Wild Pista

A couple weeks ago, some friends and I took a driving tour of Khatlon oblast, the region to the south of Dushanbe. Along with the remains of a 10th century fortress, an impressive reservoir that provides over half of this country's hydropower, a holy mountain made of salt, the masoleum of a 16th century philosopher/poet/scientist, and many billboards praising the deeds of the revered president Emomali Rahmon, we saw lots of wild pistachio trees. We stopped to walk a little in the groves and then sampled some of the nuts at a roadside stand. For some reason, though, they weren't as tasty at the ones at the bazaar here in Dushanbe. Go figure.