Friday, December 18, 2009

Hissar town and fort

Hissar is just 25 minutes west of Dushanbe, towards the Uzbek border. Hissar town is the capital of Hissar district, which lies just below the Hissar mountain range. We took a day trip to the fort and did some bargaining in the bazaar there, and found that the Dushanbe bazaar is cheaper.

Pepsi seems to have forgotten about this installation. Their branding in Tajikistan may suffer.
2 guys sitting on top of wood sheeting. They invited us to their house after we talked for a while. People outside of Dushanbe are very hospitable.

This is the Hissar Fort. It was built a long time ago, I think in the 15th century. It's been reconstructed since, but I'm not sure to what degree, that is, how much of the original remains. There are forts like this all around Tajikistan. Until the 1920s, when this area was incorporated into the Soviet Union, it was part of the Khanate of Bukhara. Political boundaries shifted often, and forts were necessary defense posts.


Diana and the view behind the fort to the Hissar range
An older gentleman walks towards the Fort. He would circle around the fort and come in from the opposite side, where Diana snapped a shot of him, below.


no they're not amber waves of grain. They're amber waves of uncultivated hills with the Hissar range in the background. This scene reminds me of Colorado, but it's just outside of Dushanbe.

This is Diana's photo. This guy was just cool. He told me I was a mensch for learning Tajik.
Some kids at the top of the hill behind the Hissar Fort
Looking back towards Dushanbe and the mountains from Hissar, from the top of a hill.
The Hissar Fort, with villages towards the southwest.
The trip to Hissar was nice, because we were able to navigate our way around easily, the first time we've been able to do that, so far. My Tajiki finally started to come together, too, so that I could chat with people, explain where we were going and why, what I do in Tajikistan, etc.

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