Mazar-i-Sharif, the fourth-largest city in Afghanistan, is most famous for the Blue Mosque, the Shrine of Hazrat Ali, which is intricately and beautifully decorated. Unfortunately for me ...

Sultan Ahmed I was determined to build a mosque that rivaled the nearby Hagia Sophia, and most would agree that he accomplished this task or, at least, came close. Since the early 1600s, the Blue ...