THE TOMB OF HAZRAT ALI

History… and legends. In 1135, a resident of Mazar-e-Sharif reported that he had received, in dream, the revelation that the remains of Hazrat Ali (Mohammed's cousin and son's son-in-law, 656-661) were buried in Mazar-e-Sharif. Ali is the fourth caliph of Islam. It is particularly revered by the Shia. Hazrat Ali, assassinated in 661, was reportedly buried in Iraq in Kufa, not far from Baghdad. However, local tradition tells us that his successors, fearing that Ali's enemies would not retaliate on his body, deposited the remains of the caliph on the back of a camel, who erra until she could stop and stopped in Mazar, where the body was buried. All we knew about the exact place where the remains of Ali was buried was lost. But at the beginning of the th century, the location of a tomb was revealed to a mullah in his dream. In 1136, the great Seljuk Sanjar Sultan ordered the construction of a sanctuary on the site. You don't really know who's buried there. It might be one of the descendants of Ali. Genghis Khan destroyed the sanctuary in 1220 because he had heard that a treasure had been hidden under his pillars.

A second revelation took place under the reign of Sultan Timurid Hussain Baiqara. In 1481, the latter ordered the construction of a sanctuary. It was then that the village took the name Mazar-e-Sharif (noble tomb) and became a high place of devotion. That is how, gradually, Mazar won the status of regional capital, displacing the city of Balkh. The second dome was added in 1598. But decorations made in the th century, nothing remains. However, modern restoration restored the mosque to its original beauty. Today is one of the most beautiful monuments in the country. It has been redesigned and expanded between 1869 and 1871. The domes have been adorned with new blue ceramics. In 1889, Abdur Rahman ordered a new beautification of the mosque. In 1966, a large mosque was added to the west of the sanctuary, built over the entire width of the courtyard.

Visit. The mosque of Mazar-e-Sharif is the most beautiful Afghanistan and is one of the most sacred sites. The show of the thousands of pigeons who elected home on the roof of the mosque adds to its charm. Hazrat Ali Mosque is particularly visited at the Fête festival, the Afghan new Year, on 21 March. The sanctuary has three entrances. The most beautiful door is that of the south. You enter a great courtyard and you cross a garden or people pray, beg or discuss. The show is even richer during the festivities of Nawruz. The mosque located west of the site is in recent construction. The central mausoleum is viable. He is now surrounded by constructions. Hazrat Ali's tomb, magnificent, is covered with blue tiles. It is placed inside, in a central room surmounted by the greatest dome of the sanctuary. The walls and ceilings are decorated with rich floral paintings, carried out between 1863 and 1879 under the reign of Amir Sher Ali. The latter is buried next to the west gate of the sanctuary. Beside his grave, there is a small chapel where the graves of several other family members of Amir Dost Mohammad are found. The interior courtyard, where all the buildings are located, is covered with marble tiles. As in any mosque, it is a real place of life. Men and women walk around, or take their sandwiches and lunch seated on the marble floor. Around the mausoleum, a park was built. The site was not damaged during the war. The mosaics were restored and some replaced in the 1990 s.