Author: Akbar Nabi

Taking a car from Mazar-i-Sharif to Haybak City of Samangan Province (a two-hour drive) is more than just visiting Takht-i-Rostam, it is about enjoying each moment, exploring the beauty of the nature along with its adventures on your way to Haybak.

Within an hour drive you will enter an amazing valley named Tashgorghan, with beautiful nature and delicious figs. If you are travelling in the morning, then you will have the chance to eat delicious Qaymaq (milk thickened into heavy cream) and special bread from this area; an incomparable taste, which I won’t forget. Driving a few kilometers more, you will be amazed by the Tangi Tashgorghan, a narrow valley connecting the North of Afghanistan with the South. This place has its own story narrated by the local people saying that Hazrat Ali, the fourth caliph of Islam, has left the print of his horse’s (Dul Dul) foot on the mountain. Hard to believe, but it’s worth to take a walk and listen to the locals, and enjoy the nature.

Leaving the Tangi, you will see unbelievable red, blue and brown mountains and a river at the bottom of the valley surrounded with trees. I was comparing them with the Grand Canyon valley of the U.S. Now, you can swim in the river, in clean water.

Finally, after driving for another sixty kilometers, you will arrive in the historical city of Haybak. Here you will find a small city inhabited with generous people. Not modern or developed like Kabul, but a great opportunity to see a different face of Afghanistan; different clothes, new faces, a different housing style, and most importantly some delicious food, like you have never tasted before. Try its Chopan Kabab (from sheep’s meat). Moreover, this town in Samangan dates to the time of the Kushan Empire during the 4th and 5th centuries when it was a famous Buddhist center. Yet, you are here to visit Takht-i-Rostam. As it is known, Afghanistan has various archaeological sites where caves were hewn out of rocks and inhabited by Buddhist monks. One of the most spectacular sites is that of Takht-i Rostam.

Takht-i-Rostam or Stupa of Takht-e Rostam is a stupa-monastery complex 2km south of the town of Haybak. Built in the 4 – 5th century AD while the area was part of the Kushan-Sasanian Kingdom. The complex is carved entirely from the bedrock and consists of five chambers, two of them sanctuaries. One of them has a domed ceiling with an elaborate lotus leaf decoration. On an adjacent hill is the stupa, surmounted by a harmika (a Buddhist themed boutique hotel), with several rougher caves around the base. Take a walk in this so-called ‘market of time’, inside the rocks and cave, as it will amaze you for sure.

Following the Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, the original purpose of the monastery was lost. Instead, the site was incorporated into Persian mythology in the story of Rostam and Sohrab, which forms part of the 10th century Persian epic Shahnameh by the Persian poet Ferdowsi. In the story, it is said that Rostam supposedly traveled to the Kingdom of Samangan and stayed with the king at Takht-i-Rostam. Besides its cultural significance, the cylinder shaped structure of this site is fascinating in itself, to enter the chamber you need to climb a bit. An unforgettable experience and all of this can be done in a day trip from Mazar-i-Sharif!