One of the most famous historical monuments of Tajikistan was built to protect the local population and trade caravans from raids by nomads. The Hissar fortress still impresses with its power and monumentality, especially after a major restoration.
General information
It is believed that the fortress was built about 2500 years ago, during its heyday, when the routes of the Great Silk Road passed near Gissar. The surviving remains of the fortifications were built in the XVI-XIX centuries. Gissar fortress in Tajikistan is one of the oldest and largest architectural monuments of Central Asia.
Now it is an open-air museum with an area of 86 hectares, located on the site of an ancient fortification. Tajik authorities intend to make it a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It is located not far from the urban-type village of Gissar, once a prosperous medieval city in which crafts and trade were involved. It is located in the central part of the region of the same name, in the west of the Hissar Plain, 26 km west of the capital and 30 km from Dushanbe International Airport.
Fortress history
For a long time, the Gissar fortress served as the residence of the governor of the Bukhara emir and the base where the state troops were located. To date, only two partially cylindrical towers and structures around the main gate, forming a lancet arch and built at the direction of the Bukhara emir in the 16th century, have been preserved from the fortress. The fortress was completed in the XIX century. All buildings were built of burnt bricks.
The ancient buildings were almost completely destroyed during the Civil War, which lasted from 1918 to 1933. Near the citadel, the buildings of the old madrasah (XVI-XVII century) and partially new madrasah (XVII-XVIII century), which together with a fortress and other ancient buildings are included in the cultural and historical reserve, which was organized in the 60s of the twentieth century.
Partial restoration was carried out in 1982 and was almost completely completed in 2002. During the work, two towers were built on, the fortress wall was restored. An amphitheater was built inside the fortress. Souvenir shops are open for tourists. Now the photos of the Gissar fortress are decorated with albums of tourists from many countries of the world.
Description
Gissar fortress was erected on the slope of a large hill. A high fortress wall 1 meter thick with loopholes for guns and guns was built of baked brick. The main gate has a laconic and simple look, traditional for the feudal military architecture of the Bukhara emirate . There were strong gates in the large lancet doorway of the fortress wall, which were guarded on both sides by two powerful cylindrical watch towers. At the top of the towers were shooting platforms with a high parapet to protect the soldiers and cut-out loopholes. There was no decor on the thick brick walls of this monumental harsh structure, but they still looked impressive.
To the main entrance to the citadel were wide staircases and terraces, lined with bricks. The inner territory was a large courtyard with the governor's palace complex, a swimming pool and a huge garden.
Opposite there was a large bazaar with a caravanserai (medieval hotel) and many shopping arcades. The ancient eastern inn was almost completely destroyed and restored according to a photograph of 1913. In the XVI-XVIII centuries, two madrassas and a mausoleum of Mahdumi Azam were built (translated as "The Greatest Master." For whom it is built, it is not known for certain). Nearby, as with any other medieval fortress, were houses and craft workshops.
Legends of the fortress
Among the locals there are legends about the Gissar fortress, which have accumulated a lot over several millennia of known history. According to one of the most popular, the Afrosib built the citadel to defend itself from Rustam. They are both illustrious heroic characters of the famous epic poem Firdousi "Shahname."
According to another mythical story of the Hissar fortress, the righteous Muslim caliph Ali in ancient times came to these places to preach Islam on his legendary horse Dul-dul. He stopped on the mountain, which is located to the west of Gissar and is now called Poi Dul Dul. Dressed as an acrobat tightrope walker, he entered the fortress. Here they recognized him and tried to capture him. But the faithful horse brought him the magic sword "Zulfikar", and Ali killed all the enemies, including the evil sorcerer.