The village of Bobodarkhon and of the entire Ponghoz jamoat consist of large, walled, tightly packed houses. As a result, the unpaved streets are narrow and the large double doors of the homes open directly onto the road. Neighbors' homes connect one to the other, unless separated by a street or alleyway. Nearly the entire extended family of Rakhim, the father of my friends Latif and Rauf, lived on the same street in four different homes.

Tajik homes in this part of the country do not have yards. Each home does, however, have a fruit orchard in the courtyard, where they grow apples, pomegranates, apricots, persimmons, and grapes, among other things. The Sughd region as a whole is home to productive agriculture, where these fruit crops are grown on a large scale and sold abroad, especially in Russia.

Top row, second from right: Shadroz (left) and Shahroz in the orchard of Shadroz's home. Top row, far right: a view into the orchard of the family home where I stayed. Bottom row, left and center: the home I stayed in as viewed from the street from two different angles. Bottom row, right: the home of Latif and Rauf.

Note the running water at the very right-hand side of the center picture and the running water and water pipes along the front of the house in the picture bottom row, center.

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