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Murghab covers the eastern part of GBAO, and has borders with China, Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan. With a population of 12500 the population density is of 0.33 person/km² - and this bearing in mind that about half, i.e. some 6000 people live in Murghab town, the administrative centre of the rayon and only noteworthy bazaar in the surrounding of 300 km. More...

Murghab lies at an altitude ranging from 3500 masl (the vast, river moulded plains) to 7460 masl (Pik Somoni, formerly known as Pik Communism). It contains a multitude of peaks of 6000 m and more, and the heights are covered by glaciers, of which the Fedshenko glacier is, with some 70 km, the longest in the world. (' article glaciers and desert)
Some great, mostly salty lakes (= Kul in Kyrgyz) are interposed and stand in bright blue contrast to the barren high plateaus and snowy peaks surrounding them. The biggest of them is Kara Kul, presumably formed by the impact of a meteorite; other prominent ones are the fading Rang Kul, the Zorkul on the border to the Afghan Pamirs and the Yashil Kul and Bulun Kul, the former being a natural dam lake created after an earthquake. The same is true for the most notorious one, the Sarez lake: it was formed only 70 years ago, and the stability of the dam has been object to much research, as a breaching would cause a flood and catastrophe all the way down to the plains of western Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan.
The precipitation ranging between 60 mm and 150 mm, the climate is arid and continental: very cold winters and pretty cold summers compose an average yearly temperature of -1°. Spring witnesses strong gusts of wind - and all the year round the sun sinks the moonscape into a bright blazing light with high ultra violet radiation.
Vegetation is sparse, and dominated by the Artemisia family (Ceratoides = Teresken; Artemisia), a slow growing bush with ligneous roots. Along the rivers one can find accumulations of willow (salix) and birch (betula), and on the higher pastures a larger variety of alpine meadow and grasses can be found. The general aspect of the Eastern Pamirs, though, is barren earth and rocks. More...

The people living in the district are mainly of Kyrgyz origin (over 84%), yet a big minority of Iranian languages speaking "Pamiris" have settled mainly in the towns. The traditional Kyrgyz economy was based on nomadic pastoralism with yaks, sheep and goat as main livestock. They had trade relations with the big markets of the (larger) neighbourhood, i.e. Kashgar (Xinjiang/China), Kabul (Afghanistan), and the valleys of Kulyab and Ferghana. Yet, the formation of nation states, Soviet rule and collectivisation and geopolitics from the days of the "Great Game" (between the Russian and British empires) till today have greatly altered the socio economic patterns. More...

Today the breeding of yak and small ruminants is still the most prominent economic activity. The collective farms have been privatised, and the herders are rediscovering semi nomadic cycles and patterns of movement. Yet, 70 years of Soviet rule and the privileges the region benefited of due to its geopolitical setting have left a number of unanswered questions. Unemployment is high, highly specialised professionals have to re-learn herding techniques, the pressure on the environment especially around major settlements is increasing, and the local people, used to shipments of fuel both for mobility and heating, have to seek alternatives for a logistical setup that no longer exists. More...

The culture of the Kyrgyz is greatly adapted to their former nomadic lifestyle: architecture is represented by the yurt, the felt tent of central Asia built on a wooden frame, handicrafts combine every day use and cosmology and symbolism. More...

Yet not only Kyrgyz dwell in the harsh surrounding: long term or more recent migrants from the Western Pamirs and the Tajik plain especially to the towns of the district have altered the picture of towns, and the languages overheard in the streets. More...

As beautiful as it is, the district has greatly suffered from the collapse of the Soviet Union - especially bearing in mind the artificial support it received and thus the living conditions it dwelled in. Infrastructure is falling apart (electricity hardly works, schools are no longer heated, hospitals hardly furnished etc). Social services no longer exist. The links to the greater world have been severed (television is not broadcasting, telecommunication has collapsed etc). Jobs once provided by the State and later by the Russian army are no longer available. Humanitarian intervention has catered to the most urgent needs of the district during and after the Civil War, which hit Tajikistan from 95-97. And development projects are trying to find more sustainable solutions to the multitude of problems… More...