Khoja Obi Garm: There is no Happiness without Health
In the early days of the Soviet Union, Lenin was concerned with how to motivate the workers of the nation; and so in 1920, Lenin famously decreed “Utilising the Crimea for the Medical Treatment of Working People.”
In the Soviet Union, it was believed that free time and work were linked and so, during the 1920s, the Soviet sanatorium was born, affording the USSR’s workers a place to take their yearly holiday, courtesy of a state-funded voucher system.
Sanatoriums began to spring up across the Soviet Union, utilising local specialities such as healing muds, vitalising springs and magical sands. These spa buildings took on many forms from neo-classical grandiose villas to mammoth Soviet behemoths, as is the case with the Khoja Obi Garm, which seems to have forced its way to the surface from the mountain itself, perched above the narrow Khodzha-Obigarm River Gorge.
Location
The Khoja Obi Garm is located 48 kilometres northeast of Dushanbe, deep within the Khodzha-Obigarm River Gorge, forming a small part of the Gissar mountain range. The ageing sanitorium sits 1,960 metres above sea level, offering views looking back down the valley and over the surrounding mountains.
History
Once it was decided that sanatoriums were to be built across the Soviet Union, sites for these were needed. In many cases, existing locations known for their medical benefits were selected, such as the Khoja Obi Garm Spa. Before the Soviet Union, local Tajiks had been visiting the Khodzha-Obigarm River Gorge for hundreds of years to utilise the healing properties of its natural spring.
Once the site was selected, work began in 1935. During this period, the nation’s capital Stalinabad (Dushanbe) also saw surge in construction. Now Tajikistan was starting to look like an actual Soviet state, its modern red capital was serviced by a typical Soviet sanatorium to boost its labour and encourage its workers.
Initially much smaller than its now imposing structure, Khoja Obi Garm grew in popularity. The Russian adventurer and author Pavel Luknitsky noted in his journal that “during the 1952 season alone five hundred people received courses of treatment.”
As its popularity grew, so did the Khoja Obi Garm. New wings were added and the spa grew up and out taking on its now brutalist Soviet style. The last addition to the spa would be in 1983, which was never finished as the Soviet Union lost its way and Tajikistan gained its well-earned independence.
Treatments
Once checked into the Khoja Obi Garm Spa, it functions more like a hospital; all patients are required to have a preliminary exam by a doctor.
Medical history, height, weight, pulse, blood pressure & body temperature are all checked- chest size, arm strength, and even lung capacity are also tested. Should the doctor require, he can also request other tests such as an ECG, blood work, and urine.
Once the doctor has an idea of the patient, he can recommend a course of treatments offered at the spa. As it was under the Soviet Union, most patients will stay for around one week.
A daily schedule will resemble the following:
| Wake Up | 06:00 |
| Morning Exercise | 06:30 – 07:30 |
| Breakfast | 08:00 – 08:40 |
| Various Treatments | 09:00 – 13:00 |
| Lunch | 13:00 – 13:40 |
| Various Treatments | 14:00 – 16:00 |
| Dinner | 18:00 – 18:40 |
| Entertainment | 19:00 – 21:40 |
| Sleep | 23:00 – 06:00 |
Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be prepared from a specially selected menu of which there are six variations for each meal. Each patient will be given a table number to obtain their meal.
The Various Treatments
The treatments at Khoja Obi Garm Spa vary wildly.
Various Spas and Water Treatments: The Radon water in the region is used for many treatments here. Radon water contains a low-level of ionising radiation. Surprisingly, this is found in quite a few spas worldwide, but it’s a little more sinister at Khoja Obi Garm, as the treatment is administered in surroundings more akin to Dr Frankenstein’s lab than Dr Fauci’s.
Water treatments include Radon baths, showers, pools, steam rooms and colonics.
Massage: It’s tough and vigorous, one of those massages you really know you’ve had. Male and female options are available.
Massage Suit: If the masseuse is busy or you want to try something different, you may opt for the massage bodysuit. It is odd and delivers a not unpleasant massage, but it can’t beat a human.
Infrared Light Treatment: Infrared is another therapy that is supposed to treat pain and inflammation.
Bloodletting with Leeches: If you haven’t had your head under a rock since medieval times, then you will know that leeches can be used to treat problems with the nervous system, dental problems, skin diseases, and infections. However, our Absolute Nomads adventurer has never yet been to Khoja Obi Garm and found the leeches in use.
Parrafin Wax Treatment: As well as helping the skin, paraffin wax can help ease pains associated with arthritis and other rheumatic diseases.
Mud Treatments: Khoja Obi Garm Spa offers a few different mud treatments. We recommend the hot body wrap; it’s a little painful to start with but does help soothe those travel aches and pains.
Acupuncture: A traditional form of medicine where hair-thin needles are inserted around the body to help with various ailments.
Dentist: Yes, to complete the list, there is also a dentist on-site. If the Khoja Obi Garm didn’t already look like a villain’s lair from a classic James Bond movie, a dentist chair from the 1950s completes the image!
*so far, these are all of the treatments our roving explorer has uncovered; should he survive any more, we will be sure to update the list!
Leisure Time
If all of these treatments weren’t fun enough already, Khoja Obi Garm, of course, has a range of activities to enjoy in your scheduled leisure time. These include a theatre, cinema, disco, pool tables, bar, gymnasium, swimming pool, numerous snack shops and a small cafeteria.
Visiting as a Tourist
Most tourists who choose to visit for only one or two nights always visit the Khoja Obi Garm expecting the worst, it’s housed in a stunning, yet very old and unfinished building. It has not been renovated, it’s high in the mountains, and it’s definitely not like a health spa in the west – it is a Soviet Sanatorium.
Aside from all of that, if you travel with an open mind, it is fun, exciting, and a real adventure; you will feel a sense of history and if you have a real imagination, walk around the deserted corridors at night for a taste of the liminal, slightly unnerving atmosphere.
As a tourist, you will not need to go through the doctor’s checks and tests, the water treatments are included whilst the other treatments require an additional fee.
Rooms at the sanatorium are basic but comfortable, with slow internet, the front-facing rooms have a fantastic view of the mountain. There will be a little sulphury smell, but open the window and the bracing mountain air will expel that for a while.
Meals are a little basic but not unpleasant and are filling enough, although if you need more sustenance, one of the snack shops will help you break your diet.
Aside from all of the above, the main reason people from abroad visit the Khoja Obi Garm is to take a look at this giant example of Soviet brutalist architecture spilling from the mountainside.
The Khoja Obi Garm sanatorium oozes presence and has that feeling of being alive. Unlike many modern buildings, its character doesn’t stop when you enter. Yes, it may be in the throws of ageing decay, however, the building still exudes life evident in every uneven staircase, creaky elevator, and miles of pipes carrying the hot water throughout its halls and stairwells.
It may feel like a hotel from a Stephen King novel, a villain’s lair, or even a place of last stand in a zombie apocalypse movie, but it’s a building with true character.
Five Top Tips
Take a Towel: Don’t forget your towel when you attend any of the treatments. It is a Muslim country and a unisex sanatorium, so nude isn’t cool. You can use the towels in the room, but don’t lose them or you will be charged. Some rooms do have dressing gowns which also come in handy for wandering from treatment to treatment.
Take a Massage: If you want the real deal, go for a complete massage. Yes it will hurt, but it’s worth it. Not only can you claim that the Bond villain’s evil henchman has made an attempt on your life, but it’s also a bloody good massage.
Go for a Wander: If you are just not into the spa as much as your travel mates, get out and have a walk in the surrounding mountains. Looking down at the sanatorium is terrific and walking in the Gissar Mountain Range comes with perfect air and stunning scenery.
Relax: Take time and relax a little. Fling open the windows, lay back, and enjoy the crisp mountain air. Alternatively, sit in reception, drink a coffee and people watch. Try and imagine the spa in its heyday visited by people from all across the Soviet Union (on their one week holiday in a year).
Explore the Sanatorium: Take a torch and explore the Khoja Obi Garm. Walk through ageing halls, down winding stairwells, and venture into the very bowels of this grand building. It may be scary, but that’s why you’re here, to squeeze every bit of adventure from your visit. If you are lucky, you may stumble across the cheesy disco, although if you are really unlucky it may be Tajik comedy night!
Join us in exploring Khoja Obi Garm on the following tours:
Buzkashi Madness & Persian New Year Tour
Alternatively, book yourself an independent tour to Tajikistan here.