"Pony traps with red tasselled bridles jingled by as well as large men wobbling along on small bicycles and the occasional pick-up full of gunmen ... A traffic policeman with a white jacket, a peaked cap and a handheld Stop sign had even appeared at the traffic island and seemed to be laughing though everyone was ignoring his frantic signalling."
- Christina Lamb, The Sewing Circles of Herat

Of all the cities in Afghanistan, Herat has the most glorious history. Its strategic location on the edges of the Iranian Plateau and the Central Asian steppe meant that the city has always been fought over by foreign powers. Together with its distance from Kabul and long tradition as a centre of Persian culture, Herat has always had a strongly independent air, which it maintains to this day.

Where to stay and eat
Full of Iranian businessmen, the Marco Polo Hotel is Herat's best, followed by the old journalist's favourite, the Mowafaq Hotel. Both will set you back around US$20-30 a head. Budget fare is at the Jam Hotel in the Old City, just east of Chahar Su.The Marco Polo Hotel has Herat's best restaurant, serving Afghan and Iranian dishes. The Mowafaq has less inspired fare; there are also plenty of kebab places and juice stalls.

Security
The Taliban ruled Herat with an iron-fist, and the city welcomed liberation and the rule of Ismael Khan, Herat's favourite son (although a son much criticised by human rights groups). Since 2001, Herat has remained largely calm, and is contrast much of Afghanistan, prosperous. In the summer of 2004, Ismal Khan was removed from office by Hamid Karzai, eventually taking up a ministerial position in Kabul. This removal was met with widespread violence in Kabul, with UN properties looted and burned. The situation has sinced returned to to normal, with Kabul taking increasing control of the city's administration. In general, Herat is an oasis in a sea of instability, although being Afghanistan, incidents can occur unpredictably (such as the fatal shooting of three people at a demonstration at the end of April 2005). Up to date news and advice should be sought if planning to travel by road out of Herat - particularly to Kandahar or Mazar-e Sharif.

Transport Connections
A daily Ariana flight links Herat to the capital, taking just under an hour. KamAir operate a similar service, as well as a connection to Mazar-e Sharif. A KamAir flight from Herat to Kabul crashed in heavy snowstorms in January 2005, killing over 100 people.

The old Soviet-constructed road to Kandahar is terrible, wirth travel between the two cities taking up to 14. Persistent insecurity means this road is not usually travelled by foreigners, and cannot be recommended. Even Afghan taxis frequently find themselves buzzed by American helicopters . It is vital to check the current security situation before travelling on this road, and if you choose to, use local transport rather than more visible Western 4x4s.

Regular transport travels from Herat to Maimana and on to Mazar-e Sharif. The entire trip to Mazar takes 2-3 days depending on the season. Travel on this route is subject to high security warnings, particularly in Faryab and Badghis provinces. More information can be found in the North-West section.

It is possible to travel from Herat to Kabul through the central mountain route, via Chaghcheran and the Minaret of Jam, detailed in the Central Route section.

Herat has good onward connections to Iran and Turkmenistan. The rehabilitated road to the Iranian border at Islam-Qala was formally opened by Hamid Karzai and the Iranian President Mohammed Khatami in December 2004, cutting travel times to less than 90 minutes. From Herat to the Turkmen border at Torghundi takes around three hours. For more information on crossing these borders see Getting in from Iran and Getting in from Turkmenistan respectively.

What to see
Herat is Afghanistan's most culturally rich city, and despite the ravages of imperial powers and civil war it still has plenty of sights to offer the visitor. The centre of Herat is the Old City, roughly one mile square and dominated by the Friday Mosque and Citadel. To the north and east of the city lie the remains of the Musalla Complex and the Gazar Gah shrine, Herat's most important medieval site.

Old City
Herat's old city escaped the worst of the Soviet carpet bombing in 1979 and 1984. The old city covers almost one square mile, and is divided in to four quarters, centred around Chahar Su, ('Four Directions') a cross roads at the centre of the city. Until the 1950s the city was walled, but only small sections of the ramparts now remain. Bazaars radiate out from Chahar Su, leading to the city gates (no longer standing but known by their old names), as well as the Friday Mosque and Citadel. Shops selling traditional Herati blue glass cluster around the mosque; the carpet bazaar is found in the south-western corner of the old city.

Friday Mosque
The Friday Mosque (Masjid-e Jami) of Herat is one of Afghanistan's great architectural gems. The present mosque was established by the Ghorid Sultan Ghiyasuddin in 1200, on the grounds of an earlier destroyed mosque. The mosque follows the typical four-eiwan pattern, surrounding a central courtyard measuring almost 100 metres square. Very little of the original Ghorid structure is remaining, except a portal in the south of the main entrance, inscribed to the sultan and decorate with a cut-brick floral motif. The mosque was enlarged under Timurid rule, and covered with elaborate tilework.

This deteriorated over the centuries until in 1943 a massive restoration programme was started. The old tile workshop was reopened and slowly the mosque was recovered with dazzling mosaic. The tile workshop continues this tradition and has been supported by UNESCO and the Society for the Preservation of Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage (SPACH).

Herat Citadel (Qala-e Ikhtiyaruddin)
Herat's citadel, or Arg, stands just inside the north west perimeter of the old city. It is thought that there has been a fort on this site since the capture of Aria by Alexander the Great in 330BC, although the site has never been properly excavated. The current citadel was constructed in 1305 by the Kart Emir Ikhtiyaruddin, from the remains of an earlier fortress destroyed by the Mongol's. The citadel withstood a Persian siege in 1838-39, and surrendered to Abdur Rahman in 1881, bringing Herat under the Iron Emir's rule. Repeatedly pillaged for brick and wood over the centuries, in the 1950s a local army commander ordered its total demolition, wanting to replace it with modern army barracks. The citadel was saved through the intervention of King Zahir Shah, and underwent restoration in the 1970s.

The Arg is a massive structure of fired brick, with huge battlements surmounted by 18 towers. Sections of decorative Timurid tilework - massive thuluth-style calligraphy - have been restored on some of the towers. The Arg is occupied by the Afghan army, and is closed to visitors.

Musalla Complex
The Musalla ('Prayer Ground' in Arabic) Complex of Gohar Shad was the towering achievement of Timurid Herat. Commissioned in around 1417, the complex comprised of a Friday Mosque, madrassa and mausoleum, decorated with elaborate mosaic tilework and set with thirty minarets.

Having survived Herat's turbulent history, the complex was dynamited by the British in 1885 to create a clear field of fire in event of a Russian advance on Afghanistan. Only Gohar Shad's mausoleum, six minarets and a smaller madrassa were spared, damaged further by earthquakes and Soviet bombardment.

The tiling that so enraptured Robert Byron in the 1930s has almost totally gone, leaving the bare minarets pointing like chimneys to the sky, but with just enough remaining to give a tantalising hint of how they once looked. The blue ribbed dome of Gohar Shad's Mausoleum stands alone with one remaining minaret, facing the four leaning minarets of the Sultan Baiqara Madrassa.

The wall surrounding the Musalla Complex has been repaired, and over 9,000 trees planted with irrigation canals in 2001 as part of the site's rehabilitation. Work continues to stabilise the remaining minarets. The tile workshop of the Friday Mosque embarked on a project to restore Gohar Shad's mausoleum in 2004.

Gazar Gah
The shrine at Gazar Gah to the 11th Century Sufi master Abdullah Ansari is Herat's most important monument to have escaped the destruction of the war. The modern shrine was built by the Timurid ruler Shah Rukh in 1428. A massive 30m high portal and eiwan decorated in Timurid-style, but with a distinct Chinese influence, dominate the entrance to the shrine. The tomb of Ansari is of blue marble carved with verses of his poetry, and overlooked by an intricately carved pillar and an ilex tree thought by Herati women to provide blessings for those wishing to conceive.

In the north wall of the shrine is the elaborately carved tomb of one of the sons of Sultan Baiqara, in black marble and decorated in the Haft Qalam ('Seven Pens') style. You will need to ask the caretaker to open the chamber to view the tomb. Outside the Haft Qalam lies the tomb of the great amir Dost Mohammed.

Several buildings of interest lie just outside the shrine. By the shrine's entrance in the Khana Zarnegar, a small domed building now locked, but previously used as a retreat for Sufi dervishes. On the northern side is Hauz-e Zamzam, a covered well built by Shar Rukh containing water taken from the sacred well of Zamzam in Mecca. Nearby is the Namakdan, a 12-sided 17th Century pavilion that gives good views of Herat.

Gazar Gah sits on a hill 5km north-east of Herat. It is maintained by a Sufi brotherhood who follow Ansari's teachings, and several dervishes live at the shrine. It remains popular for Heratis to visit the shrine on public holidays.