Navruz Palace, Dushanbe

Navruz Palace, once touted as the world's largest tea house, is a prominent landmark in Dushanbe. Though initially intended to be a tea house, the building now offers much more. It features a vast man-made lake, a bowling alley, a pool hall, a cinema, and a restaurant. The palace's significance goes beyond its facilities. It represents a modern evolution of the traditional Central Asian tea house, a place historically used for social gatherings and business meetings.

Navruz Palace was proposed in 2002 by President Emomali Rahmon and funded by the Orien state bank. The construction employed 4,000 workers and used high-quality materials and skilled craftsmen, culminating in a 40,000 square meter complex completed in 2015. Today, Navruz Palace stands as a multi-functional cultural center, far surpassing the original concept of a tea house.