Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque, Kabul (must see)

The Mosque of the King of Two Swords, or thus the name of the mosque is translated, is a two-story yellow building, situated on the banks of the Kabul River. It was constructed in the 1920s during the reign of Amanullah Khan, whose rule was marked by dramatic political and social change in trying to modernize Afghanistan. The design of this mosque is quite unusual for Islamic religious architecture. Its Italian decorative stucco creates an interesting effect that some describe as ‘Afghan Baroque’. Next to Sah-Do Shamshira Mosque there is the burial place of an Arab commander who fell in battle when the Arabs entered Kabul at the end of the 7th century. He fought heroically with a sword in each hand and it is his name that is honored by this mosque today.