Walter

Switzerland - 24-Aug-19 -

Hulbuk is a medieval town on Southern Tadjikistan, in the village of Kurban Shaid (Pingan on google map, near Vose). It lies next to the main road from Dushanbe to Kulab (and from there to the Pamir highway).

It is on the TL as “Palace of the Governor”, but appears for to be for examination in 2020 (although incomplete) as ”medieval town”. It also appears on “Silk Roads in Tadjikistan” project, sometimes written Khulbuk, sometimes Hulbuk.

Hulbuk was the capital of the Banijuridsm, Turco-Iranian dynasty reigning ca 847 to 963, vassals of the Samanids (who ruled Samarcande) and their successors, until its destruction, probably by the Mongols.

The site consists of a citadel, which measures 170 x 60 meters, and a lower city to the north and east of the citadel. Early excavations, started in 1953, concentrate on the citadel, and the lower town has only recently been looked at.

The striking figure of this site are the walls of the citadel which have been rebuilt to their idealized size and style from 2005 on, completely surrounding the ruins. 12 meters high, with round towers and a monumental entrance portal, they do look what they are, a modern Disneyland-like reconstruction.

I briefly looked to the exterior of the site while on a tour group of the Pamir Highway. Our group leader told me that they used to include a visit to Hulbuk on their tour, but that the walls look so unauthentic that participant wanted to leave the place very quickly. I must agree with them.

So does Hulbuk stands a chance for nomination. The modern walls destroy the authenticity and integrity of the propriety, but it seems an important project for Tadjik president who used to be governor of this region. So politics might play an important role in this nomination.