Dushanbe’s beloved teahouse, Choikhona Rohat is slated for demolition…

I recently learned that yet another of Dushanbe’s famous historic and cultural monuments is to be demolished, and once again in its place a “modern’’ building will be constructed. The building this time though, is none other than the iconic Rohat Teahouse (Чойхонаи Роҳат).

Built in 1958, Choikhona Rohat may not be the oldest of Dushanbe’s monuments, but it is certainly among the most famous. The semi-enclosed space is a fusion of Soviet modernism and traditional vernacular Tajik design and ornamentation. Choikhona Rohat was designed by the renowned Russian architects Konstantin Nikolovich and Daniil Gendlin and ornamental work was designed and implemented by the master Tajik artist Mirzo Rahmat Olimov and his students. The most defining architectural features of the teahouse are its 20 beautiful slender columns topped with beautiful Tajik capitals, rich in floral carvings and muqarnas. These columns hold up the ceiling grid- a grid of white concrete beams with delicate stained glass windows between them (most of which are now covered on the roof and unfortunately no longer let in light). Mosaic panels were added to the front façade of the building several decades after its initial construction.

The teahouse has for years been noted among the world’s top ten teahouses, I would not disagree, as I had the privilege to visit the teahouse and enjoy its atmosphere myself. Whether enjoying Tajikistan’s national dish “Oshi Plov” or drinking a cup of tea from a “piyola” (a small ceramic cup in the shape of a bowl for drinking tea) the atmosphere of the teahouse is brilliant. The teahouse’s balcony is where most visitors prefer to sit as from there one can enjoy beautiful views towards Dushanbe’s prominent Rudaki ‌Boulevard lined with it’s old Sycamore trees, the beautiful architecture of the Lohuti Drama Theater beside it, and if one sits in the back a quaint view of the teahouse’s courtyard which contains a few additional halls of the teahouse. Since its construction Choikhona Rohat has been a hub for intellectual and creative activities in Dushanbe, attracting a diverse group of patrons. It is known that some of modern Tajikistan’s most renowned authors and poets from Mirzo Turusunzoda, to Foteh Niyozi, Rimma Kazakova, and Rasul Ghamzatov found inspiration and spent a good deal of time at Choikhona Rohat.

Some of these additional halls are built in a more pure Tajik architectural style constructed with traditional Tajik wood joinery and decorated with elaborate carvings and floral paintings. Another flank of the building, sadly demolished in 2022 contained an additional hall in the Russian Neo Classical Style. While difficult to truly give justice to the architectural beauty of Choikhona Rohat in words, it should be known to the reader that it is a true representation of the complex and diverse identity of Soviet Dushanbe- mixing the old Tajik and Islamic identity of Tajikistan with the cities newer Soviet and Russian influences.

The slated destruction of Choikhona Rohat comes after two earlier attempts to demolish the teahouse by the Dushanbe Municipality were prevented by local protest in 2017 and 2022 respectively. After each occasion the Dushanbe Municipality backed down and reassured residents that it would not demolish the beloved teahouse. Alas this third time seems more serious, as this time the Dushanbe Municipality has brought up the excuse that the building is not up to modern codes, a bogus claim considering almost all historic buildings don’t abide by modern codes, yet most in fact stand stronger and have lasted longer than buildings constructed from modern materials and methods. Most importantly, such buildings are a piece of our history and heritage and should be preserved as a testament to each civilization’s architectural and cultural legacy. Even those that in need of structural remediation should be preserved at all costs. With this demolition Dushanbe stands to lose a lot, not just Choikhona Rohat, but this demolition is emblematic than the Dushanbe Municipality is now determined to demolish all of Dushanbe’s Soviet heritage and no building, even those loved by the city’s own population and foreign visitors alike is safe from imminent demolition.