Mazar-i-Sharif

Mazāri Sharīf
مزارِ شریف
—  City  —
City Centre of Mazar-i-Sharif
Mazāri Sharīf is located in Afghanistan
Mazāri Sharīf
Location in Afghanistan
Coordinates:
Country  Afghanistan
Province Balkh Province
District Mazar-e Sharif District
Elevation 380 m (1,247 ft)
Population (2006)
 - Total 300,600
  Central Statistics Office of Afghanistan
Time zone Afghanistan Standard Time (UTC+4:30)
History of Afghanistan
Flag of Afghanistan
See also
Ariana · Khorasan
Timeline

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Mazār-i-Sharīf or Mazār-e Sharīf (Persian: مزارِ شریف Persian pronunciation: [ˌmæˈzɒːr ˌiː ʃæˈriːf]) 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 Shi'as 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.[1] 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.[2] The ethnic majority in the city are Tajiks.

Contents

History

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 Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law and first Shia Imam 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.

During the 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. In the early 1990s, after the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan, control of Mazar was contested by the Tajik militia Jamiat-e Islami, led by Ahmad Shah Massoud and Burhanuddin Rabbani, and the Uzbek militia Jumbesh-e Melli led by Abdul Rashid Dostum. As a garrison for the communist Afghan army, the city was under the command of Dostum, who mutinied against Najibullah's regime in 1992 and established the autonomous administration of North Afghanistan with the aid of Massoud.

Under Dostum's Uzbek Jumbesh-e Melli militia from the early 1990s to early 1997, Mazar was an oasis of peace during the civil war, and as the rest of the country disintegrated and was slowly taken over by the Taliban, Dostum strengthened political ties with the newly independent central Asian states and Turkey, printed his own currency and established his own airline. This peace was shattered in May 1997, when he was betrayed by one of his generals, Abdul Malik Pahlawan, and he fled Mazar as the Taliban were getting ready to take the city.

Extensive fighting

Between May and July 1997, the Taliban unsuccessfully attempted to take Mazar, leading to approximately 3,000 Taliban soldiers being massacred by Abdul Malik and his Shia followers.[3] In retaliation for this incident, the Taliban on August 8, 1998, returned and led a six-day killing frenzy of Hazaras, a report the Taliban denied at that time.[4] Soon after, the city was occupied and taken over by the Taliban. It was this capture of Mazar, the last major city in Afghanistan to fall to the Taliban, that prompted Pakistan's recognition of the Taliban regime. Soon afterward, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia extended official recognition to the regime, while Turkmenistan resumed relations - although the Taliban was not officially recognized by Turkmenbashi as the rulers of Afghanistan.

Post-Taliban

Following 9/11, Mazar was the first Afghan city to fall to the Northern Alliance (former militias). The Taliban's defeat in 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 Special Operations Forces. As many as 2,000 Taliban fighters who surrendered were reportedly massacred by the Northern Alliance after the battle, and reports also place U.S. troops at the scene of the massacre.[5] The Irish documentary Afghan Massacre - the Convoy of Death investigated these allegations. Filmmaker Doran claims that mass graves of thousands of victims were found by United Nations investigators.[6] The Bush administration reportedly blocked investigations into the incident.[7]

Small scale clashes between militias belonging to different commanders persisted throughout 2002, and were the focus of intensive UN peace-brokering and small arms disarmament programme. After some pressure, an office of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission opened an office in Mazar in April 2003. There were also reports about northern Pashtun people being ethnic cleansed by the other groups.[8]

The city is under the control of the Afghan government led by President Hamid Karzai. The 209th Corps of the Afghan National Army is based at Mazari Sharif, which provides military assistance to northern Afghanistan.

NATOs presence through ISAF

There are also NATO peacekeeping forces in and around the city providing assistance to the government.

Climate

The climate in Mazari Sharif is very hot during the summer with daily temperatures of over 40°C or 104 degree Fahrenheit in June and July. The winters are cold with temperatures falling below freezing.

Demography

Men playing Buzkashi, which is a local sport.

The population of Mazari Sharif is dominated by Tajiks, although there are some significant numbers of Turkmen, Uzbeks, Hazaras, and Pashtuns.[8] The dominant language in Mazari Sharif is Persian.

Industry

The local economy is dominated by agriculture and karakul production; small scale oil and gas exploitation have boosted the city's prospects.

There is some trade with Uzbekistan via the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge over the river Amu Darya. The railway over the bridge from Uzbekistan is to be extended to Mazari Sharif.[9] Work began on 22 January 2010.[10]

Local Events

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

Directory

The modern city of Mazar-i Sharif is centered around the Shrine of Hazrat Ali. Much restored, it is one of Afghanistan’s most glorious monuments. Outside Mazar-i Sharif lies the ancient city of Balkh.

Shrine of Hazrat Ali

Kefayat hotel

See also

References

  1. ↑ Shaykh Al Mufid. Kitab al Irshad, Translated by I.K.A Howard. pp.1-6
  2. ↑ BBC News Balkh Monument...link
  3. ↑ BBC News, Afghan powerbrokers: Who's who
  4. ↑ s:A brief look at the imaginary report on the situation of human rights at Mazar-I-Sharif
  5. ↑ Harding, Luke (09-14-2002). "Afghan Massacre Haunts Pentagon". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/sep/14/afghanistan.lukeharding. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
  6. ↑ "As possible Afghan war-crimes evidence removed, U.S. silent". McClatchy Newspapers. 12-11-2008. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/336/story/57649.html. 
  7. ↑ "US blocked probes into Afghan prisoner killings". AFP. 10-07-2009. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g2bWSZ_qHnwdWmM9oXsbYHuDVbRg. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 USA Today, Pashtuns say they're being brutalized
  9. ↑ "Afghan railway to go ahead with ADB funding". Railway Gazette International. 2009-09-30. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view//afghan-railway-to-go-ahead-with-adb-funding.html. 
  10. ↑ "Construction of Afghan railway launched". Railway Gazette International. 2010-01-27. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view//construction-of-afghan-railway-launched.html. 

External links

Twelve largest cities in Afghanistan by population
Kabul · Kandahar · Herat · Mazar-i-Sharif · Kunduz · Taloqan · Jalalabad · Ghazni · Charikar · Sar-e Pol · Puli Khumri · Sheberghan