Balkh

Balkh is one of Afghanistan's oldest and most historically significant cities, located in the northern plain about 20 km west of Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh Province. Known in antiquity as Bactra and nicknamed the "Mother of Cities," it was the centre of ancient Bactria and a crossroads of Persian, Greek, Buddhist and Islamic civilisations.

The city's history reaches back more than three millennia. Balkh was an early seat of Zoroastrian learning, entered the empire of Alexander the Great, and later flourished under Islamic and Timurid rule. It is also remembered as the birthplace of the 13th-century poet Rumi, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi. Ancient city walls and the raised Bala Hissar citadel still mark the scale of the old settlement.

Among the most important surviving monuments are the No Gumbad, also called the Haji Piyada Mosque, often described as one of the earliest Islamic buildings in Afghanistan, and the 15th-century shrine and mosque of Khoja Abu Nasar Parsa with its green-tiled dome in the centre of town. The surrounding archaeological landscape includes Buddhist remains such as Takht-e Rustam.

Modern Balkh is a compact market town closely linked to Mazar-i-Sharif, which provides most hotels, the international airport and urban services. The local bazaar remains the heart of daily life, selling produce, naan, spices and household goods, while farms and orchards spread across the fertile surrounding plain.

For travellers, Balkh offers a rare combination of deep history and everyday northern Afghan life. It attracts heritage and cultural visitors, researchers and business travellers using Mazar-i-Sharif as a regional base, all within a short journey of one of Afghanistan's most storied archaeological landscapes.