About 17 km east of Bamiyan town, at the point where the valley narrows into a defensible gorge, the red sandstone bluffs are crowned with the ruins of Shahr-e-Zohak — the Red City, a Ghorid-period fortress that guarded the eastern approach to Bamiyan. The towers and walls climb the cliff faces in a remarkable example of medieval Islamic military architecture. Like its sister citadel Shahr-e-Gholghola, the fortress fell to the Mongols under Genghis Khan in 1221 and was never reoccupied. The walk up is steep, about 45 minutes from the road, with a fine view over the Kalu River gorge from the top.
Shahr-e-Zohak
Red-walled Ghorid fortress guarding the eastern approach to Bamiyan
A story
Genghis Khan's army stormed Shahr-e-Zohak in 1221 on its way to Shahr-e-Gholghola. The defending commander Jalal al-Din's father-in-law, Malik Tabrak, was killed in the assault; his death was the immediate cause of the slaughter that followed at Bamiyan.