The park running along Rudaki Avenue is the lungs of central Dushanbe — a long strip of green with fountains, benches, and the inevitable statue of the 10th-century poet Rudaki at the north end, who gave the avenue its name. In the evenings and on weekends, it fills with families, young people, and old men playing chess. The park is a good place to understand the city's social rhythms.
Ice cream sellers and tea vendors set up along the paths in summer. The Rudaki statue itself is massive and floridly Stalinist — Rudaki portrayed as a heroic patriarch rather than the blind medieval court poet he actually was. The park connects the government quarter to the bazaar area and is worth traversing slowly rather than rushing through.