Rostam’s Fort

Rostam’s Fort of Khousaf is located in Ganj village of the Khousaf county (Southern Khorasan Province) and is one of the main fortresses of the Ismailis of Quhistan, the initial construction of which dates back to the Sassanid period and was later on renovated and used by the Ismailis.

Being located on a high hill and not being easily accessible, the various spaces of this fort have been less damaged and it is said that this fort was named “Rostam’s Fort” because of the difficult path to it that was not possible for everyone to traverse.

The surviving buildings of this fort include several towers, halls, scattered buildings built at the foothills of the existing mountain, the staircase for accessing the fort, some reservoirs and water wells in the middle of the fort. These buildings are mostly made of mountain rubble. A large number of baked bricks can be seen within the area of the fort, which indicates that some buildings have been made of bricks.

Presently, what can be seen in this fort include seven circular watchtowers and the remains of another tower made of stone and mortar and several underground spaces the most important of which are seven halls built with stone and brick - built next to the towers - the main water reservoir of the complex with walls made of stones and mortar, a seven-meter deep well in the middle of the castle, stone staircases in different parts of the fort to access the top of the mountain and the fort, a number of chambers, and some walls that were built to separate the fort from the mountain.

There are some pieces of glazed pottery in turquoise color in this fortress that belong to the pre and post-Islamic eras. In some texts, Rostam’s Fort has also been referred to as “Dokhtar’s Fort”.