Herat is the third largest city in Afghanistan. Located at an elevation of 920 m (3,018 ft), it has a population of around 400,000 (2011 estimate). The city is located in a valley of the Hari River, in the western part of Afghanistan. The city is connected to Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif by Highway 1 that connects the major cities of the country.

The Citadel of HeratThe Citadel of Herat in Afghanistan
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Citadel_in_Herat_in_2011-cropped.jpg
Author: S.K. Vemmer
photo licensing


Herat is an ancient city with a history going back 2,700 years. It has been ruled by various powers though its long history. In the early 18th century, Herat was ruled by the Safavid Dynasty until 1747, when it became part of the Durrani Empire. There was some fighting here during the Anglo-Afghan wars, but unlike other cities of Afghanistan, was spared much of the destruction of the 20th century wars.

Places of Interest in Herat

  1. Friday Mosque

  2. Gazar Gah

  3. Military Museum

  4. Minarets of Sultan Baiqara

  5. Musalla Complex

  6. Takht-e Safar

  7. The Citadel

  8. Tomb of Jami


Herat Friday MosqueThe Friday Mosque in Herat
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herat_Masjidi_Jami_minaret.jpg
Author: Sven Dirks, Wien
photo licensing

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

About this website



Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.

Copyright © 2003-2025 Timothy Tye. All Rights Reserved.