The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan Hamrokhon Zarifi has presented the readers with a book titled "The Tajik Golden Heritage” which has gathered the unique exemplars of Tajiks arts and crafts from the most ancient times to the present. The book has been published in Tajik, Russian, Persian, Arabic, Chinese, English, French and German languages. Over 500 pictures of rare museum valuables presented to the readers are both in the historical museums of Tajikistan and in the foreign museums, as well as a part of them is taken from the gatherings of private collectors. 16 ancient exhibits are from the family collection of Hamrokhon Zarifi. Although "The Tajik Golden Heritage” has also been published in Tajik, the book is mainly focused on the world community. Hamrokhon Zarifi, the author of "The Tajik Golden Heritage” highlights in the foreword to his book that this work reflects a deep view on the culture and history of Tajiks and shows the role of Tajiks in the world culture. "I tried my best for the world community to acquire better notion of the ancient Tajiks and the Tajiks of nowadays, I tried to show the links and ties of the world civilization with the Tajik culture”. The chapters of the book "The Tajik Golden Heritage” are devoted to the Oxus Treasure, the Silk Road, painting, the art of the miniature, jewellery, visual arts in architecture, national costumes, embroidery, and national instruments of the past centuries and many other exemplars of the Tajik arts and crafts. The Oxus Treasure is a collection comprising 1300 coins (the most ancient of which dates back to 200 century B.C.), 177 golden and silver items – pottery, statuettes, bracelets and other items which date back to the period of rule of the Achaemenid (Hakhamaneshi) dynasty and Greco-Bactrian reign. These legendary treasures were found in 1877 in the ruins of an old city beside the stream channel of Amudarya river, on the territory of ancient Bactria (current Tajikistan). A part of this important cultural discovery is kept in the British Museum. Several years ago Great Britain passed copies of this unique finding on to Tajikistan, but currently the copies of some exhibits of the Oxus Treasure are being prepared for the National Museum of Tajikistan. The author of the book also stresses the role of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon in the revival and development of national arts and popular crafts, particularly in their practical use in the training of relevant specialists. According to him, during the recent years a number of colleges and training centers have been established in Tajikistan, which play an important role in the protection of valuable legacy of ancestors and discovery of new styles of handicrafts. The book by Hamrokhon Zarifi composed of over 400 pages has been printed in 21 thousand copies in the respected publishing houses of the world – The Ethnic Publishing House of China, Wostok Verlag of Germany, Big Media Group of Belgium and IMAK of Turkey. Last month the UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova took decision to decorate the author of the book with a golden medal of UNESCO for a worthy contribution to promotion of ancient culture of the Tajik people. Read more