"Balkh is a splendid city of great size. It used to be much greater and more splendid; but the Tartars and other invaders have sacked and ravaged it. For I can tell you that there used to be many fine palaces and mansions, which are still to be seen, but shattered now and in ruins. It was in this city, according to local report, that Alexander took to wife the daughter of Darius. The inhabitants worship Mahomet."
- Marco Polo, The Travels

Although today only a small provincial town, Balkh speaks of greatness in Afghanistan's history. As Bakhtri it was the birthplace of the prophet Zoroaster and as Bactria it was conquered by Alexander the Great in 329BC and was the city where he took his wife Roxanne. Bactria thrived under Kushan Buddhist rule as a centre of the silk routes, before it's cultural flourishing with the advent of Islam. The Arabs called Balkh the "Mother of Cities" and the city became one of the great intellectual centres of early Islam, in part due to its Hellenic roots. Two of the greatest of all Persian poets were born in the city- the Lady Rabi'a in the 10th century, and Jalaluddin Rumi two hundred years ago. Rumi is also known as the Sufi master Mevlana in Turkey - the country to where his family fled in advance of the Mongol invasions of 1220-1221. Balkh never truly recovered from the depredations of Genghis Khan. Marco Polo passed through its ruins 50 years later, as did Ibn Battuta in 1333 remarked on Balkh as a "ruin without society", it has been destroyed so completely. Despite a brief renaissance in the 15th century under the Timurids, Balkh was subsequently overshadowed by the expansion of nearby Mazar-e Sharif.

Balkh lies 20km west of Mazar-e Sharif, and is notable for two of Afghanistan's most important medieval Islamic sites. There are a few chaikhanas in the town, which is most easily visited as a day trip from Mazar. There are few outstanding security issues in Balkh beyond the advice given for Mazar, although it should be noticed that in 2005, opium production expanded greatly in Balkh province, where it had previously been little grown.

No-Gombad Mosque
Based on an unusual nine dome (no gumbad) colonnaded plan, this mosque, also known as the Haji Piyada Mosque is the oldest Islamic monuments in Afghanistan, dating from the 9th century. Just 10m square, the domes have long fallen and the floor is buried in rubble. The columns and capitals are particularly notable however, with their carved stucco possibly influenced by Samarra in Iraq. The mosque is covered with a protective metal roof and has underwent limited conservation work supported by the Society for the Preservation of Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage in 1999 and 2001. It stands just south of the town's limits, surrounded by fields of marijuana.

Shrine of Khwaja Abu Nasr Parsa
The shrine of Khwaja Abu Nasr Parsa was built for an eminent theologian in 1460-1461 and is a model of Timurid architecture. The building is octagonal, with a monumental flanked by twisted cable-moulded columns and two minarets, and topped by a fluted blue dome. Although badly deteriorated, the shrine still has an awesome effect.The mosque is located in Balkh's central park.

Ancient Balkh
The ruins of ancient Balkh lie on the mainly on the north side of the town, and are unmissable in their scale. The vast and eroded city walls are Timurid, but have never been properly excavated and certainly lie on the ruins of the older city, possibly back a further thousand years to the Kushan period. Several towers still stand, interspersed with fields and the mud-brick houses of locals. Illegal excavations continue around the old walls.