Beneath an impressive arc of blue mosaic stars, the nation's most revered poet, Rudaki, is honoured here at the heart of the central park named after him. Tajiki people will tell you that besides the Koran, a book of his poems is among the most common possessions in people's homes across the land. The setting of Rudaki's statue in a rose garden is appropriate for this 9th-century 'Adam of Poets', whose poetry celebrated philosophical musing on the natural world.