Mazar-e Sharif Travel Information and Travel Guide - Afghanistan

Introducing Mazar-e Sharif

Mazar-e Sharif is north Afghanistan’s sprawling urban centre, a relatively modern city standing on the wide steppes near the border with Uzbekistan. Compared to some of the neighbouring towns it’s a relative youngster, and was long overshadowed by the power and prestige of its neighbour Balkh. It took the dreams of a group of 12th century noblemen to change that, when they claimed to have found the hidden tomb of Ali, the Prophet Mohammed’s son-in-law, buried in a local village. Balkh declined and Mazar-e Sharif grew as a place of pilgrimage. Its shrine today is the focus of the national Nauroz celebrations. For travellers, it has plenty of amenities, and is a good base for the sights of Balkh and Samangan.

Mazar-e Sharif is a mixed city, with large populations of Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras (many Pashtuns fled after reprisals following the collapse of the Taliban). This cultural mix is represented in the city’s culture, in everything from the Central Asian flavours on the menu in restaurants, to the comparatively liberal attitudes to women’s education. Mazar-e Sharif is even the centre for a women’s musical college – something unthinkable elsewhere in the country.

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