Balkh[a] is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately 74 kilometres (46 mi) to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border.

Balkh, village in northern Afghanistan that was formerly Bactra, the capital of ancient Bactria. It lies 14 miles (22 km) west of the city of Mazār-e Sharīf and is situated along the Balkh River.

The city of Mazar-i-Sharif is the capital and largest city of the province. The Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi International Airport and Camp Marmal sit on the eastern edge of Mazar-i-Sharif. Balkh, also called Vazīrābād, the name of the province is derived from the ancient city of Balkh, [8] near the modern town.

The city of Balkh, situated on the plain between the Hindu Kush Mountain range and the Amu Darya river (the ‘Oxus’ in antiquity), in the north of modern day Afghanistan, sat at a cross-roads along the Silk Roads, with several trade routes intersecting in and around the city.

Balkh is an ancient city, with a 2500-year long history, situated on the plain between the Hindu Kush Mountains and the river Amu Darya (historically known as the Oxus) in the north of Afghanistan. Known by Arab conquerors as Umm-al-belad, the ‘mother of cities’, Balkh lay on the major Silk Road routes that ran between east and west.

The city of Balkh comprises a large urban site of some 11 square kilometres, lying west of the modern regional capital of northern Afghanistan, Mazar i Sharif, and about 46 miles south of the Amu Darya (Oxus) river whose course ran close to the city in antiquity.

Silk Road Seattle - Balkh

Old City of Balkh is a historic city in Northern Afghanistan located near the border with Uzbekistan. It is one of the oldest settlements in Afghanistan, the foundation of which is attributed to Kaikobad I, a Persian prince who reigned in Balkh in the 5th century BCE.

Balkh (Persian: بلخ) is a city in Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It was a big city hundreds of years ago, but it was ruined by Mongols. [source?] It was not ruined forever, though. In 1850 it was captured by Dost Mohammad Khan. [1]

Dec 4, 2023 · Travelling through Balkh offers the visitor a unique opportunity to time-travel through two-and-a-half millennia, into a world of poetry in word and stone. This travel guide aims to unravel the magic of its ruins, and shed a ray of light on why the Arabs called Balkh the ‘mother of all cities’ when they arrived on its doorstep in the 7th ...