Mazar i Sharif
alternative words: Mazar e Sharif, Mazar
keywords: town
related topics: Abdul Rashid Dostam , Afghanistan , Balkh
related web sites: http://www.geocities.com/afghanistan_ca/Mazar.html
explanation: Capital of Balkh province in northern Afghanistan and its second largest city. A legend says that the caliph Ali, the son in law of Muhammad would be earthed at the place where blue mosque was built. The climate is semi-arid. Mazar was a prosperous city during the reign of Dostam but when the town fell to Taliban in 1998, several thousands civilians, especially Iranian speaking Hazaras would be massacred in revenge of Taliban massacred in 1997. The population is 130,000.