One of Islam’s most sacred sites lies in northern Afghanistan, a mere 55 kilometres from the Uzbekistan border. It is a blue-tiled mosque which glistens like a jewel, changing colour through the day, and home to countless pristine white pigeons.
Whilst the Shi’a sect of Islam believe that Ali, Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, is buried in Najaf, Iraq, the Sunni sect regard Hazrat-e Mazar in Mazar-e Sharif as Ali’s actual tomb.
Both, the city Mazar-e Sharif and its spiritual centrepiece Hazrat-e Mazar, date back to the 12th Century.
There is an interesting Afghan legend as to how the tomb came to be here.
After Ali’s burial in 661 AD, some of his followers removed his body from the Najaf shrine and placed it on a white female camel to be carried off to a distant secret location. They were worried that if left in Najaf it may be desecrated by Ali’s enemies. The camel walked eastwards for weeks, but eventually fell in exhaustion. Seeing this as a sign from above, they buried the corpse at this exact spot and left.
Fast-forward to the year 1136. A mullah in northern Afghanistan has a dream in which Ali discloses the tomb’s location. The mullah immediately informs the then ruler, Seljuk Sultan Ahmed Sanjar who commissions an excavation, and true to the mullah’s dream a tomb is discovered replete with Ali’s body, ‘with his wounds as fresh as the day he received them.’
Sultan Sanjar builds a tomb at the site which is unfortunately razed to the ground in 1220 by the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan. Two hundred and sixty years later, in 1480, the Timurid Sultan Bayqara rebuilds the shrine in his dynasty’s inimitable style. Over the years, political stalwarts and rulers have had themselves interred around the saint’s tomb, leading to the rather haphazard layout of the current edifice.
Much of the glistening tile-work one sees now is a 20th Century renovated version. But that does not take away the sanctity of the site one bit.
It is also one of the few shrines in Afghanistan where women are allowed to enter.
Inside, wearing one of my mother’s stoles as my hijab, I ask the mullah to read a prayer for my departed parents. Silently, in my heart, I pray for world peace.
Travel tips:
- Staying at Mazar-e Sharif: Arsalan Hotel and Guest House—comfortable en-suite rooms with basic breakfast and free laundry, Cell: +93 78 661 4000.
- Getting to Mazar-e Sharif: There are Kam Air flights to and from Kabul.
- Getting around: One needs a local guide. You may contact Nasim at +93 77 948 0815. He is a guide and translator based in Mazar-e Sharif. He is fluent in English, Hindi, Farsi, and Pashto.
- Events: Hazrat-e Mazar is the venue for the popular Persian Nowruz [New Year] festivities held on the Spring Equinox.
- WhatsApp contact details of my local tour operator: Obaid [+93 77 842 6816] and Tamim [+93 70 804 5886]. Highly recommended!
[Note: This blog post is part of a series from my solo travel to Afghanistan for 18 days in October 2023. To read more posts in my Afghanistan series, click here.]
rama toshi arya's blog 
Beautiful photographs and descriptions 💗
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Thank you. 💕
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Hmmm,,,, I’m hoping to get to Uzbekistan next year. I wonder if possible to do a day tour in and out to this place? I’ll have to investigate!!!
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Hello Anna. I’ll include the contact details of the local operator in this post later today. They are in Mazar E Sharif. You can check with Obaid regarding possible options. Mazar E Sharif is also the base to explore the sites of Balkh (ancient Bactria) and Samangan, both stunningly fabulous. I will be writing a travel guide on them in a couple of weeks.
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Thanks Rama, although I think its wishful thinking for me. I doubt my husband will be thrilled if i tell him i want to hop over the border to Afghanistan! 🤣
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😀
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It’s a beautiful building and really does remind me of Uzbekistan architecture. This sultan must be related to Amir Temur I guess. Maggie
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Yes, same family/ lineage. 🙂 His father was the great grandson of Timur. It’s a beautiful structure. Very serene. No tourists, just pilgrims from across Afghanistan and Central Asia.
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Apart from Bamiyan, this tomb is among the places I most want to see in Afghanistan if I ever set foot in this beguiling country. I looked up Google Maps and found out that if you draw a direct line from Mazar-i-Sharif all the way to the north, you it will meet Samarkand. How fascinating!
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That is fascinating indeed! Being a Timurid, maybe it was aligned to Samarkand on purpose. I wonder. For me, the trigger for Afghanistan was the Minaret of Jam. After learning about its existence, and it’s role as the prototype for Delhi’s Qutub Minar, I was filled with a deep obsession (for a better word) to visit it. And it was everything and more than I expected. 🙂 Though it took me 1.5 days through a very very bad road to reach it. Bamyan is equally stunning and quite popular with independent tourists. I bumped into an Italian, Spaniard, 2 Frenchmen and a small British group when in Bamyan. UNESCO is currently working on strengthening the niches and inside steps so they don’t collapse. After all, they are 1,400 years old.
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thank you so much Rama Arya for your recommended me and also Thank you so much for visiting Hazrat _e_ Ali city (Mazar-e-Sharif City)
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You are welcome, Nasim. 🙂 It was lovely meeting you, and thank you so very much for your hospitality!
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Despite being a renovated version, the tomb looks marvelous! 🙂
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It’s a fabulous piece of architecture with an incredible energy! The tiles keep changing colour through the day. You’d love Afghanistan. Do give it a try. 🙂 Very very doable as a private trip. In fact I think Afghanistan is more popular with independent travellers than tour groups. I met a handful in Kabul, Kandahar, and Bamyan.
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