The Old City of Herat in Western Afghanistan has a long history of rebuilding and restoration. The city was destroyed twice by the Mongols, in 1221 A.D. and 1383 A.D., and was reconstructed as the capital of the Central Asia’s Timurid Empire in the 15th century. (...)
The Old City of Herat in Western Afghanistan has a long history of rebuilding and restoration. The city was destroyed twice by the Mongols, in 1221 A.D. and 1383 A.D., and was reconstructed as the capital of the Central Asia’s Timurid Empire in the 15th century. Before Genghis Khan arrived and left his mark on the city, Alexander the Great occupied Herat in 330 B.C., bringing Greek influences to the city. Herat’s long list of conquerors and occupants had much to do with its desirable position along the Silk Road between Europe and Asia. The architecture of Old Herat exhibits vestiges of each of those past styles, but at its heart it is a traditional Islamic urban center. Herat’s citadel, Qala Ikhtyaruddin, and famous Friday mosque, Masjid Jame, adorned with bright blue minarets, were used as models for public buildings in other Islamic cities. Although the earthen defensive walls originally enclosing the city are gone, the layout and much of the historic fabric survived intact until 1978. In recent decades, Herat has endured military conflict, development pressures, looting, and earthquakes.
