Dushanbe (Tajik: Душанбе, Persian: دوشنبه) is the capital city of Tajikistan. About 562,000 people live in Dushanbe as of 2000. The name is borrowed from the Persian word for "Monday" (du "two" + shamba or shanbe "day", lit. "day two") and refers to the fact that it was a popular "Monday" market place.
