Haji Piyada Mosque

Mazar-e-Sharif and its dazzling Blue Mosque

Some cities have a landmark. Mazar-e-Sharif is built around one. At its heart stands the Blue Mosque, a shrine so covered in turquoise tile that the whole city seems to glow around it. Add the white doves, the biggest New Year celebration in the country, and the ruins of ancient Balkh next door, and you have one of the richest stops in northern Afghanistan.

[ IMAGE : réutiliser la photo existante du sanctuaire, plein cadre. Alt : the Blue Mosque of Mazar-e-Sharif ]

Mazar-e-Sharif at a glance

Where

Northern Afghanistan, capital of Balkh province

Famous for

The Blue Mosque (Shrine of Hazrat Ali)

Next door

Balkh, one of the oldest cities on earth (about 20 km)

Best time

Spring, especially around Nowruz (21 March)

Can you visit?

Yes, the city and the shrine welcome visitors

The mosque that turns the city blue

The Shrine of Hazrat Ali, known to everyone as the Blue Mosque, is the reason most people come to Mazar. Many Afghans believe it holds the tomb of Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet, and the building lives up to that devotion. Every surface wears turquoise, cobalt and gold tile, and at sunset the whole courtyard shifts colour. You can walk the vast marble plaza around it, watch families and pilgrims come and go, and feel the pulse of the city in one place.

Why the doves are always white

Look up in the plaza and you will see thousands of white pigeons. Locals will tell you that any grey pigeon that joins the flock turns white within forty days, so pure is the shrine. True or not, feeding the doves on the marble is one of those small moments travellers remember long after they leave.

[ IMAGE : réutiliser (ou ajouter) une photo des colombes blanches devant la mosquée. Alt : white doves in front of the Blue Mosque of Mazar-e-Sharif ]

The biggest New Year party in Afghanistan

If you can time it, come for Nowruz, the Persian New Year on 21 March. Tens of thousands gather at the shrine for the raising of the janda, a giant sacred banner, which marks the start of the year and the forty-day Red Flower festival that follows. It is loud, joyful and unforgettable, and it happens nowhere better than here.

Balkh the mother of cities

Twenty kilometres away lie the ruins of Balkh, and few places on earth carry this much history. People have called it the "mother of cities" for good reason: it is one of the oldest continuously settled places in the world, tied to Zoroaster, to the Greeks who followed Alexander, and to the poet Rumi, who was born here. Today you wander:

• The great earthen city walls and the old citadel.

• The Green Mosque, the tiled shrine of Khwaja Abu Nasr Parsa.

• Noh Gombad, the ninth-century "nine domes" mosque, the oldest Islamic monument in the country.

[ IMAGE : réutiliser les photos existantes de la Mosquée Verte et de Noh Gombad. Alt : the Green Mosque and Noh Gombad in Balkh ]

How to visit Mazar-e-Sharif

Mazar sits in the north of Afghanistan, and the city and shrine are straightforward to explore with a local guide who knows the etiquette of the site.

• We include Mazar and Balkh on our group tours, usually paired with Bamyan and Kabul.

• On the ground, your guide takes you through the shrine plaza, the bazaars and out to the Balkh ruins.

• Best season is spring, and Nowruz if you want the festival.
  
  

Mazar is a highlight of our group tours, and we can build extra time here into a private trip. Many travellers combine it with Bamyan and the Bamiyan Buddhas.

What travellers ask us first

Can you go inside the Blue Mosque?

Non-Muslims can visit the plaza and the grounds, which are the real spectacle. Access to the inner shrine is reserved for worshippers, and your guide explains the etiquette.

Is Mazar-e-Sharif safe to visit?

It is one of the more settled cities in the north, and we visit it on our trips. For the full picture, see how we handle safety.

What is there to do besides the mosque?

The doves, the bazaars, the Abdul Ali Mazari mausoleum, and above all the ruins of Balkh nearby, one of the oldest cities in the world.

When should I go?

Spring is best, and Nowruz on 21 March is the peak, with the huge New Year gathering at the shrine.

See the Blue Mosque with us

Stand in the plaza at sunset, doves everywhere, the tiles glowing. Join one of our group tours or build a private trip, and we will take you there.

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Contacts

@unique.afghanistan
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Unique Afghanistan