Wojciech Fedoruk

Poland - 18-Sep-24 -

Site visited in September 2024. Compared to the very conservative Kandahar from which I came, Herat looks like a city from another era. "Another" in this case means better, more modern. Everything in Herat indicates a higher level of civilization - compact buildings, lots of greenery, clean and well-kept streets, functioning amusement parks, even women not covering their faces, and from time to time wearing a completely loose scarf. I didn't expect anything like this from Afghanistan.

Herat’s monuments are also of a completely different class. The city was founded during the Achamenid dynasty, expanded by Alexander the Great, it flourished during the Timurid times and was one of the largest cities in the world in the 15th century. Among the monuments that have survived in relatively good condition is, above all, the magnificent Great Friday Mosque, built in the 12th century on the ruins of a Zoroastrian temple, and expanded in the 15th century in the Timurid style. The mosque suffered some damage in the recent earthquake and requires many years of renovation, but its size and structure make it one of the greatest in the world.

The Citadel, built by Alexander and then expanded many times, has been almost completely restored. There are no artifacts inside, apart from the walls and buildings, and the former richness of decorations is only evidenced by fragments of original tiles here and there.

From the citadel we went to the Musalla Complex, the third great symbol of Herat, with monuments such as the Gawhar Shad mausoleum and the famous five minarets. We ended the day with a visit to the mausoleum of Khwaja Abdulla Ansari, another great Timurid monument.

I believe Herat has the potential to become WHS. It should definitely be a must-see when traveling to Afghanistan.