Hissor Fortress

Hissor Fortress is about a 30 minutes outside of the city, and with taxi's being so reasonable It was as going to be an easy trip. Kaori was game, as well as Qamil, who was from Albania, was going to join. He packed his umbrella because he had a massive fear of the sun. I don't know about the younger generation and their absolute fear of everything! There were a group of Four Danish guys who were friendly around the hostel and when they heard about the Fort they immediately were ready to head out. I had met them at the Salom hostel in Panjakent and it was cool to run into them again. They were all positive, friendly and full of youthful exuberance. Something that generation usually lacks. (see snide comment above).

A cute photo of two little girls

The Fort Wall was impressive

Me and Kaori getting read to climb

The Fortress itself was very impressive. You can check the history here. The entire place drips of history but with a modern twist of souvenir and food vendors. They were not obstructive in any way and yes, the ice cream and cold water were a relief. Wandering through the main gate into the fort was a personal victory for me. This was a personal victory as visiting the Fortress was a high priority for me when I started to plan this journey. The high walls had a "China Great Wall" feel but as I went through the main walkway past old buildings and shops the rising street came to a gate. If you looked left, the remains of what appeared to be an ancient Roman Amphitheatre stood out on full display. This was an oddity because the Roman Empire did not invade Tajikistan. Tajikistan was not part of the Roman Empire's sphere of influence, and there is no historical evidence of Roman military campaigns or territorial control in that region.

A well preserved amphitheatre

Inside the main gate

The view from the top of the fortress

The climb up to the top of the Fortress was easy enough. You could take a steep set of stairs (I passed on this) or a winding road build of stone, that was how I rolled. Fuck you stairs! The main part of the Fortress at the top was more of a ruins. It was not in bad shape but oddly unkempt. The views were great proving that the fortress was build here for a reason. You could see well into the distance at 360 Degrees. You would think that would prevent any invasion, but our friend Genghis Khan did what Genghis Khan did. He invaded, killed everyone and destroyed the Fortress. It has be rebuild multiple times over the centuries. We spent about three hours here just exploring and wandering. It is not a large site but well worth the effort. As with all things historical I try to imagine the place in all it's historical glory and the fear the citizens must have felt when Genghis Khan rolled up.

Back in Dushanbe there was still a lot of time to wander and explore the parks and monuments and have a look at the outstanding buildings. It was dusk and with a bit of patience everything would be lit up in all it's historical glory.

After exploring Dushanbe, it has become one of my favourite world cities. I love the pageantry without the attitude. (yes I am looking at you Paris). I am so far behind in writing the blog that I am not giving it the love that it deserves to tell my story. If you are reading this and tend to follow along, bear with me as I catch up. Until then, I will just add more photos.