Author: Ahmad Naser Bahrami

I went to Mazar in May 2018 for a few days. During my stay I didn’t leave the city due to security concerns.

I recommend you travel by plane as it is much safer and convenient. Taking the highway can be quite a risk, several parts are not safe, and there have even been armed clashes. It’s only a 40 minutes flight from Kabul to Mazar and if one can afford the $40 fare, it is the best way to travel there.

It was the beginning of summer, the weather was becoming warmer, so no need for warm clothes. We stayed at Balkh-e-Bastaan Guest House which offered modest rooms, 24-hour electricity, and good security arrangements. I would be happy to stay in the same place again.

Every day, my two friends and I, one of whom was a foreign national, had lunch and dinner in local restaurants. My foreign friend liked the food and so did I. We enjoyed authentic northern food such as Qaboli Palaw, Kebob and discovered a new dish—Eshliki, which is from the Turkman cuisine, and is comparable to Indian samosas. We went to a local ice cream shop (sher yakh) which is very famous for serving a broad range of really tasty flavors. To summarize, the food was fantastic.

I learned that Mazar is a multi-ethnic city where people of different languages and backgrounds are living alongside each other. In comparison to other northern provinces, in my opinion, Mazar has made progress economically and socially: I saw that the streets were paved, the downtown area was busy, many new buildings had been constructed and people seemed more civilized in comparison to a few years ago.

We visited Rawza Mobarak, the historical mosque located in the heart of the city. It was especially crowded in the evenings, as it is a major attraction of the city, many local people gather here, and it is also an attractive place for tourists. The Rawza Mobarak mosque is the iconic site where Nowruz is celebrated by thousands of Afghans every year. It is also where large crowds, families and friends, meet for picnic for Gole Sorkh, an Afghan traditional festival. Below is a picture of me in front of this amazing historical landmark: