1450 TAJIKISTAN (Districts of Republican Subordination) - Gissar fortress

Situated at 26 km from Dushanbe, at an altitude of 799-824m, in the center of Gissar valley, the most green and densely-populated part of the country, Gissar fortress is surrounded from all sides by high mountains: from the North - Gissar Range, from the South - the Babatag and Aktau ranges. The fortress has been known for more than 2500 years. As the residence of Gissar bek, the governor-general of the emir of Bukhara, it was an important center of ancient Tajikistan. Time didn't spare the fortress and its structures. In the old days it had walls of 1 meter thick, loopholes for guns and cannons, a pool and a garden inside. The only thing that remained is a monumental gateway with two cylindrical towers, between which there is an ogival arch, built in the 16th century. Besides the castle there are two huge plane trees, which are about 500-700 years old.

The old madrassah of the 16th and17th centuries remained till nowdays. It is a portal and domed construction with wide yard, inside of which there are khujris (cells), library and new madrassah of the 17th and 18th centuries. Only two-storied façade remained from. Later all constructions, representing the architectural ensemble, and which resemble the ensembles of Bukhara and Samarkand, were restored, and today they are similar to the original appearance. At the beginning of the 20th century from 100 to 150 students learned in Medresei-kukhna, but in 1921 the lessons stopped. The mausoleum Makhdumi Azam (The Greatest Master) of the 16th and 17th centuries is located to the south of the old madrassah. One more notable local monument is a dome mosque Sangin (12th-16th centuries).

About the stamp

The stamp is part of the series Mobile communication of Tajikistan, issued on July, 2013. On stamps are presented a logos of the mobile operators acting in the Tajik market of cellular communication, the satellite antenna and the building of the government of the Republic of Tajikistan.
• 0.10 TJS
• 0.15 TJS
• 1.60 TJS - It's on the postcard

References
Gissar fortress - Anur Tour website

Sender: Ashuraliev Halimjon (direct swap)
Sent from Shaydan (Asht / Tajikistan), on 14.01.2015