The Blue Mosque, or in another way - the Shrine of Hazrat Ali, is located in Afghanistan, in the city of Mazar-Sharif. This city, the main city of one of the provinces of Afghanistan, has its own history. The name of the city is translated as "Tomb of the Saint". According to legend, the last righteous caliph Ali, the nephew and son-in-law of the prophet, is buried here. In any case, the Afghans firmly believe in this, although the Persians and Arabs still think differently.
The Blue Mosque was built in the 12th century. According to legend, the mosque over the grave of the saint was built by order of the local ruler, Sultan Sanjar, after, quite by chance, during peasant work, the inhabitants found a small brick tomb, in which they found the Koran, the sword and the body of the caliph. Since that time, a stream of believers from all over the world has flowed to the mosque. Every day, at least a thousand people come to pray at the tomb of the Holy Caliph. The Blue Mosque is open to the public even for non-Muslims, though for a fee and without the right to enter the tomb - the mausoleum.
During the invasion of Genghis Khan, in order to protect the grave of the saint, it was sprinkled with earth and disguised. It was reopened only in 1481 during the period of restoration work. It was at this time that Sultan Baikar built a new mosque over the tomb, which received the name "Blue" because of the huge number of turquoise slabs used in the construction on the walls and domes. The mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif is crowned with two bright blue domes and two minarets rising high above the houses. The architecture of the mosque is dominated by blue, turquoise and blue shades with the inclusion of yellow and red colors. All together they form an ornament of indescribable beauty. It covers the walls and domes of the mosque like a real woven carpet. Little has survived from the original decoration of the time of Sultan Baykar. Most of the tiles were made already in the 19th-20th centuries, when restoration and restoration work was carried out.
In the courtyard of the temple is the mausoleum of Khazret Ali and the tombs of some other saints. Flocks of white doves constantly live here, and this is a kind of tribute to tradition. According to legend, one of these doves is a spirit, and even the most ordinary birds that settle in the courtyard of the temple will surely turn white after a while because of the righteousness of this place.
The Blue Mosque has been considered the most beautiful mosque in Pakistan for over five centuries. This temple is the center of the religious life of the whole city.
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After the capital Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif seemed to me a quiet and beautiful provincial town. However, the status of the northern capital of Afghanistan and the holy city of the Shiites, Mazar rightfully bears:
The shrine of Hazrat Ali is the main mosque of Mazar, in which, according to the Afghans, Ali ibn Abu Talib ibn Abd-al-Mutallib ibn Hashim ibn Abd-al-Manaf, an associate of Muhammad and the first child who converted to Islam, is buried:
The temple complex of Roziya Sharif (Blue Mosque), built in the 9th century, was destroyed by the nomads of Genghis Khan and acquired its current form after restoration in the 15th century, by the efforts of Sultan Hussein from the Timurid dynasty:
Only Muslims have the right to get under the arches of the blue minarets, but everyone who wants to pass their shoes at the entrance can freely walk barefoot on the gray marble slabs of the complex:
Ali's tomb is the religious, business and geographical center of Mazar. And at the same time, this is its only architectural antiquity.
The complex is somewhat subtly similar to the Registan, which looks like a clot of clear sky, under a grid of geometric ornament with calligraphic script of huge letters - suras from the Koran:
Another attraction of Mazar is the frisky old men from AZLK, used by Afghans exclusively as taxis:
Only at first glance, the Arabic numerals on the native "Moskvich" look wild. You quickly get used to the local color:
From the tomb, which, together with the park, occupies a whole block, several busy streets lead:
Trade here stops only with the onset of darkness:
On one of the streets, I was surprised to find a vehicle similar to the Thai "tuk-tuk":
Of course, I could not resist and swept a little through Mazar with the natives. The latter and the driver-kid were incredibly surprised by this. Foreigners, if they come to Mazar, rarely leave the protected areas, and even more so they use public transport. But that's why we are travelers, not beach tourists:
Walking around the city, you immediately understand a simple rule: if you stop, wait for the crowd. And indeed the inhabitants of Mazar are a curious people. For example, these preschoolers ran after me about a hundred meters before I photographed them:
There is a large amount of visual agitation in Mazar. Here and on the main street, here and there you can see portraits of statesmen and famous field commanders. Ahmad Shah Masud, or as he is also called, the Lion of Panjer, one of them:
The service sector here is not devoid of creativity. Unfortunately, I was not lucky enough to cut my hair, but the sign is worth a mass:
Pigeons are whiter than in Mazar-i-Sharif at the tomb of Ali, you will not find anywhere else in the world. Even the vaunted birds from Trafalgar Square peck nervously on the sidelines.
The bird of peace is not in vain so revered in Afghanistan. Armed conflicts have not stopped on this land for more than 30 years, and the Afghan people, like no one else, know the price of a white bird with an olive branch in its beak:
The Blue Mosque - or the Shrine of Hazrat Ali - is a mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan.
One of the alleged burial places of the last righteous Caliph Ali, son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad.
According to the story, shortly after the assassination of Ali and the burial of his body in An-Najaf, near Baghdad, some of his followers were worried that his body would be defiled by his enemies, and they decided to hide it and put his body on a camel. They traveled with the camel for several weeks until the camel fell and then the body was buried at the place where the camel fell.
This place became known as the "Tomb of the Saint" - Mazar-i-Sharif. Later, this name was given to the city built around the mosque.
The mosque above the tomb of St. Ali was founded in the XII century. According to legend, the tomb was discovered quite by accident and Ahmad Sanjar built the first shrine on this site. In 1220, during the invasion of Genghis Khan, the grave was covered with earth and disguised to avoid desecration.
It was restored by Hussein Baiqara in the 15th century. Due to the large number of turquoise tiles covering its domes and walls, it was called "Blue".
Thanks to regular restoration work, the Blue Mosque is one of the best preserved ancient monuments in Afghanistan.
The Blue Mosque is the center of the entire social and religious life of the city. Every year on March 21, a huge banner rises above the temple - yanda, symbolizing the beginning of the forty-day festivities dedicated to the New Year - Navruz.
The shrine in Mazar-i-Sharif is revered mainly Afghan Shiites.
In the southern part of the courtyard of the mosque is the mausoleum of Khazret Ali, the walls of which are completely woven with a blue tiled carpet. In the courtyard of the mosque, there are the tombs of two more saints - Shir-Ali and Akbar Khan.
At the end of the 20th century, Mazar-i-Sharif was under the control of the Taliban terrorist group. They had their own ideas about Islam and its purity. The Blue Mosque was closed to foreign tourists so that they would not desecrate this sacred place. Today, all bans have been lifted and guests from abroad can enjoy fantastic architecture and magnificent blue domes.
On March 21, the famous tulip festival begins in the Blue Mosque, which is so beloved by the inhabitants of Mazar-i-Sharif, so it is of great importance in their lives.
Not only representatives of the indigenous local population, but also Tajiks, Persians and Indians took part in the construction of the mosque. The mosque itself is certainly not the same as the mosques of the Muslim East. This is of course the Central Asian region, but still Afghanistan is primarily the influence of the traditions of the Tajik architectural school, the architecture of Samarkand and the Islamic architecture of Pakistan and North India.
A large Tajik diaspora lives in Afghanistan, and of course, in terms of architectural appearance, there are traditions of Samarkand
If we talk further about the construction of this mosque, then the blue mosque cannot be compared with either Baghdad architecture, or Isfahan or Turkish. The Afghan Blue Mosque is its own architectural world, which to this day has retained its unique appearance and, above all, the style of the Central Asian peoples.
There are always a lot of white doves near the mosque. A beautiful sight!
Men pray during Ramadan
Mazar-i-Sharif is a city located in the north of Afghanistan. Northern Afghanistan is the former lands of the Bukhara Central Asian Emirate, which during the 16th-19th centuries was one of the most powerful states in Central Asia. Northern Afghanistan has many provinces, one of them is more famous - the province of Balkh. But the construction of this mosque arose even before Northern Afghanistan fell under the dominion of the Bukhara Emirate. Mazar-i-Sharif is located not far from Balkh itself, and in the very center of the city a blue mosque was built in 1468. It was the historical period of the Developed Central Asian Middle Ages. Not only representatives of the indigenous local population, but also Tajiks, Persians and Indians took part in the construction of the mosque. The mosque itself is certainly not the same as the mosques of the Muslim East. This is of course the Central Asian region, but still Afghanistan is primarily the influence of the traditions of the Tajik architectural school, the architecture of Samarkand and the Islamic architecture of Pakastan and North India. This blue mosque combines the traditions of Tajik architecture, since a large Tajik diaspora lives in Afghanistan and, of course, the traditions of Samarkand are present in terms of architectural appearance. Since on some ledges with small domes there are such borders on the dome of the Gur-Emir mausoleum in Samarkand. Therefore, the mosque is something of course and compatible with the traditions of the Central Asian region. The tiles of the suras of the Koran are, of course, the influence of the fine arts of Iran, which in the era of the Early and Developed Central Asian Middle Ages strengthened architectural styles. But Central Asia is not Iran or Iraq, it is its own separate Muslim world, which for a long time was isolated from the Western world. If we talk further about the construction of this mosque, then the blue mosque cannot be compared with either Baghdad architecture, or Isfahan or Turkish. The Afghan Blue Mosque is its own architectural world, which to this day has retained its unique appearance and, above all, the style of the Central Asian peoples. We continue our Sunday column, in which we show interesting places captured by Kazakh photographers. Today you will find a story about Afghanistan from Grigory Bedenko.
Of the two dozen countries that I managed to visit as a correspondent for Kazakhstani TV, Afghanistan fell in love with the most. And above all because it is extremely interesting in the picture. For a person filming here, there is simply an endless amount of material. If I had the opportunity, I would settle in these amazing lands for a couple of years solely for the love of photography.
Most of the territory of Afghanistan is a rocky desert among the mountains, devoid of vegetation. The edge, in general, is quite severe. And it's very hard to live here.
Any trip to Afghanistan is a journey through time. People here exist in some other, parallel space.
Children grow up very early.
You can feed yourself and your family only with the help of subsistence farming.
In many poor families, children do not go to school.
I would not like to mention drugs and terrorism in this report. But it just so happens that without this, modern Afghanistan is simply impossible to imagine. By the way, the opium poppy does not grow in the north, its range is close in climate to the subtropics (and Pakistan) in the southeastern province of Helmand.
In the north, people grow and sell cotton, and that's how they live.
Another source of income is animal husbandry.
The Afghans do not know our communal passions. And so they have to limit energy resources.
These people have a different outlook...
…and an archaic way of life.
Afghanistan never ceases to amaze. City of Mazar-e-Sharif. Here is a unique architectural structure, included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. This is the Blue Mosque, or the Shrine of Hazrat Ali. The mosque is one of the alleged burial places of Ali ibn Abu Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, his closest associate, the fourth and last righteous caliph.
The history of the founding of the shrine indicates that shortly after the assassination of Ali in 661 and the burial of his body in An-Najaf, near Baghdad, some of Ali's followers were worried that the body would be defiled by enemies. They decided to hide it and placed the remains of the caliph on a camel. Ali's followers traveled with a camel for several weeks until the camel fell. The body was then reburied.
And it happened in the place where the camel fell - in the north of Afghanistan.
On the portal of the mosque there is a marble slab with the inscription: “Ali, the Lion of God”.
But perhaps the biggest miracle of Mazar-i-Sharif is white doves, several thousand of which live around the mosque.
What is most striking is that the pigeons are completely white. And all without exception.
In the interior of the mosque, women are allowed to remove the veil.
The ancient mosque was restored at one time with the money of a very respected leader of ethnic Uzbeks in the north, General Abdulrashid Dostum. For these purposes, he allocated 16 kilograms of pure gold, about which the inhabitants of Mazar-i-Sharif always narrate with reverence.
The mosque was built in the Bukhara style.
It is lined with glazed ceramics.
And white doves live only here.
It's always crowded here.
In Islam, as well as in other Abrahamic religions - Judaism and Christianity, the dove is considered a sacred bird.
It was the dove that appeared on the shoulder of the Prophet Muhammad, showing the Divine inspiration descending on him.
In Islam, the Three Holy Virgins are denoted by three columns on which doves sit.
And the sacred bird brought water in its beak for the prophet.
In Mazar-i-Sharif, it is considered a boon to feed a white dove out of hand.
Everyone comes here, even the poorest people.
Communication with doves usually follows prayer. By the way, only Muslims are allowed inside the mosque to the alleged grave of Ali.
I noticed several times that, apparently, among the Afghans, every square centimeter of the structure is sacred. Even just touching the walls and sitting in front of them is already a blessing.
Pools have been created for the entire colony of pigeons, where they can take water procedures, and even a small underground incubator where chicks are hatched.
Perhaps this is how people looked in the time of the righteous caliphs. There were four of them, as is known: Abu Bakr, Umar, Usman and Ali.
The elderly man is a Hazara. The history of this Afghan ethnic group is truly unique. In 1200, Afghanistan was invaded by the troops of Genghis Khan. Among the many cultural monuments that the Mongols destroyed in Central Asia was the Hazrat Ali Mosque. However, Afghanistan has ground even the invincible steppes. According to legend, Genghis Khan reached an extremely remote mountainous region, where his warriors discovered multi-meter Buddha statues. Subsequently, this region was called Bamiyan. Struck by the grandeur of the statues, the Lord of the steppe ordered not to touch them. The history of statues is known to be sad. In 2001, they were blown up by the Taliban. And the Mongol warriors gradually converted to Islam, becoming Shiite Muslims, and spoke in the Persian language - Farsi. Now the Hazaras worship an Islamic shrine that was destroyed by their distant ancestors 800 years ago.
Looks like they've been here for a long time...
The old people in Mazar-i-Sharif are advanced. They know how to use mobile phones. By the way, in today's Afghanistan there is a very high-quality and inexpensive mobile communication - the Arabs did their best.
All the same, the language does not dare to call this picture usual for Mazar-i-Sharif.
Mosque at sunset...
And against this background, the US military looks completely surreal, like aliens from a neighboring galaxy ...
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