Mazar e Sharif - City of Afghanistan

Mazar-e Sharif is the fourth largest city of Afghanistan, with population of 300,600 people (2006 estimate). It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by roads to Kabul in the south-east, Herat to the west and Uzbekistan to the north. Mazari Sharif means "Noble Shrine," a reference to the large, blue-tiled sanctuary and mosque in the center of the city known as the Shrine of Hazrat Ali or the "Blue Mosque". It is believed by some Muslims that the site of the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad, is in Mazari Sharif. Twelver Shia's however, believe that the real grave of Ali is found within Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, Iraq, as was disclosed by the Sixth Twelver Shi'a Imam, Ja'far as-Sadiq. It is also speculated that underneath the "Blue Mosque" lies the Prophet Zoroaster's tomb.

The dominant language in Mazari Sharif is Persian as well as Uzbek. The city is a major tourist attraction because of its fabulous Muslim and Hellenistic archeological sites. In July 2006, the discovery of new Hellenistic remains was announced.

The climate in Mazari Sharif is very hot during the summer with daily temperatures of over 40ºC in June and July. The winters are cold with tempatures falling below freezing.

The city is a traditional centre for buzkashi, and the Blue Mosque is the focus of Afghanistan’s Nawroz celebrations.

According to tradition, Mazari Sharif owes its existence to a dream. At the beginning of the 1100s, a local mullah had a dream in which Ali bin Abi Talib, the prophet's cousin and son-in-law and one of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs appeared to reveal that he had been secretly buried near the city of Balkh. After investigation, the Seljuk sultan Sanjar ordered a city and shrine to be built on the spot, where it stood until its destruction by Genghis Khan. Although later rebuilt, Mazar stood in the shadow of its neighbor Balkh, until that city was abandoned in 1866 for health reasons.

The city is the capital of Balkh province, and is Afghanistan's fourth largest city. Its population is dominated by Tajiks, although there are significant Uzbek, Turkmen, Hazara, and Pashtun minorities, the latter being the majority in the city of Balkh. Its geography means that the city has traditionally looked as much north to Bukhara as south to Kabul.

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Mazari Sharif was a strategic base for the Soviet Army, as they used its airport to launch air strikes on Afghan mujahideen.

Between May and July 1997, the Taliban unsuccessfully attempted to take Mazar, leading to approximately 2,500 Taliban soldiers being massacred by Abdul Malik and his Shia followers. In retaliation for this incident, the Taliban on August 8, 1998, reportedly returned and led a six-day killing frenzy of Hazaras and other local people. Soon after, the city was occupied and taken over by the Taliban. It was this capture of Mazar that prompted Pakistan's recognition of the Taliban regime.

Following 9/11, Mazar was the first Afghan city to fall to the Afghan Northern Alliance (former militias). The Taliban's retreat from Mazar quickly turned into a rout from the rest of the north and west of Afghanistan. On November 9, 2001 the city was recaptured by the Afghan Northern Alliance after the Battle of Mazar e Sharif with help from the United States.

Mazar-i Sharif is in full control of the new Afghan central government, which is led by US backed President Hamid Karzai.