After spending a week in Dushanbe doing nothing but eating, relaxing, and generally being a lazy bum–something I figured I deserved after my scary brush with altitude sickness–I felt a burning desire to get outside the city and explore. Luckily, the small town of Hissar lies just to the west of Dushanbe. Nothing special as far as towns go, it redeems its paltry first impression with an awesome 16th century fortress.
As seems to be the case on weekends in Central Asia, there was a wedding going on when we arrived. Two massive horns, a large drum, and countless clapping hands and warbling throats created a cacophony of celebration as we tried not to get in the way. After the steps cleared, we headed into the fortress.
In the heights of its former glory, the fort once contained a palace, pool, and garden, all of which have been lost to time. Now, only the stunning gate and adjoining twin towers remain. Work is being done to recreate the wall, as well as a caravan-serai inside.
Together with my friends, Gautier and Yuki, I climbed up and down the stairs and peered into just about every nook and cranny. The one area we left alone was a mysterious pit in one of the towers. It must have been 6 or 7 meters deep!
As we tried not to laugh, we witnessed a woman descending a steep and gravelly slope in a pair of heels. She gave a lukewarm recommendation for the view from the top, which was enough for us. We scrambled up and took in a nice view of the fortress, caravan-serai, two madrasahs, and the valley behind. Then, just as we unpacked our lunch, it started to rain.
Luckily, Yuki had brought an umbrella and the rain wasn’t altogether that bad. Only slightly damp, we finished and headed back down to wander through the grounds again. In the golden light of the setting sun, the buildings were even more beautiful than before.
Before leaving, we walked through both of the madrasahs. One is home to a number of people, so we only explored that a little–pausing just long enough to dance on the roof as another wedding kicked off down the street. The other madrasah is home to a museum still under construction. Funded by the US Embassy, it celebrates the 3000 years of history Hissar boasts.
In September 2015, Hissar will have a big gathering to celebrate its 3000 years of history. For all of you planning on traveling to Tajikistan soon, check it out!
Getting There:
- Catch shared taxi number 8 heading north on Rudaki. Tell the driver “Zarnisar Bazaar”. It will cost 3 somani per person.
- At the bazaar, find one of the minibuses with ‘Ҳисор’ on it. Alternately, start saying “Hissar avtobus?” and someone will point you in the right direction. The ride will cost 3 somani per person.
- In Hissar, ask for the ‘qala’ (fortress). A shared car will cost 2 somani per person.
All prices are current as of October 2014!
- Hiking to Refugio Frey and Beyond - January 20, 2020
- Christmas Letter 2019 - December 18, 2019
- My Walk Out of the Woods - June 30, 2019
Hitch-hiking into Tajikistan
Hissar is good! But Khujand is best, in Khujand there are so many beatifull and historical places that you never seen before!
Nice! I’ll have to visit there next time 🙂 Thanks for the recommendation!
I’m so jealous of your central asia trip! It’s been so high on my list as one of the few places not too many tourists go these days. It seems the rest of the world has already been discovered and blogged about by like 1000 different people and nothing is “off the beaten path” anymore. So refreshing to read about a new place I know nothing about!
Your adventures sure are leading you to amazing points in the world! I wasn’t sure where you were at first, but did a google search (and also looked at your tags, haha)… I always find it so interesting how you can be in the same continent, but be astonished by how much the architecture changes. Very interesting read.
Seriously, it’s easy to forget how vast Asia is. Tajikistan and Korea don’t LOOK too far apart on a map, but they have next to nothing in common. Pretty amazing!
I bet you’re kicking yourself for not being there one year later than you arrived! Hissar sounds like the place to be in the fall, though it looked pretty cool when you were there.
I love these posts, Nathan. Really happy that you’ve got so much coming out about Tajikstan. Looking forward to your next one!
Yeah, talk about a planning fail! 😛
Got one more about Tajikistan, then it’s on to Uzbekistan…
You always write about places I’ve never heard of before! But your posts definitely make me want to visit. I especially like the 4th photo where you can see a wider view of everything. Very cool! Also, did you redesign your site? Looking good!
Thanks, Neysha! Yeah, not a huge redesign, but I polished the menus up a bit and got a friend to make a banner for the site. Small improvements!
Wow what an interesting place…and probably somewhere in the world that I would never visit! I really like the view from the top. I wonder if it would of looked like this without the restoration work…or of it looked anything like this many years ago?
I got the impression they were trying to be true to the original, but I’m sure they spruced things up a bit! Caravan-serais were basically motels–places for traders to stop on the long trade routes. I can’t imagine they were all that clean…
What an incredible place! This type of old fortress is amazing to see and it’s been really great following your adventure through the “Stans.” This area of the world is often omitted from itineraries and bucket list locations, but you’re doing an excellent job showing how incredible and worthwhile this region is. Great pictures of the fortress, and keep the posts coming.
Thanks! There’s so much to see in these places, with such a variety of cultures and terrains. It was definitely a memorable trip 🙂
So beautiful! I love that fact that not only have I not even heard of the places you are visiting, but it is totally opening my eyes to the hidden gems of the world. I love following your adventures! The history of the places you visit are so interesting. I guess some women no matter what part of the world will still wear heels even on rugged terrain. Seen that a lot here in Korea, but I guess not only exclusive to this country.
Thanks! I loved the history of Central Asia, such a cool mix of Mongolian, Chinese, Persian, Russian, European, Arabic influences; along with the native cultures. It’s a fascinating part of the world.
Loved the view at the top! Looks like a cool place to explore for awhile. I was going to say “it looks in good condition for being 3000 years old!” haha but I read the comment that obviously it’s been/being restored. I need to learn more about Central Asia, that’s what I think reading these posts.
Me too! I have a few things I really want to read more about in regards to the history of these places.
Another great story + great photos Nathan! My favorite is the ‘Row of Houses’ that you captured after the rain. It truly is amazing to see how different places can look throughout the day!
That’s my favorite as well 🙂 The lighting was amazing after the storm!
Great photos. I don’t know the first thing about Tajikistan, so it was nice to get these images. Have to say, some of the building in the fortress are in very good shape. Nice to see they’re being looked after. Enjoy your travels!
Those internal buildings are actually in the process of being restored, which is why they look so nice. It’s good to see the government looking after their heritage sites!