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Herat
Also known as Heraut, Alexandria, Alexandria Ariana
Herat, also written as Harat or Hirat, and historically known as Haraiva, Horeiva and Hires, is a city in western Afghanistan, serving as the capital and largest city of Herat Province. It has long been the third-largest city of Afghanistan. The city is within the jurisdiction of Herat District and has an estimated population of 673,273 settled residents. Mullah Nematullah Hassan is the current mayor of the city. His predecessor was Haji Abdulraziq Rashed.
AI overview
Herat is a city in western Afghanistan that serves as the capital of Herat Province and is historically the third-largest city in the country, with an estimated population of around 673,000 residents. The city has been an important urban center throughout history, known by various names across different periods, and is currently governed by Mayor Mullah Nematullah Hassan.
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Place details
- Locality
- هرات
- Region
- ولایت هرات
- Country
- افغانستان
- Population
- 574,300
- Timezone
Travel guide
Understand
Herat is the third largest city in Afghanistan, located in the western part of the country, close to the border with Iran. It is called Nagin Aseeya or Diamond of Asia in some literature. The city has an eventful history of more than 3,000 years. It was destroyed and rebuilt many times; perhaps most notably, it was destroyed by Tamerlane in the 1300s.
The people are very friendly and hospitable to foreigners and are also more religious than people in Kabul. Many of the young understand English or other foreign languages. It is relatively safer than other provinces of Afghanistan except Kandahar.
The attempted revolution against the communist government in Afghanistan began in 1979 in Herat with demonstrations that exploded into something larger when government forces shot some people, provoking a group of young officers to distribute weapons from a military armory to the crowd. They soon conducted a massacre of both Afghan communist officials and Russian advisors. That brought the first bombing of Herat that killed over 20,000 and then a Russian invasion of the whole country.
Ismail Khan, one of the officers involved, soon became the main mujahideen leader in this region. When the Russians finally withdrew in 1989, he ruled Herat until the Taliban takeover in the mid-1990s, and the city changed its face due to the many development works he undertook. He resisted the Taliban and even tried to attack their capital city, Kandahar, but they defeated him, then captured and impr…
Get in
thumb|Herat International Airport
The Herat International Airport is 15 km south of the city just east of the road towards Farah. Daily flights from Kabul are available from Kam Air and Ariana for 3500 Afs. UNAMA and UNHAS operate flights between Kabul and Herat, occasionally via Bamiyan, available to staff of partner NGOs.
A bus service is available from Mashhad in Iran, buses are supposed to leave at 07:00 from the bus terminal but departure times are flexible, be there early. Arrival at the border is around noon and in Herat a bit after 15:00. Border procedures are relatively straightforward.
Overland travel by car can be time-consuming and dangerous. The road from Kandahar has been rebuilt but is extremely dangerous as it passes through Helmand and Farah, both which are war zones. The roads from Iran and Turkmenistan are both in good shape, the latter one being tarred, although with occasional craters. There are occasional security incidents on the road from Turkmenistan as trouble spills over from the unstable Badghis province. Get up-to-date advice before attempting this route. The A76 highway connects to Mazar-e Sharif via Maimana. Upgrading of the road is not yet completed, largely due to the kidnapping of the construction team in 2009. This route is not recommended. The central route to Kabul via Chagcheran and the Minaret of Jam is a very rough 3- to 6-day journey, sleeping in chaikanas along the way. However, from Bamiyan, the longer northern route to Kabul is s…
~35 min read
Article
35 sectionsContents
- History
- Conversion to Islam
- Pearl of Khorasan
- Modern history (1500-2023)
- Geography
- Climate
- Demographics
- Education
- Healthcare
- Law and government
- Sports
- Economy
- Transport
- Air
- Rail
- Road
- Tourism
- Notable people
- Rulers and emperors
- Politicians
- Poets
- Scientists
- Religious figures
- Artists
- Athletes
- Others
- Gallery
- Herat in fiction
- Sister cities
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Sources
- Attribution
- External links
Herat, also written as Harat or Hirat, and historically known as Haraiva, Horeiva and Hires, is a city in western Afghanistan, serving as the capital and largest city of Herat Province. It has long been the third-largest city of Afghanistan. The city is within the jurisdiction of Herat District and has an estimated population of 673,273 settled residents. Mullah Nematullah Hassan is the current mayor of the city. His predecessor was Haji Abdulraziq Rashed.
Herat is a major industrial and trading center. As the gateway to Iran and Turkmenistan, it collects billions of dollars in customs revenue for Afghanistan. It has an international airport and a large industrial park near it. The roads from Herat to Iran (through the border town of Islam Qala) and Turkmenistan (through the border town of Torghundi) are becoming strategically important.
Gallery (42)
On the map
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