Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan (HD)

Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan
November, 2020
We got Kabul airport two hours earlier. The plane to Mazar took off on time (8AM) and the flight took less than an hour. Mazar is a northwestern province close to Uzbekistan.
Mazar's first day was originally to go to Balkh, an ancient capital. Noor (my tour organizer) said that he had not brought guests there for several months, and that the surrounding area was controlled by the Taliban. Now the situation is unknown. Later, I asked my driver and heard the same statement, which should be true.
Mahdi (my tour guide, Noor’s brother) took me out of the city for about half an hour to a fortress called Ushchel'ye Shadian (in Charkint area). Mahdi said the fortress protected hundreds of thousands of people during the civil war. There are more than a dozen villages on the other side of the fortress, all of which are Taliban territory.
We climbed the fortress, which is not high, but the steps are high and steep, requiring both hands and feet. There are many small holes left by bullets on the stone walls on both sides of the canyon. The canyon here is very narrow. The stone walls on both sides are tens of meters high and almost 90 degrees vertical.
We exchanged money near the Blue Mosque which is the center of Mazar and drove all the way for lunch. Mahdi has always boasted that Mazar's food is the best in Afghanistan. I again ordered roast lamb and lamb risotto, which was better than Kabul’s the night before.
After lunch, we go to the Blue Mosque (Hazrat Ali Mazar), one of the three major tourist attractions in Afghanistan (Bamiyan Buddha, Mazar Blue Mosque and Band-e-Amir Lake). When I entered the door, my camera caused trouble. The soldier at the door called the supervisor, the supervisor then called his supervisor. The super-supervisor was quite old and looked highly respected. Mahdi talked to him for a while, and the officer waved and let my camera in.
I walked around the Blue Mosque. I saw the door of a minaret open, so I climbed up. Halfway through the climb, I realized that the minaret might not be open to tourist, maybe it was just the person in charge who forgot to close the door, because the higher the stairs, the dirtier it looked. It seems like it hasn't been cleaned in a hundred years, the ground is full of dust and dry bird droppings, and I have to take off my shoes since entering the outer wall of the Blue Mosque, so I just wear socks.
When I climbed to the top and looked down, I realized that a bird's-eye view of the mosque is really not like a bird's-eye view of a church. The mosque looks gorgeous and bright, but there are many unadorned parts on the top, which may not be good for a bird's eye view. I took a few pictures, didn’t take any video, because I was afraid that it would take too long to be locked inside.
There are two chapels in the Blue Mosque, I went in the side one, but I tried to enter the main chapel twice and was successfully intercepted by armed guard or the crowd (yes, the crowd also protect the mosque as paid security guard).
After leaving the Blue Mosque, Mahdi took me to the mausoleum of another local leader Abdul Ali Mazari (there is also the sarcophagus of his comrade Sayeed Ali Alawi in the mausoleum).
After I came out, Mahdi took me to a bazaar to buy clothes. He said that he would ask a tailor to make me an Afghan national costume. The place to go in the next few days will be more conservative. It is necessary to express respect for the local ethnic culture.
After buying the clothes, I saw the sunset showing up, and insisted on going to the Blue Mosque (just opposite the Bazaar). Mahdi was a little hesitant and wanted to go to the tailor. I told him that making clothes is least important, I have three major objectives for Afghanistan tour, one of them is this Blue Mosque.
Entering the Blue Mosque again, the setting sun seems to be absent. The exterior wall of the Blue Mosque seems to have added some luster. It looks better, but it certainly does not meet my expectation.
In the end, I went to the tailor's shop, which is a very humble little shop. The tailor took the measurements of each part for me. It must be done before nine o'clock tomorrow, and I have to use it tomorrow.
We went back to the hotel. Because of the jet lag, I went to bed after six o'clock. The hotel brought me dinner at eight o'clock. After eating a little, I went to sleep and woke up at twelve o'clock.

[@mahmoodQureshikohatiPakistan]

Very nice