecting every detail, ensuring that the panels would harmonize with the surrounding architecture and endure as a testament to his art.

Today, his ganch carvings stand as a luminous reminder of the skill, patience, and cultural heritage embedded in the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse, linking the living tradition of Tajik craftsmanship with the spirit of cross-cultural friendship that the Teahouse represents.

THE SEVEN BEAUTIES

The Seven Beauties is the fourth poem in Nizami Ganjavi’s Khamsa, which means “Five Treasuries.” Completed in 1197 CE, the work chronicles the adventures of Shah Bahram Gur, son of Yazdegerd I of the Sasanian dynasty. Though based on well-documented events, Nizami used the tale to explore themes of social justice, morality, and humanity’s relationship with nature. The poem is celebrated for its depth of meaning, social insight, intricate structure, and enduring poetic brilliance.

In the Middle Ages, the number seven was considered sacred. Both the mythological and scientific thinking of the time embraced the idea that the world was divided into seven regions, that there were seven known planets, seven days in a week, and seven colors in the spectrum.

As a young prince, Bahram sees portraits of seven princesses from the seven continents in a lavish palace and falls in love with them. When he becomes Shah of Iran, he summons the seven women and marries them. He commissions the renowned architect Shidda to build a magnificent palace with seven domed pavilions, each painted a different color and associated with a corresponding planet. On the proper day of the week, Bahram would dress in the matching color and visit the wife connected to that day.

Each princess told him a story from her homeland, praising the virtues symbolized by her color. These tales, drawn from popular folklore, wove together scientific, philosophical, and symbolic views of color, inspiring honesty, virtue, and kindness, while warning against arrogance, greed, and treachery. Through their stories, the princesses did more than entertain the Shah — they invited him to reflect on life, human nature, and the deeper secrets of the universe.

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In the central pool of the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse, seven hammered copper sculptures by artist Ivan Milosovich shimmer above the water. These life-sized figures are inspired by “The Seven Beauties”, the fourth poem in Nizami Ganjavi’s 12th century epic, the Khamsa, completed around 1197 CE.

The poem follows Shah Bahram Gur, son of Yazdegerd I of the Sasanian dynasty, and his encounters with seven princesses from seven distant lands. Though rooted in history, Nizami used the tale to explore themes of justice, morality, and humanity’s connection to nature.

Celebrated for its vivid imagery and timeless wisdom, The Seven Beauties is one of the great works of Persian literature, and these sculptures bring its poetic spirit to life at the heart of the Teahouse.

TAJIKISTAN: A Brief History of Tajikistan

The region now known as Tajikistan has been a cultural crossroads for more than two and a half millennia. In the 7th century BCE, it lay on the eastern edge of the Achaemenid Persian Empire,1 serving as a remote but connected outpost of Persian civilization. Nestled just south of the great Silk Road trade routes, this rugged land witnessed the march of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE,2 the arrival of the Arab Caliphate in the 7th and 8th centuries (bringing Islam to the region), the fierce conquests of the Mongols in the 13th century, and later waves of Turkic and Russian rule that left lasting cultural layers.

Today, Tajikistan is a mountainous, landlocked nation of more than 10 million people,3 occupying an area about the size of Iowa. It shares borders with China, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, and lies at the western edge of the Himalayan system. A striking 93% of the country is covered by mountains, including the towering Pamir Range, where Ismoil Somoni Peak rises to nearly 25,000 feet, the highest summit in the region.4

The Tajik language, closely related to modern Persian (Farsi) and written in the Cyrillic alphabet, is the country’s official language. The capital city, Dushanbe — meaning “Monday” in Tajik — began as a small village of a few hundred people who gathered for a weekly Monday bazaar. It became the capital of the Tajik Soviet Republic in 1929 (then called Stalinabad until 1961), and after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, it emerged as the capital of an independent Tajikistan.5

Although the country endured a difficult civil war from 1992 to 1997, Tajikistan has steadily rebuilt in the decades since.6 Dushanbe has grown into a vibrant modern city of more than one million people,3 serving as the cultural, political, and economic heart of the nation — and standing as a symbol of its resilience and renewal.

Footnotes

  1. Frye, R. N. The Heritage of Central Asia. Princeton University Press, 1996. ↩

  2. Holt, Frank L. Into the Land of Bones: Alexander the Great in Afghanistan. University of California Press, 2005. ↩

  3. World Bank. “Tajikistan — Population.” 2024. ↩ ↩2

  4. National Geographic Atlas of the World, 11th Edition. ↩

  5. Nourzhanov, Kirill & Bleuer, Christian. Tajikistan: A Political and Social History. ANU Press, 2013. ↩

  6. Heathershaw, John. Post-Conflict Tajikistan: The Politics of Peacebuilding and the Emergence of Legitimate Order. Routledge, 2009. ↩

 
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Dushanbe

{doo-shan-bay’} — Capital of Tajikistan

Dushanbe, the sister city of Boulder, is the capital of Tajikistan. Its name, meaning “Monday” in Tajik, comes from the day of the week when a bustling village bazaar was traditionally held on the site. Once a small market town, Dushanbe was chosen in 1924 as the capital of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the USSR. Renamed Stalinabad in 1929, it reverted to its original name during the de-Stalinization period of 1961. When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, Dushanbe became the capital of an independent Tajikistan.

Land & Resources

Tajikistan is a land of dramatic landscapes — 93% of its territory is mountainous, and nearly half lies above 9,000 feet. The towering Pamir Mountains in eastern Tajikistan include Ismoil Somoni Peak (24,599 ft / 7,498 m), the highest mountain in the former USSR. The country’s climate is equally diverse, with summer valley temperatures often above 31 °C (88 °F) while alpine regions remain below 10 °C (50 °F). Tajikistan is rich in wildlife, from the elusive snow leopard to wild mountain sheep and goats, including the Siberian ibex and the rare, spiraled-horn markhor.

Boulder-Dushanbe Sister Cities Project

The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse would not exist without the vision, dedication, and ongoing support of the Boulder–Dushanbe Sister Cities project. This unique partnership was born from the belief that person-to-person connections can bridge cultures, dissolve boundaries, and nurture peace.

Boulder–Dushanbe Sister Cities is a non-political, all-volunteer, nonprofit organization (incorporated as a 501(c)(3) under U.S. tax law) devoted to fostering friendship, understanding, and communication between the peoples of the United States and Tajikistan. Membership is open to anyone who shares this mission of cross-cultural exchange and goodwill.

For decades, the Sister Cities program has brought people together through student exchanges, cultural delegations, humanitarian projects, and ongoing community collaborations. Volunteers from Boulder and Dushanbe work side by side, guided by the belief that small steps—rooted in mutual respect and cooperation—can create lasting global change. The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse stands as a living symbol of this vision: a place where the spirit of international friendship can be experienced and celebrated every day.
To Learn More about BDSC visit HERE

​To learn more about Sister Cities International visit their web page HERE .