Sights of Afghanistan: description and photos

What to see in Afghanistan, in a country with an ancient history, originating from the founding of the Persian Empire? Some cultural attractions of the state are mentioned in historical documents from those eras. But numerous conflicts have made the country unstable in the domestic political sense, also adversely affecting the cultural heritage. The beauty of the sights of Afghanistan was restored. Now they are open for visiting. Consider the sights of Afghanistan on the reviews of tourists.

Gardens of Babur

One of the most famous sights of Afghanistan is described in the first half of the 16th century and is located in the 4 millionth capital of Afghanistan - Kabul. The gardens of Babur were erected on the grave of the great emperor Babur, who was considered the founding father of the Great Mogul dynasty. The garden is a pyramid of 15 terraces. The tomb itself is located under the open sky on the 14th terrace. It is made of white marble, surrounding it with a wall.

The 20th century was fairly tattered by the Babur Gardens, but 2002 was a year of revival. The Ministry of Culture of Afghanistan, based on the work of British soldier-artist Charles Mason, conducted work on his descriptions, corresponding to the 19th century. 1842 brought destruction in the form of an earthquake, the garden managed to return, but already rebuilt to the taste of the ruler Amir Abdurahman Khan. As a result, the garden was radically different from its original appearance: the Queen's Palace and the central pavilion were built.

The war of 1979-1989 caused a huge damage to the park: many buildings were destroyed, and the trees were felled. Most recently, in 2011, Babur Gardens were completely reconstructed and turned into a public park.

Balkh

The city of Balkh, which is also Wazirabad, is considered one of the greatest and ancient cities of the Ancient World. The location of the city is very favorable compared to the rest of the country. Instead of stone deserts and mountains, fertile fields spread here. Wazirabad is considered the first city that the Indo-Aryans founded. In ancient times Balkh shone with mosques and Buddhist monasteries. Already during the prosperity of the Great Silk Road, the city's population was 1 million people.

Despite the robbery by the Arabs in the 5th-6th centuries AD, Timur and the Mughals, Marco Polo spoke of him as "a great and worthy city". XVI-XIX centuries. The city suffered from an armed conflict between three states: Persia, Afghanistan and Bukhara Khanate. But in the history of the city this was not the last page of the war. The 20th century left from the buildings of ancient times only a mosque and part of the fortress wall of the city.

The Jami Minaret

Another interesting place in Afghanistan is the 65-meter minaret. An interesting fact is the absence in a radius of several kilometers of large settlements. To erect such a construction was possible to the Gyur-Sultan Giyaz-ad-Din at the end of the 12th century. The building marked a victory over the Gaznevids. The main material is a burned brick, which perfectly preserved the drawings and verses of the Koran on the minaret until our days.

It is suggested that the minaret is the only building of the ancient city that has survived to this day. The city was supposed to be known as the "Blue City" and was destroyed by the Mongols under the leadership of Genghis Khan in the first half of the 13th century. Since then, the location of the city has been forgotten for almost 700 years. The information was restored to the British geographer Thomas Holdich.

However, according to the latest studies, it is possible to refute the version of the existence of the city. Photographs from space and study of the terrain indicate the opposite. The territory is difficult to access and unstable due to the geological situation and could not withstand the whole city with palaces and mosques. In 43 year of the last century the first pictures of the Jamsky minaret were made, and a year later - the first historical article was written. The minaret was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2002.

Hindu Kush Mountains

You can see many sights of Afghanistan in the photo in various catalogs. For example, the Hindu Kush Mountains. They are famous for parallel mountain ranges, reaching a height of more than 7500 meters. Residents of small villages spend most of their lives apart from others. You can move somewhere if the snow comes down, freeing the passes.

If you decide to visit this landmark of Afghanistan, the description of the beauty of the mountains will be hard for you to do. How can you not describe the danger lurking in them. Numerous earthquakes with an amplitude of 5-6 points, avalanches and rock falls make the Hindu Kush a very dangerous place. The highest point is Tirichmir, or "King of Darkness", as the locals call it. Everything is explained by the fact that on the Wakhanov side the mountainside is always under its own shadow. Here the Kabul and Indus rivers originate. The first gave the name of the capital of the country.

Studying the tourists' reviews about the sights of Afghanistan, or rather about these mountains, one should mention the architectural monument - the Salang tunnel, made right in the rocks. If desired, tourists can visit the rock caves of Buddhist monks in the valley of the Tejen River.

Palace Dar ul-Aman

The middle of the 1920s was marked for Afghanistan by the end of the construction of the palace Dar Ul-Aman, in the construction of which involved German architects. The palace symbolizes the acquisition of independence by King Amanullah. In 1919, work began on the development of a new district - south-west of present-day Kabul. It was originally planned to build 70 buildings in European style, and three years later the project was approved by the new king.

For seven years, managed to build only two palaces, one of which is Dar Ul-Aman. A year later the construction was stopped due to the overthrow of Amanullah. In the last century the palace was attacked from heavy mortar guns of mujahideen. At that time he served the Soviet troops as the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the DRA. Not so long ago, the plan for the reconstruction of the palace was approved. The current authorities wish to express this desire to revive democracy and the country as a whole.

Juma mosque

What else to see in Afghanistan is the majestic Juma mosque. It is located in a town called Herat. The building was erected as far back as the 10th century for local Muslims who subdued the local territories, but after a hundred years it was burned. This legend is tied to this fire, as if a dervish living in a mosque, having uttered only two tears, managed to extinguish the fire element. But it was too late, the Juma mosque turned into ashes.

After 2 centuries it was built in the former grandeur. Alisher Navoi himself took up work on the creation of the shrine, he gave us a modern mosque the way we know it today. Most of us did not reach, but only a portal with a beautiful embossed inscription. Again, many wars played their part, which, by the beginning of the 20th century, left a pile of stone from the shrine. Fortunately, everything was restored: both the decoration and the walls of the mosque, and a huge inner square that can accommodate over 5,000 Muslims.

Conclusion

Reading reviews of those who visited this country, we can conclude that Afghanistan will be interesting to those who are fond of the history of the East, architecture. Tourists who are going to visit Afghanistan and see firsthand its cultural heritage, it is strongly recommended to carefully plan the route. It is necessary to follow the latest news from the regions that you plan to visit. The current government does not control significant areas of the country.