Hari (Afghanistan)
The Hari River ( or ; ) or Herat River is a river flowing from the mountains of central Afghanistan to Turkmenistan, where it forms the Tejend oasis and disappears in the Karakum Desert. In Turkmenistan it is known as the Tejen or Tedzhen river and passes close to the city of Tedzhen. To the Ancient Greeks it was known as the Arius. In Latin, it was known as the Tarius. Part of this river is also in Iran. History. Western non Hindu writers claim that Rigveda is said to have recorded the Harirud as the River Sarayu. However, the actual  Sarayu is in Uttar Pradesh state of India and arises in Tibetan glaciers near Mt Kailash. It flows through Nepal, before entering India . The river Haroyu is also mentioned in the Avesta. A Buddhist monastery hand-carved in the bluff of the river Harirud existed in the first centuries during the prevalence of Buddhism. The artificial caves revealed testimony of daily life of the Buddhist monks. Course. The river originates in the Baba mountain range, part of the extensions of Hindu Kush system, and follows a relatively straight course to the west. Still some upstream from Herat the river meets  the Jam River at the site of the Minaret of Jam, the second tallest ancient minaret in the world at . In western Afghanistan the Hari Rud flows to the south of Herat. The valley around Herat with the Paropamisus Mountains ("Selseleh-ye Safēd Kōh") on the right river bank was historically famous for its fertility and dense cultivation. After Herat, the river turns northwest, then north, forming the northern part of the border between Afghanistan and Iran. Farther north it forms the south-eastern part of the border between Iran and Turkmenistan. The Iran–Turkmenistan Friendship Dam is on the  river. The Afghan-India Friendship Dam (Salma Dam) is a hydroelectric and irrigation dam project located on the Hari Rud in Chishti sharif District of Herat Province in western Afghanistan. The average annual discharge of the Hari Rud is about 55 m3/s, but during a spring flood in 1939 the discharge went up to 1090 m3/s. In 2000, the river dried up completely during a 10-month drought. Bridges. Pulkhatyn Bridge. An unused stone-bridge of five arches, this falls in the Ahal Region of Turkmenistan. It is about north of Iran–Turkmenistan Friendship Dam. Pulkhatyn translates to  wealthy woman. In Turkmen lore, the custodian of the bridge was an woman who made a fortune by taxing all travelers; Alexander the Great had apparently refused to pay this fee and crossed further downstream.