I Explored the Real Afghanistan with a Local
Herat City is known to be one of the most liberal region of Afghanistan. A place where the harsh rules of this country are a little bit more relax where you can see families everywhere enjoying what Herat has to offer. Today we explore Herat with a local.
The first thing I saw just across from my hotel was a fake Afghan McDonald's which I found hilarious. That aside, my first impressions of Herat were very different than what I saw and experience in the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul. It was Friday night which is most people's day off in Afghanistan so there was families everywhere enjoying some delicious Afghan street food including chickpeas, ice cream, samosas and all kinds of fruits. I visited Afghanistan during fruit season so those were delicious and everywhere. I was also lucky enough to watch a soccer of football game which is the national sport of Afghanistan.
On my second day in Herat, we hit the ground running to see and experience as much as possible of what Herat City has to offer. We started at the Great Mosque of Herat, a beautiful structure taken care by generations of people mastering different crafts from sculpting to painting and more. From there we explored Jadea-i-Lelami Market, also known as Lelami Bazaar a place where people can by a lot of second hand item from clothing to shoes and household items. While walking around the bazaar you could see the famous Herat Citadel in the distance, a massive fort like structure acting as the epicentre of the city. This place was recently restore and looks fantastic.
After a quick tuktuk ride, we started our food journey from a family run local restaurant to a very luxurious ice cream shop. Then a few hours back at the hotel to let the heat of the day pass.
Khwaja Abd Allah Ansari Shrine is another beautiful maintained mosque in Herat which as a rich history in the Islamic world. Visiting this place at sunset mate it even more beautiful. Talking about sunset, do not miss the Roof of Herat which is an incredible view point of the city. To complete the history side of Herat, we walked around the Herat Minarets, a very impressive site world visiting.
To end the night, some Afghan fast food before visiting the night school where kids go to learn a second language including english. Afghanistan is often seen as a country closed up to the rest of the world. Seeing one of those language school though really opened my eyes on this new generation that wants to widen their horizons and learning a new language like english is definitely opening new doors for them.
Overall, Herat City is a beautiful place with a long history and deep culture that all started during the silk road days and still lives today. I have to say, I think I prefer Herat over Kabul!
If you ever wanted to visit Afghanistan then I couldn't recommend Let's Go Afghanistan enough. They organized an amazing itinerary that took me all over the country from the different cities to the most remote locations and all of this by putting safety first. https://letsgoafghanistan.com/
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Chapters:
0:00 Welcome to Herat Afghanistan
0:50 My Hotel in Herat
1:40 Friday Evening in Herat
8:50 Getting a Tourist Permit
9:12 The Great Mosque of Herat
12:32 Lelami Bazaar
20:54 Herat Citadel
23:39 Daily Life of Afghans in Herat
28:30 Nicest Hotel Staff EVER
29:47 Khwaja Abd Allah Ansari Shrine
30:40 The Roof of Herat
31:28 Buying Luxury Vehicles
32:47 Herat Minarets
34:21 Afghan Fast Food
35:58 Visiting a Night School
38:12 My Thoughts of Herat City
#afghanistan #afghanistantravel #afghanistanyoutubers
Dave Mani