Herat

Herat is a city in western Afghanistan, and the capital of Herat Province. It has a long cultural history as a gateway between Persian and Turkic culture, bordering on Iran and Turkmenistan. In 2008, its Old City was recognized by UNESCO for its cultural heritage.

Ancient history

First settled approximately 5,000 years ago, Herodotus called it the "breadbasket of Asia", and it was an established city when Alexander the Great arrived in the 3rd century BCE. Later, it became the main city of the Persian kingdom of Khorasan; it is the only one of that kingdom's four cities (Balkh, Mary in Turkmenistan, and Nishapur are the others) which remains largely intact. Its central mosque was first built in the seventh century, and rebuilt by the Ghorid Dynasty in 1200. It was associated with Sufism, especially with the poet Khawaja Abdullah Ansari, who died in 1088.

Flowering

In Herat if you stretch out your feet you are sure to kick a poet — Ali Sher Nawa

In the 14th and 15th centuries, under the Timurid dynasty, Herat became known as the "Florence of Asia". It remains a major cultural attraction for its mosque, tomb and madrassa complex, built in 1417 by Gohar Shad, daughter of a Chugtai noble, one of the Mongol hordes. Called the "most incomparable woman" Gohar restored many buildings in Herat. Her grave reads "The Bilkis of All Time"; Bilkis is the Islamic name for the Queen of Sheba.