Editing Kandahar (section)

==Places of interest==
[[File:Ruins of old Kandahar Citadel in 1881.jpg|thumb|upright|An 1881 photo showing the ruined [[Old Kandahar]] [[citadel]] of Shah [[Hussain Hotak]] that was destroyed by the [[Afsharid dynasty|Afsharid forces]] of [[Nader Shah]] in 1738. This destroyed fortress is still standing today.]]
The tomb of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] is located in the city centre, which also houses Durrani's brass helmet and other personal items. In front of Durrani's mausoleum is the [[Shrine of the Cloak]], containing one of the most valued relics in the Islamic world, which was given by the Emir of [[Bokhara]] ([[Murad Beg]]) to Ahmad Shah Durrani. The Sacred Cloak is kept locked away, taken out only at times of great crisis. [[Mullah Omar]] took it out in November 1996 and displayed it to a crowd of ''ulema'' of religious scholars to have himself declared [[Amir al-Mu'minin]] (Commander of the Faithful). Prior to that it was taken out when the city was struck by a cholera epidemic in the 1930s.<ref>Lamb, Christina (2002). ''[https://archive.org/details/sewingcirclesofh00chri The Sewing Circles of Herat: A Personal Voyage Through Afghanistan]''. Harper Collins. First Perennial edition (2004), p. 38 and n. {{ISBN|0-06-050527-3}}.</ref>

The village of ''Sher Surkh'' is located southeast of the city, in the suburbs of the old city of [[Naderabad, Kandahar|Nadirabad]]. Kandahar Museum is located at the western end of the third block of buildings lining the main road east of ''Eidgah Durwaza'' (gate). It has many paintings by the now famous Ghiyassuddin, painted while he was a young teacher in Kandahar. He is acknowledged among Afghanistan's leading artists.

Just to the north of the city, off its northeast corner at the end of ''buria'' (matting) bazaar, there is a shrine dedicated to a saint who lived in Kandahar more than 300 years ago. The grave of ''[[Hazratji Baba]]'', {{cvt|23|ft|m|order=flip}} long to signify his greatness, but otherwise covered solely by rock chips, is undecorated save for tall pennants at its head. A monument to Islamic martyrs stands in the centre of Kandahar's main square, called ''Da Shahidanu Chawk'', which was built in the 1940s.

[[File:Old Kandahar and Chil Zena.jpg|thumb|Ancient city of [[Old Kandahar]] (red) and [[Chilzina]] mountainous outcrop (blue) on the western side of Kandahar.]]
The ''[[Chilzina]]'' is a rock-cut chamber above the plain at the end of the rugged chain of mountains forming the western defence of Kandahar's ''Old City''. This is here that [[Ashoka]]'s [[Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription]] was found. Forty steps, about, lead to the chamber, which is guarded by two chained lions, defaced, and inscribed with an account of [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] conquest. The rugged cliffs from which the ''Chilzina'' was hewn form the natural western bastion of the ''Old City'' of Kandahar, which was destroyed in 1738 by [[Nadir Shah Afshar]] of Persia.

A short distance from ''Chilzina'', going west on the main highway, a bright blue dome appears on the right. This is the mausoleum of [[Mirwais Hotak]], the Ghiljai chieftain who declared Kandahar's independence from the Persians in 1709. The shrine of [[Baba Wali Kandhari]]<ref name="wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com">{{cite web|url=http://wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/punja-sahib-the-miracle-at-hassan-abdal/|title=Punja Sahib: The Miracle at Hassan Abdal|work=Wonders of Pakistan|date=13 April 2009|access-date=6 May 2016|archive-date=13 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313232015/https://wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/punja-sahib-the-miracle-at-hassan-abdal/|url-status=live}}</ref> (Baba Sahib), its terraces shaded by pomegranate groves beside the [[Arghandab River]], is also very popular for picnics and afternoon outings.<ref Name=Dupree3/> He was a Muslim [[Pir (Sufism)|pir]] who had a strange encounter with [[Guru Nanak]] at [[Hasan Abdal]] in what is now [[Attock District]] of Pakistan. The shrine of Baba Wali is important to Muslims and [[Sikh]]s. Close to Baba Wali's shrine is a military base established by the [[United States armed forces]] in about 2007.