The gate
A massive entrance between two towers.
VASHGIRD — CC BY 4.0 · VASHGIRD — CC BY 4.0 · VASHGIRD — CC BY 4.0 · Шухрат Саъдиев — CC BY-SA 4.0 · VASHGIRD — CC BY 4.0
Mug Teppe is a hilltop fortress above the city of Istaravshan in northern Tajikistan, today run as a state historical complex. It lies about 66 km in a straight line southwest of Khujand Fortress. Istaravshan is one of Central Asia's oldest towns of trade and crafts, and it celebrated its 2,500th anniversary in 2002. It is one of three proposed sites for ancient Cyropolis, which King Cyrus built in the 6th century BC on the northeastern edge of the Achaemenid Empire. The walls and gate you see today are a reconstruction, reached by a broad stairway up to a massive entrance between two towers. Inside are courtyards, gardens and a domed building, and framed black-and-white photographs in the halls show the hill and its ruins as they were before rebuilding. From the top the view spreads over the city's houses and the mountains. The fortress is exposed to the sun, so visit in the morning or before sunset. It makes an easy stop on the main road between Khujand and Dushanbe, which passes through Istaravshan.
A massive entrance between two towers.
The hill before rebuilding.
The city and mountains from above.
Istaravshan, Sughd Region, Tajikistan
The present walls and gate are a reconstruction on the historic hill.
Istaravshan is on the main road between Khujand and Dushanbe.