Heritage news
TableFrom the royal table to street food, Cambodian chefs reviving Khmer culinary heritageCarnivalMiami Carnival brings Caribbean pageantry, cultural celebration to Central Broward ParkHoly daysBallston Quarter Diwali Celebration: Date, Activities And DetailsSeasonsHarvest festivalCarnivalCelebration students on parade honoring Hispanic nationsCarnivalConnections, Culture Celebrated: Pasadena Latina Heritage Parade and Festival returns Oct. 10ArtsAnnual folk dance festival wraps up Mexico vacationFestivalsSheep, Basque culture, and 30 years of Idaho traditionHoly daysDiwali Celebration 2026Holy daysHTX Diwali Returns to POST Houston With a Free Festival of Lights CelebrationTableFrom the royal table to street food, Cambodian chefs reviving Khmer culinary heritageCarnivalMiami Carnival brings Caribbean pageantry, cultural celebration to Central Broward ParkHoly daysBallston Quarter Diwali Celebration: Date, Activities And DetailsSeasonsHarvest festivalCarnivalCelebration students on parade honoring Hispanic nationsCarnivalConnections, Culture Celebrated: Pasadena Latina Heritage Parade and Festival returns Oct. 10ArtsAnnual folk dance festival wraps up Mexico vacationFestivalsSheep, Basque culture, and 30 years of Idaho traditionHoly daysDiwali Celebration 2026Holy daysHTX Diwali Returns to POST Houston With a Free Festival of Lights Celebration
EveryParampara

Traditions of Herat

An old city of poets and tile in western Afghanistan, with Persian-style gardens and a rich calendar of Nowruz.

Herat is an ancient city near the Iranian border, long a centre of Persian poetry, miniature painting and glass. Its Friday Mosque is a masterpiece of blue tile. The city keeps Persian traditions such as Nowruz, the spring new year, and the guests-first hospitality common across Afghanistan.

Herat: View of Herat from a hill.
Photo: Employee of the U.S. State Department, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Nowruz and the garden

Nowruz, at the spring equinox, begins the new year with house cleaning, new clothes and visits. Families prepare haft mewa, a bowl of seven dried fruits and nuts in syrup, and rise early to go to the mosque or the fields. In earlier years Herat also kept a tradition of picnicking in gardens on the first days of spring.

At the table

Afghan hospitality means tea and sweets for any visitor, with bread, rice pulao and kebab for guests. Herat is known for its saffron, grown in nearby fields and used in desserts and tea. Breakfast is bread with tea and cream, and festivals bring bolani, a stuffed flatbread.

Signature traditions of Herat

NowruzThe Persian new year, kept across Afghanistan.NowruzThe seven-fruit compote of Nowruz.

Also part of it, and being written: Kabuli pulao (The national rice dish.).

A trail idea for Herat

  1. Friday Mosque of Herat A twelfth century mosque with tile and calligraphy.
  2. Citadel of Herat A fortress rebuilt over centuries.
  3. Saffron market Buy local saffron from the spice sellers.
About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇦🇫 Kabul, Afghanistan and 1 moreAttanاتڼ A Pashtun circle dance of drums and clapping, kept at weddings and gatherings.Performance 🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreDutarدوتار A long-necked lute crafted from wood and played across Iran and Central AsiaPerformance

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly EveryParampara

Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.