The name means "the holy graveyard" and is thus named due to the pilgrimage site at the very heart of the city which commemorates the burial place of Ali, the fourth Caliph of Islam. The shrine, focus of pilgrimage for Afghans from all corners of the country, sits in the center of a giant square, which is lined by every manner of shops imaginable. Mazar today is as much about booming business and trade as it is about pilgrimage, and you will see the collision of modernity and tradition most starkly in Mazar. Horses, camels and donkeys share the wide roads with trucks, buses and 4x4 vehicles. The desert wind pushes back the white burqas to reveal high heals and shiny dresses. Turbaned carpet sellers talk heated on cell phones.
