Mazar-i-Sharif

Some of the artwork on the Blue Mosque.

Mazari Sharif is famous for playing Buzkashi, which is a local sport from this region.

Mazār-e Sharīf (Template:PerB) is the fourth largest city of Afghanistan, with population of 300,600 people (2006 estimate). It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by roads to Kabul in the south-east, Herat to the west and Uzbekistan to the north. Mazari Sharif means "Noble Shrine," a reference to the large, blue-tiled sanctuary and mosque in the center of the city. Most Afghans (both Shia and Sunni) believe that the site of the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin is in Mazari Sharif. The dominant language in Mazari Sharif is Dari and majority of the population is Tajik and Dari Speakers, there lives other ethnics as Pashtun, Uzbek, Turkmen and Hazara. The city is a major tourist attraction because of its fabulous Muslim and Hellenistic archeological sites. In July 2006, the discovery of new Hellenistic remains was announced. In additionn to that there are many historical places in Balkh district of Balkh province which is a very high visited place by the local popluation from/around Afghanistan and also tourists from outside.

History

Mazar-e-Sharif owes its existence to a dream. At the beginning of the 1100s, a local mullah had a dream in which Ali bin Talib, the prophet's cousin and son-in-law and one of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs appeared to reveal that he had been secretly buried near the city of Balkh. After investigation, the Seljuk sultan Sanjar ordered a shrine to be built on the spot, where it stood until its destruction by Genghis Khan. Although later rebuilt, Mazar stood in the shadow of its neighbor Balkh, until that city was abandoned in 1866 for health reasons.

Mazar is the capital of Balkh province, and Afghanistan's fourth largest city. Its population is dominated by Tajiks, although there are significant Uzbek, Turkmen, Hazara, and Pashtun minorities, the latter being the majority in the city of Balkh. Its geography means that the city has traditionally looked as much north to Bukhara as south to Kabul.

During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Mazar was a strategic base for the Soviet Army, as they used its airport to launch airstrikes on Afghan mujahideen. In the early 1990s, after the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan, Mazar slowly began falling into the hands of Tajik and Uzbek militias (Jamiat-e Islami of Ahmad Shah Massoud and Rabbani, both of whom are Tajiks, and, Jumbesh-e Melli of Abdul Rashid Dostum, who is Uzbek). As a garrison for the communist Afghan army, the city was under the command of Dostum, who mutinied against Najibullah's Kabul regime in 1992 and established the autonomous administration of North Afghanistan with the aid of Massoud.

Under Dostum's Uzbek Jumbesh-e Melli militia from the early 1990s to early 1997, Mazar was an oasis of peace during the civil war, and as the rest of the country disintegrated and was slowly taken over by the Taliban, Dostum strengthened political ties with the newly independent central Asian states and Turkey, printed his own currency and established his own airline. This peace was shattered in May 1997, when he was betrayed by one of his generals, Abdul Malik, and he fled Mazar as the Taliban were getting ready to take the city.

Between May and July 1997, the Taliban unsuccessfully attempted to take Mazar, leading to approximately 2,500 Taliban soldiers being massacred by Abdul Malik and his Shia followers. In retaliation for this incident, the Taliban on August 8, 1998, reportedly returned and led a six-day killing frenzy of Hazaras and other local people. Soon after, the city was occupied and taken over by the Taliban. It was this capture of Mazar that prompted Pakistan's recognition of the Taliban regime.

Following 9/11, Mazar was the first Afghan city to fall to the Afghan Northern Alliance (former militias). The Taliban's retreat from Mazar quickly turned into rout from the rest of the north and west of Afghanistan. On November 9, 2001 the city was recaptured by the Afghan Northern Alliance after heavy battles with help from the United States. A massacre of Taliban soldiers is alleged to have occurred during the transport of captured enemy east to a prison near Sheberghan. Frontline reported the story in "A Convoy of Death".

Small scale clashes between militias belonging to different commanders persisted throughout 2002, and were the focus of intensive UN peace-brokering and small arms disarmament programme. After some pressure, an office of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission opened an office in Mazar in April 2003.

Mazari Sharif is in full control of the new Afghan central government, which is led by US backed President Hamid Karzai. There are also NATO peacekeeping forces in and around the city providing assistance to the new government. The ISAF Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Mazari Sharif is led by Sweden. Norwegian and Latvian forces also operate out of the Norwegian Camp Nidaros, commanding and supporting all PRT in Northern Afghanistan.

Industry

The local economy is dominated by agriculture and Qaraqul production; small scale oil and gas exploitation have boosted the city's prospects. The city is a traditional centre for buzkashi, and its shrine the focus of Afghanistan’s Nawroz celebrations.

There is some trade with Uzbekistan via the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge over the river Amu Darya.

Recent Developments

Mazar-e-Sharif currently run by Government Ata Mohammad Noor is now under improvement and Development, the streets are being asphalt, there are many fancy squares build by local business men which are said to be the best in Afghanistan so far.

Famous places in Mazar

Kochi Siagered, Kochi Mirzaqaasem, Chahr-rahi Haji Ayub, Darwazi Balkh, Darwazi Tashkurghan, Darwazi Shaadyaan, Parwareshgah, Kart-e-Solh, and Kart-e-Ariana are places with most of the population and well reputated people of Mazar. Mardom sabeqa Mazar hama az henjaa bodan.

Directory

The modern city of Mazari Sharif is centered around the Shrine of Hazrat Ali. Much restored, it is one of Afghanistan’s most glorious monuments. Outside Mazar lies the ancient city of Balkh, that still contains much of interest to the visitor.

The gardens of Mazari Sharif's Blue Mosque.

• Shrines & Mosques
  • Shrine of Hazrat Ali

• Hotels
  • Serena Hotel (coming soon)

• Universities
  • Balkh University

• Airports
  • Mazari Sharif Airport

• Banks
  • Kabul Bank
  • Western Union

See also

• Balkh
• Battle of Qala-i-Jangi

References and footnotes

• Dupree, Nancy Hatch (1977): An Historical Guide to Afghanistan. 1st Edition: 1970. 2nd Edition. Revised and Enlarged. Afghan Tourist Organization. Link

External links

• Map of Mazari Sharif
• Mazar-i-Sharif (In German)