AFGHANISTAN – The Trip - only where you have walked have you been

Afghanistan May 30-June 14, 2024

Afghanistan is a landlocked country of mountains and valleys in the heart of Asia.
Afghanistan has been the centre of many powerful empires for the past 2,000 years. However, in the last 40 years, the country has been in chaos due to major wars—from the Soviet invasion of 1979 to their withdrawal in 1989 and from warlordism to the removal of the Taliban in 2001 and the ensuing US/NATO invasion. Economically, Afghanistan is considered poor compared to many other nations of the world. The country is going through a nationwide rebuilding process.
Afghanistan has been in the news since the late 1970s for all the wrong reasons. While visiting has not been advisable for several years, it has much to offer the intrepid traveller. But even the more adventurous should consider looking elsewhere for thrill-seeking.
Tourism is a small industry in Afghanistan due to security issues. 20,000 foreign tourists visited annually as of 2016. In particular, an important region for domestic and international tourism is the picturesque Bamyan Valley, which includes lakes, canyons and historical sites, helped by the fact it is in a safe area away from insurgent activity. The Taliban destroyed most of the ancient 6th-century Buddhist sculptures of Bamiyan in a cultural crime that outraged the world. Today, what remains in the Bamiyan Valley is the silencing and still worthwhile sight of the empty niches. The salvaged pieces of what were once the largest statues of their kind in the world continue to provide a fascinating insight in the history of this place.
Smaller numbers visit and trek in regions such as the Wakhan Valley, which is also one of the world’s most remote communities. Ghazni, Bamyan, Herat, Kandahar, Balkh, and Zaranj are all very historic.
Band-e Amir National Park, with its six interlinked lakes, is perhaps the finest natural attraction. At an altitude of 2900 meters, the blue waters and sandy mountain sides. Near Bamiyan.
Excellent mosques are to be found all around, with particularly grand examples in Mazar-i-Sharif and in the rapidly developing Herat.
The Minaret of Jam is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Hari River valley is well off the beaten path – possible as a roundtrip from Herat or when traversing the Central Route from Herat to Kabul.
Since the Taliban took control in 2022, Afghanistan is now safer than ever. Travellers are travelling solo with no guides and going to places previously off-limits. You can cross the border from Tajikistan, Iran and Pakistan by land – Peshawar-Jalalabad (Torkham border), Tajikistan to Afghanistan (Sheer Khan Bander border), and Mashhad-Herat (Dogharon border). You can enter by flight from Iran (Tehran, Mashad), Turkey (Istanbul) and Dubai. You can get a visa in all those places, some require an invitation letter while some do not. There is not any restrictions or discrimination for any type of passport holders

Capital. Kabul 34°31′N 69°11′E
Languages. Pashto, Dari
Ethnic groups. 42% Pashtun, 27% Tajik, 9% Hazara, 9% Uzbek, 4% Aimaq, 3% Turkmen, 2% Baloch, 4% Others
Currency. Afghan Afghani (AFN)
Population. 36.6 million (2020)
Country Code. +93
Ethnic Groups. 42% Pashtun, 27% Tajik, 9% Hazara, 9% Uzbek, 4% Aimaq, 3% Turkmen, 2% Baloch, 4% others.
Religion. 99% Islam (official), 1% other
Area. 652,867 km² (252,073 sq mi) (40th)
Population. 652,867^[19] km² (252,073 sq mi) (40th). Density 48.08/km² (124.5/sq mi)
GDP (PPP). $81.007 billion. Per capita $2,459
GDP ( Nominal). $20.136 billion. Per capita $611
HDI. 0.478 low · 180th
Driving side. Right
Calling code. +63

English spellings of Afghan place names vary. For example, Q may replace K as in Qandahar or Qunduz. Kunduz will be seen spelled as Konduz, Qunduz, Qundoz, Qundoze and variations on these. Bamiyan is often spelled as Bamian or Bamyan. Khowst may be spelt as Khost.

SIM Roshan. The office in Kabul is in Park Tower on the 2nd floor. A SIM and 10GB cost 600A. They offer an eSIM but a SIM card is registered online.
Climate. Temperatures in the central highlands are below freezing for most of the winter, and snow is common at higher elevations. Summertime highs in lower elevations (such as Jalalabad or Mazar-e Sharif) can exceed 50°C/120°F. In higher areas such as Kabul, summer temperatures can be 30°C/90°F and winter around 0°C/30°F. The most pleasant weather in Kabul is during April, May and September.
Terrain. Mostly rugged mountains; and plains in the north and southwest. The Hindu Kush mountains run northeast to southwest, dividing the northern provinces from the rest of the country, with the highest peaks in the northern Wakhan Corridor. South of Kandahar is desert.
The lowest point is Amu Darya at 258 m, and the highest is Nowshak at 7,485 m.
Afghanistan is bordered by Pakistan to the south and east, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to the north. There is a short border with China to the far northeast but in extremely inaccessible terrain.

OBSERVATIONS ABOUT AFGHANISTAN
1. Women have lost all rights. Girls go to school until grade six but not after and parents are not allowed to teach their children at home. A few women work in public health, other health care, and teachers and Roshan had female agents. Essentially, women are expected to stay at home and can’t go out without a male relative. It is such a waste of human resources. Many were well-educated during the American occupation.
2. Jobs for non-Taliban men are limited. Very educated people can’t get promoted as uneducated Taliban advance. No one has been paid for two months and no one has money. The restaurant I eat at every night is empty and still has about 8 staff including the manager. He worked for 13 years in the government but was forced to quit. He now works 16-hour days.
The translator who helped me with my visa stamp didn’t expect to get married. His salary is about $10/day. It would cost $7,000 (a banquet for 300 and a large gift to the bride’s family is necessary). He supports his mother and three siblings, none of whom are working.
3. The Taliban exerts complete control. There is no media, political opposition and no dissent. Before the Afghanistan war, strict Sharia law was enforced but now they don’t cut off people’s hands for theft. I was told to expect no favours. Whenever I ask locals questions about them, they lower their voices and make sure I don’t repeat what they say.
International aid has all but dried up (UN aid is the only aid organization providing relief). The economy has decreased 40% since their control started. 40% of people are near famine. Unemployment is very high.
It seems the Taliban are willing to starve their citizens and watch the economy go into freefall, all to enforce their severe form of Islam. A revolt would only produce a lot of death. The Taliban are everywhere and heavily armed. Most native Pashto speakers are Taliban.
4. Begging. Of all the countries I have visited, only begging in Ethiopia is worse. Women with babies, old people, people with disabilities and especially children beg, I gave a little kid the pizza in my doggie bag and he was immediately robbed by a bigger kid.
5. Driving here is similar to India and Bangladesh – whoever is ahead has the right of way and no other rules exist. Drivers are aggressive in getting ahead. Pedestrians have no rights. As expected, most cards have dents.
6. Taxis are relatively cheap. I found it amazing how poor their knowledge of destinations was. It was necessary to have Google Maps to show them around. Unusually they actually could follow the map which is unusual. None spoke English so Google Translate is also necessary.

INFORMATION
Do your research and know the risks involved. Study the history. Read about the geopolitical situation. Make sure your money goes directly to the local people. It is a difficult country to travel to. Many moments of boredom. Embrace that too. Afghans are used to this.
No women in the photos. Since the TLB took over, many of their rights to employment, education, and public spaces were removed. Women in Afghanistan stay home unless they are out with their husbands or family or go to the bazaar. Sadly, the only ones encountered are beggars on the street in the remoter areas. Except for those who work at the airport, Afghan women are not allowed to speak to strangers or be photographed. It’s a male-dominated society and many tourists do not interact with a single woman during their entire trip.
Most tourists have no issues with the TLB but make sure to have the proper documentation in order. Never be grumpy or rude to the Taliban, especially at checkpoints. Even if it’s a slight annoyance, keep a positive, friendly attitude. Respect their religion and traditions – very conservative and once in Pashtun areas such as Helmand and Kandahar multiply that by ten. Keep political opinions to yourself, keep a very low profile, dress like a local, and ask for permission before taking photos. Whatever you do, don’t lose your passport!
Dress code. Although not mandatory, it is recommended to wear local clothing. Never wear shorts in public.
I wore long pants and a T-shirt in Kabul as did some younger people. I don’t think it was a problem. I had no room in my pack, it would get dirty easily (they wear a clean one every day) and I didn’t want to waste the money.

VISA
Note the visa application process changed on May 27, 2024. You now need to go to the Afghan visa site: econsulate.mfa.gov.af., fill out the simple application and print it to take to the embassy. Need a passport photo.
Peshawar: I applied on May 29 and it took a whole day with several taxis to sort it all out. With the proper form, the process in Peshawar can be fast.
After checking your phone at the guard house, walk about 300 m past the long line of locals and enter the compound. I was put into the air-conditioned room of the boss, paid US$100, waited for their break to end (12:30-2 pm) and got the full-page visa. You don’t need a guide.

TOURIST PERMITS
All previous EPS posts are wildly inaccurate. No guide is necessary.
Ministry and Culture and Information in Kabul https://maps.app.goo.gl/mDMRNosEDiz3KJYe6?g_st=ic. Officials guide you through the paperwork and stamp process. Give your itinerary, and they’ll green-light those provinces.
However, it is much better to go to the Tourism Directory https://maps.app.goo.gl/4KbuK6F91LRXye6C8?g_st=ic where it takes 15 minutes to get permits for all 34 provinces completely free. Why would you do it at the Ministry? They spoke good English and were very pleasant. Ask for every province you can. When I went, they asked for a permission letter from the Ministry but waived it because of my age.
At the Ministry, all permits cost 1000 AFS (US$ 12). For 5 different regions, 6

Information: Diana’s interactive map: is extremely helpful as it shows most of the ministries of culture across the country, and many other useful things. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer

REGISTRATION. Once you arrive in a new city (Kabul, Mazar, Bamiyan, Herat, Kandahar), you must register at the local Ministry of Culture and Information office. Do as soon as you arrive as you need it to register at a hotel. Do not skip this step, as you will be given an entirely new permit with signatures and you can go around the region as a tourist. If you don’t register, you will be detained and unable to move.
Note that you require a photocopy of your passport bio page and your Afghan visa ON THE SAME PAGE and a passport photo, I didn’t know this but I made 5 copies (one for each region) and 4 photos for 100A across the street from the Mazar Ministry.
A guide is not necessary. It’s straightforward but can be time-consuming – Mazar 15 minutes, Herat 45 minutes. It depends on how busy the person in charge is. Friday closed.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Kabul to Bamiyan. Minibus leaves from here https://maps.app.goo.gl/46MFf6gQ6FLhzMG67?g_st=ic
Bamyan – Kabul: Minibus.https://maps.app.goo.gl/ddgi3EKwD8D8X3bE8?g_st=ic
Kabul – Mazar: Large standard bus with a dinner stop at midnight. https://maps.app.goo.gl/LCuybYwxYa9JSdEb8?g_st=ic
Mazar – Maymana – Herat: 400 AFN + 1400 AFN. Minibuses.
From Maymana to Herat was a terrible road over 22 hours. Leave Mazar at 10 am and arrive in Herat at 8 am. Sleeping is difficult on unpaved mountain roads, beside cliffs, through rivers, up and down steep inclines. Take the flight. It’s only a trip for the very adventurous.
Mazar – Maymana: 400 AFN https://maps.app.goo.gl/4QLxbySaZkR8tXEL6?g_st=ic
Maymana – Herat: 1400 AFN. The minibus from Mazar drops you off for the connection, or ask the locals for “garage Herat.” https://maps.app.goo.gl/8V1sHhzp68R2CTdk6?g_st=ic
Herat – Kandahar: 500-600 AFN. Big bus on probably the best intercity highway in the country. https://maps.app.goo.gl/zMbYx7t37LzXCZtQ9?g_st=ic
Kandahar – Kabul: 600-700 AFN. Big bus with many holes in the road caused by mines during the war. https://maps.app.goo.gl/81Ty1ZpCSyGtgFoYA?g_st=ic

ACCOMMODATION (Cheap)
Hotels are cheap. Booking is not usually necessary.
Couchsurfing is tricky as many hosts have received warnings from the Taliban saying not to host foreigners. In Kabul and Herat, it’s possible but impossible in Bamyan, Mazar, and Kandahar.

ITINERARY
Day 1 Thur May 30
Arrive from Peshawar.
Khyber Pass. The gateway to India, a historic route of invasion and trade. Since 2017, the border has been open and travellers can cross. This is easier in the Afghanistan > Pakistan direction, and in either direction requires significant planning.
Torkham border crossing from Peshwar. Open 7 days/week. Officially closes at 9 pm – the Pakistani side sometimes randomly closes a bit earlier.
I tried to get a shared taxi from Peshawar bus station (Haji Camp Adda is the main bus station). My taxi took me to a market and I was left with little alternative than to take a single taxi for 2000 PR. He did not attempt to find other passengers. We stopped at a checkpoint where the soldier said it was very dangerous. He consulted his captain and finally let me through. Getting to the border seems much longer than the 48 km advertised. I was in a nice air-conditioned car. Instead of the advertised 2000A, he held up four fingers. So I gave him 4000 and he still wanted more because there were no other passengers.
Whoever wrote all the EPS reports I used to research Afghanistan lived in a different world than what I experienced. Jump the fence!!!!!! What a crazy idea. I did get adopted by a guy who helped quite a bit, especially getting the immigration stamp where we bypassed the line. Here are the things I had to show and do: 1. Show your Pakistan visa at least three times. 2. Declare your money. I got the idea that more than US$1,000 was not allowed. I showed them one wallet where I had about $700 but I had much more hidden in my pack. I had to take a photo of the declaration. 3. Immigration. They recorded all the details of my Pakistan visa. 4. Intelligence. He repeated everything again. 5. Filled out a long form and had to provide 2 passport photos. 6. Polio vaccination. My vaccine certification was deep in my pack so I got a booster for polio.
To get to this point was a long walk through a corridor fenced with wire. We pushed our way past hundreds of others – guys pushing big carts full of sacks of rice, luggage and you name it, and many people in wheelchairs (mostly women with kids and older men). This took about two hours. It was shaded but still very hot and long.
After that, my experience improved. I had met Abdullah in the visa office in Peshawar. Born in Dubai of Afghan parents, he had lived in Germany for several years and was a successful businessman. He did not look Afghani. By luck, we met again at immigration and we navigated the gauntlet together. He was being met at the border by his brother and two cousins and they generously gave me a ride to Jalalabad. The AC in the car didn’t work but no big problem. After a month in hot climates, I was quite acclimatized. I have no idea about getting a share taxi to Kabul.
They were all great guys who spoke fair English. We talked a lot about sex and having 4 wives. I was given the formula for penis improvement – boil milk for at least 5 minutes with saffron, crushed dates and nuts (almond, walnuts, peanuts) and let it sit for two weeks. Abdullah’s brother who was 44 and had 8 kids swore by it.
They all wanted to come to Canada but had no understanding of how difficult it was. They don’t understand that it doesn’t have much to do with who you know but is more merit-based. One wanted to find a Canadian woman but again had no idea of how liberated most Western women are.

Abdullah and his relatives dropped me off at a market in Jalalabad where I got a share taxi for 400 but only to the outskirts of Kabul. There were four of us and one guy spoke good English. It was a great conversation about everything, especially women and freedom. They were all happy with Taliban rule but mostly because they had peace. From all my travels through countries that have been at war, this counts the most.
They think that women should have more access to education and that is one they have given up. Women are also not allowed to have female friends outside the family?? But they all believed that women’s place is in the home and are not allowed to have any male friends. Women on the edge of the country (Mazr, Herat) have more freedom. None wanted more than one wife. The Taliban has enforced the support of women and children if there is a divorce, as it says to do in the Quarin. Do you want to have more than one wife? One was not married, two had one wife (and only wanted one) and the driver (who also owned this Toyota car) had two wives (he liked sex too much to have only one).
I admitted that this is a very personal question “Do Afghani men like to satisfy their women sexually (ie have orgasms)”, and he wouldn’t answer.

The road followed the Kabul River the whole way – through a wide valley and a large river, then into a canyon that got progressively narrower. We passed a dam pouring a lot of water and then the reservoir it formed. We climbed over a high pass, stopped at a town and then a narrower canyon with a much smaller river. Then there was a climb up many switchbacks and tunnels on a road constructed out of the cliff.
Just before the main city of Kabul, there was a major checkpoint. I couldn’t find the entrance stamp after several good looks. I am sure that I got a stamp at Afghan immigration in Torkham. He brought the boss and they went to a higher boss. The threat was that I would have to return to Torkham, 5 hours back with a good car. After pleading my case, they finally let me go “Don’t do that again.” Crazy – this is the first time that has ever happened (except at the Bulgarian / Turkey border but that is another story).
Everyone else got out and I continued into Kabul for another 300A
ON Kyber Hotel.1500. Includes a fair breakfast served in the restaurant on the 5th floor. No AC for this room but it is enclosed on the 2nd floor and is not needed. With a fan, I was quite comfortable. The staff are not as helpful as one would think with so many tourists staying. They can’t give much advice on where to buy a SIM card or where to get share taxis to travel. I think most tourists have guides that look after all these things.
I have met 3 Canadians, and several Australians staying here. They are all in traditional Afghan clothes but it is easy to tell them apart as all are fat.

KABUL
Kabul has been the capital of Afghanistan since about 1776. The city was badly damaged during the various 1979–2001 wars, particularly its western parts. For a few years, Kabul has been going through a period of reconstruction and development, with some modern-style tower blocks and a handful of glitzy shopping malls appearing. Many roads, particularly the main feeder routes, have been reconstructed and upgraded. However, in outlying areas, roads and other infrastructure remain in poor condition. Electricity supplies in Kabul are now quite reliable.
Seeing downtown Kabul is relatively compact and walkable – a good option in the spring and fall – summers bring intolerable heat and dust, whilst winters bring snow and mud. Pavements are few, and you need to keep your wits about you when crossing roads.
Wazar Akbar Khan and Taimani (to a restaurant, etc.) is fine day or night. Central Kabul at night is walkable but be sure you know where you are going, and how to get back to your guesthouse. Given the volatile security situation always be aware of any demonstrations, gathering crowds, etc., which could spiral out of control quickly. Keep a low profile, wear simple clothes and (for women), cover your hair with a scarf or shawl. It is also wise to vary your routes frequently to reduce the threat of kidnapping. People are generally helpful and polite if you ask for directions.
Be wary walking around traditional residential areas (e.g., near the city wall). Conservative Afghans are suspicious of anyone snooping around their house, and children may throw stones or set their dog on you.
Kabul Airport (KBL)

Day 2 Fri May 31
It was Friday and everything was closed. I stayed in my room, finally got a new version of Word (after several hours on Microsoft chat), paid my property taxes and worked on my website.

Day 3 Sat June 1
I tried to get a passport stamp. I was advised to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The area of government offices is in a massive compound surrounded by immense blast walls topped with a fence and razor wire. After going through security twice and leaving ID, I visited three offices but none could help. They advised me to go to the border police and a nice guy who worked as a translator accompanied me. He only knew the general direction and we walked at least 5 km in a circuitous route. He asked for directions several times and we had to pass through many checkpoints.
The border police said the only option was to return to Torkham. That would mean a 6-hour drive each way and the use of my Pakistan visa. I said that I would leave Afghanistan and not return. He said I had to go to the Ministry of the Interior near the airport and get a letter. With it, I could travel around Afghanistan. Before returning to Pakistan, it was necessary to get another letter from the border police to exit Afghanistan. The translator who accompanied me wanted a tip. He suggested $50!!!!! (5 days pay for 2 hours work). I gave him $20. So much for being a nice guy.
ON Kyber Hotel for a third night.

Day 4 Sun June 2
As I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do, I spent the entire in my room working on my new travel book. I have over 3 weeks before I meet Anna in China and Kabul is the least expensive place to kill time. I have a nice hotel room for $20 per night and the food is very cheap. I have lots to do.
ON Kyber Hotel for a fourth night.

Day 5 Mon June 3
I decided to go to Mazur and Baliman but not Herat. As I needed the letter from the Ministry of the Interior, I took a taxi there and after several security checks, arrived at an office in block 310. I was led to a very opulent office and then the office of the boss. He eventually provided me with a letter allowing me to travel anywhere in Afghanistan without a stamp.
I then tried to get my travel permits. The addresses for Afghan Tours (this doesn’t exist) and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism were wrong which I found out after a long walk. I returned to the hotel and looked at recent posts for Afghanistan. A great one gave the addresses for both the Ministry and the Travel Directory who could issue a permit for any or all of the 34 provinces for free. I went and obtained 5 permits in about 10 minutes.
I then finally started to see some of the NM sites in Kabul.
OMAR Mine Museum. This is a great museum with some very unusual things. Five cars include a Beetle, Peugout, a 1929 and1992 Mercedes and an amazing Ford that is hard to believe, a Ford Classic 1992.
Most unusual were a wooden motorcycle and a wooden bicycle. Then there was an enormous collection of mines – anti-personal, jump, fragmentation, tripwire, claymore, and anti-vehicle and tank along with anit-mining equipment (they have cleared millions of mines). initially, there were about 200 injuries and deaths from mines and there are still 40/month. There are also RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades, heated guided missiles, many kinds of mortars, fuses, bullets, and grenades. Those and the many planes and helicopters are mostly Russian.500 A
I was interviewed by an Afghan TV station.
Pul-e Khishti Bazaar – there are many markets near the mosque – Bird Market, Kabul Market and Pashtun Market.
Ka Faroshi Bird Market – Where Bacha Broot is. There are only a few big chickens.
Bacha Broot. Kabul’s oldest restaurant has served delicious chainaki — traditional lamb stew — for over 70 years. Named after the original owner who had peculiar facial hair, is from the Dari, meaning “boy with a mustache.” Very little has changed inside. The claustrophobic stairs, the sparse interior, the tiny door easily missed in the maze-like bazaar. Chainaki — lamb on the bone, split peas, and onions cooked for four hours in tiny teapots.
To get to Bacha Broot, one must first walk past the Pul e Khishti mosque. After the mosque, the bird cages appear. Take a right where they sell roosters the size of a four-year-old child, The bazaar is packed at any time of the day. After the carpet shops, there is a tiny laneway, with a sign reading: “The best chainaki from goat meat.” Climb the stairs, two rooms: one for women and one for men. Faridoon Bacha Broot, 37, one of the three brothers now in charge of their father’s business.
We make about two hundred servings of chainaki every day,” Wahidullah says. “We cut the meat, cook it, and distribute it in these teapots, naan, a traditional flatbread, and doogh, a savoury yogurt drink..
It was delicious. The lamb could be cut with a fork. A lovely broth had split peas. 300 A
When looking for this, don’t say Bacha Broot but chainski – everyone knew where that was.
On Monday, June 3, I went to Bacha Broot in the Bird Market to try the chainaki, After eating, I was heading for the Abdul Rahman Mosque and while still in the Bird Market, a Taliban intelligence agent stopped me. He almost immediately recognized that I didn’t have an entry stamp. He gave my passport and phone to his very young associate. He went to prayers in Pul e Khishti mosque and we started a long walk to “check my passport”. “No problem” is the Taliban’s favourite saying, usually when there is a big problem. He ate some corn and a cup of chickpeas before arriving at a restaurant. We had tea and two heavily armed soldiers in balaclavas entered. One gave me a vigorous frisk. We got into a Land Cruiser and drove towards the National Museum, eventually turning into a heavily fortified area. A blindfold was put on me. We went up some stairs to a small office to see the boss, a short, fat Taliban. I explained that I had a letter about the missing stamp but they had no interest in going to the hotel where I had left it.
A crowd kept coming and going – two guys prayed. They emptied my pockets and put everything in a plastic bag in a desk. They wondered why I had so little money (several hundred in US$ and Afgnanis was in my secret pocket but none of the several frisks found it). I talked on the phone with a guy who said it would be 2-3 hours. Eight guys arrived and five eventually ate on the floor. We got ready to leave and I made sure they brought my wallet, passport and money in the desk (there were several other plastic bags with other people’s stuff).
We got back into an older Land Cruiser to see the chief. I wasn’t blindfolded on the exit. It was a long drive to a compound on the other side of the mountain. I was left in a room with a lovely carpet and cushions. I slept. After prayers and about 70 minutes, 12 Taliban entered the room. The chief (a guy about 45 with a short beard) looked at my permit letter and then told me I was required to have a translator. “Learn about our culture and forget Google Maps and Google Translate”. I said that I would be leaving Afghanistan. I was then allowed to leave and was driven to the Kyber Hotel, The whole escapade took about 4 1/2 hours. What a shit show.
ON Kyber Hotel for the fifth night.
I was thinking about what I was going to do – either travel around Afghanistan (I didn’t want a translator) or stay in Kabul for several days and continue writing my book. With some effort, I could come close to finishing it.

Day 6 Tue June 4
I stayed in my room and worked on my book. At dinner at Ymmies, I met an Afghan man living in Birmingham. We talked about travelling to Bamiyan with he friends in his big car. I decided to go to Mazar for 2-3 days before that.
ON Kyber Hotel for the 6th night.

Day 7 Wed June 5
I went down the street to Breeze travel agency to book my return flight to Mazar.
Rochan for SIM. In Park Tower on the second floor. It was over an hour’s wait. It is an eSIM and I was told to wait for 30 minutes for it to be activated. An e-SIM still requires a SIM card but is self-activated in Messages.
I had not slept well the night before and came back and slept.
ON Kyber Hotel for the 7th night.

Day 8 Thur June 6
I decided to not drive to Mazar as I couldn’t get any info on where to catch the bus and the return flight was US$154.
I was up very early to pack. I left my big pack at the hotel. Taxis don’t drive into the airport and it is a 10-minute walk. The domestic terminal is not marked. Go through 5 security checks and they take your lighter.
Flights. Kam Air $154 return,
Kabul to Mazar @10:00-11:00
Mazar to Kabul @ 16:00-15″00

NORTH AFGHANISTAN (Mazar, Faryab, Kunduz, Baghlan, Samangan)
MAZAR-I-SHARIF (pop 427,000). The fourth-largest city of Afghanistan and the capital of Balkh province, it is linked by highways with Kunduz in the east, Kabul in the southeast, Herat in the southwest and Termez in Uzbekistan in the north. It is about 55 km (34 mi) from the Uzbek border. The city also serves as one of the many tourist attractions because of its famous shrines and the Islamic and Hellenistic archeological sites. The ancient city of Balkh is also nearby.
The region around Mazar-i-Sharif has been historically part of Greater Khorasan and was controlled by the Tahirids followed by the Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Ilkhanates, Timurids, and Khanate of Bukhara until the mid-18th century when it became part of the Durrani Empire.
Mazar-i-Sharif is the regional hub of northern Afghanistan, located close to both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. It is also home to an international airport. 357 metres (1,171 ft) above sea level. The city was spared of the devastation that occurred in the country’s other large cities during the Soviet-Afghan War and subsequent civil war and is today regarded as one of the safest cities in the country.
Mazar-i-Sharif Airport (MZR)
I arrived and went to the Ministry of Culture and Information to get my permit. All the workers were not Taliban and two spoke great English. I obtained the photocopies of my passport and visa (on the same page) and 4 photographs for 100A. At the nearby Roshan office, I had my SIM activated and then went to my hotel.
ON Rahat Hotel. The price if you have not registered is 2000A. Register at least 48 hours before on WA +93797111100 costs 1500A. A simple room, breakfast.

Day 9 Fri June 7
I took a share taxi to Balkh. He crammed 8 into the small car. In the outskirts pass through a high ancient wall. We were let off at the gardens. I got a taxi to explore the Balkh Archaeological Site. It is a huge circular enclosure with about 95% of the wall melted. You drive through the center, a large flat area of grass with nothing inside. 400A. Back at the gardens, I saw the Green Mosque.
CITY OF BALKH (antique Bactria) Tentative WHS (17/08/2004). Comprises a large urban site of 11 square kilometres, west of Mazar I Sharif, and about 46 miles south of the Amu Darya (Oxus) river whose course ran close to the city in antiquity.
The foundation of the city of Paktra, later known as Bactria is ascribed to Kaiomars, and at an early date it was said to have rivalled urban centres such as Babylon. For a long period, Bactria was the spiritual centre for the Zoroastrian religion, as well as having a rich temple to the goddess Anahita. Accounts of visitors in the 7th century AD indicate the existence of a significant number of Buddhist monasteries, stupas and other monuments in the city. Subsequent accounts from the 10th century AD indicate that the city was ringed with earthen walls, with six gates, within which was a fine citadel and a mosque.
The city became a centre for education, and in 980 AD the philosopher-scientist Ibn Sina was born in Balkh, as was the poet Ferdowsi. Its reputation as a place of learning persisted, judging by accounts of travellers in the 12th century AD, who describe a range of educational establishments, as well as its importance as a trading centre for the region, with links to India and China. Even though the city was sacked by Jenghiz Khan in 1220, when the inhabitants were said to have been slaughtered and all buildings levelled, and again by Timur in the 14th century, the traveller Marco Polo described Balkh a century later as a “noble city and great”.
Today, the traces of Balkh’s earthen walls can still be seen over a length of some 10 kilometres, to the north of which lies a secondary fortified area, the Balu Hisar. Remains that survive within this walled enclosure include Tepe Zargaran, an artificial mound with levels dating from at least the 2nd century AD, the tiled Timurid shrine of Khwaja Abu Nasr Parsa, which dates from 1460/1 and the 17th-century Madrasa of Sayyid Sudhan Quli Khan, of which one iwan with tiled decoration survives.
Outside of the walled city enclosure, buildings of the Buddhist period seem to have proved more durable than those of the Islamic era, with the remains of Tahkti-Rustam, the ruins of a Buddhist monastery of Nau Bahar and the associated stupa of Tepe Rustam, of which an earth-brick base of some 40 metres in diameter survives. To the north-east lie traces of extensive gardens, in which there was a large caravanserai.
Some 3 kilometres to the south lies the mosque of Haji Piyada, a Samanid-style building dating from the second half of the 9th century. The remains of the building show a small structure of nine equal bays, each of which had a brick dome, all of which have collapsed. The piers and springing of the arches that once supported the domes, retain fine decorated brick and stucco work, which is stylistically similar to Abbasid decorative work found in Mesopotamia.
It was the birthplace of Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism – and Rumi, the legendary Persian poet.
Masjid Sabz (Green Mosque), Balkh. A large mosque with a great facade of blue/white tiles. It couldn’t be entered. I was required to show my permit twice.
With a local, we got a taxi back to Mazar 250A

Shrine of Ali (The Blue Mosque). Mazar-i-Sharif means “Tomb of the Prince”, a reference to the large, blue-tiled sanctuary and mosque in the center of the city. Some people believe that the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Talib, is the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Ali’s remains were transferred to Mazar-i-Sharif as per the request of Ja’far as-Sadiq. This is however rejected by other Muslims, as the majority believe he is buried in Najaf, Iraq.
At the front gate, I was refused entry and walked around the large complex to a second gate. Alam talked to the guards and they let me in. Go first to the office to have permits checked and sign the register. The museum 20A had little interest. The exterior is covered by a huge variety of mosaic panels. I was not allowed in and Alam took several videos. I could see Ali’s tomb, a wonderful blue glass with a lot of gilt. The interior was also a riot of different tile patterns.
We went to eat but there was little choice. I wanted very little and Alan tried to order it but ended up getting a huge plate of biryani that we only ate half of but they charged for the smaller version.
I bought a lovely scarf for Anna and took a cab to the airport. He said 300A, then wanted 400A, typical taxi behaviour.
Flight. Kam Air Mazar – Kabul 16:00-17:00

RETURN TO KABUL
The plane was at least an hour late and I arrived back at the hotel at 7 pm. I asked the hotel manager for the best place to get Agfani food nearby. I went to the Bukhara, just 5 minutes away and had Manto, a delicious meat in a cylinder of thin pastry. It was delicious and cost 360 with a yogurt drink.
ON Kyber Hotel for the 8th night

Day 10 Sat June 8
I spent most of the day playing bridge and working on the book.
In the evening I wandered down to Chicken Street hoping to find a selection of restaurants to choose from.
Chicken Street. Only two blocks long, this narrow street is lined with shops selling jewelry, antiques, knickknacks, art and Oriental rugs. When tourism was more active in Afghanistan, it was a magnet for generations of foreign visitors looking for Afghan exotica. For decades, the only thing missing has been chickens.
Now it is also missing foreigners. Customers of any sort are thin on the ground. On some days it’s so bad, that even the beggars don’t bother to come to work, and the touts scarcely stir from their stoops.
The range of merchandise remains eclectic and sometimes disturbing. Snow leopard pelt, flintlock rifles, camel saddlebags, kilims, suzanis, chain mail shirts and Tartar helmets. Almost anything can be found carved from lapis lazuli, a semiprecious, deep blue gemstone native to Afghanistan.
Outside, the mouthwatering smell of kebabs grilling mingles with the odour of raw waste running down open sewers. Chicken Street’s boom occurred right after the American-led invasion in 2001 and many tiny shops were replaced with multistoried emporiums, homes to dozens of shops each. But they didn’t build new sewers.
There were few restaurants and little street food. I was the only tourist. I could only find one real restaurant and had Badgan, a delicious eggplant dish. It cost 90A but was worth much more and I gave him 200A
On Kyber Hotel

Day 11 Sun June 9
At 11, I decided to see the other sites in Kabul. The traffic was so bad, I asked the driver to turn around after 20 minutes to go 2 km.
The manager suggests the Bukhara Restaurant. I had mento, a flavoured meat dish wrapped in a cylinder of thin pastry. It was delicious 360 including a yogurt drink.
ON Kyber Hotel

Day 12 Monday June 10
I went out earlier hoping to miss all the traffic and it was considerably better.
Tajbeg Palace. Not to be confused with Darul Aman, this palace was also built in 1920 to house the Royal family. High up on a hill, the road passed through a high blast wall. We weren’t allowed past a barricade.
Darul Aman Palace (at the end of Daral Aman Rd, south of the city, next to the Kabul Museum). Built as King Amanullah’s Palace in the 1920s, it has been destroyed and rebuilt a few times over. By 2019, restoration works had been largely completed on the palace, which suffered massive damage during the 1990s civil war.
Inside the high blast wall, it was a modern white building that couldn’t be entered.
National Museum of Afghanistan. (Several miles from the city centre, across from Darulaman Palace). It once housed one of the greatest collections of Central Asian artifacts in the world. A large percentage was looted in the 1990s during Taliban rule after the upper floors of the museum were bombed. Many of the early Buddhist treasures were destroyed by the Taliban at the same time as the Bamiyan Buddhas. Looted items still turn up around the world at auctions. The museum is open once again, with far more modest, but still impressive, displays of early Buddhist and Islamic artifacts.
A beautiful gallery in a charming old Kabul house that has been carefully restored. The collection used to have 820 paintings and portraits but 50% have been looted or destroyed; the director said the Taliban destroyed 210 portraits. Most of the collection is of European and Afghan landscapes portraits of famous Afghan writers and kings and a portrait of the French writer Victor Hugo. Well worth making the effort to see. The Sultani Gallery is attached.
The museum was still interesting and covered the entire history of Afghanistan. I experience a horrifying incident. There were two school groups, one of several very sweet girls about 6 years old. One little girl looked at a drawer and the male teacher kicked as hard as he could across the legs and then hit her with his hand violently across her back. The kid didn’t even cry. I later saw him and gave a severe lecture that he must never do that again and then reported him to the museum staff. 100A
This part of Kabul has share vans costing 10A and I took it to the the road to the gardens. It was still almost 2 km and got a cab to the front.
Bagh-e Babur. Tentative WHS (02/11/2009). (Garden of Babur) is a historic park in Kabul and the final resting place of the first Mughal emperor Babur. The garden is thought to have been developed around 1528 AD (935 AH) when Babur gave orders for the construction of an “avenue garden” in Kabul, described in some detail in his memoirs, the Baburnama.
It was the tradition of Mughal princes to develop sites for recreation and pleasure. In 1607 AD, all gardens in Kabul had walls. A prayer platform was laid in front of Babur’s grave, and an inscribed headstone was placed at its head. Shah Jahan in 1638 built a mosque and a stone water channel that ran between an avenue of trees from the terrace below the mosque, with pools at certain intervals.
Historically, the gardens have been visited by Afghans for picnics and lazy afternoons. There is a swimming pool, a small mosque for prayers and a small museum.
The garden was a complete reconstruction as everything had been destroyed. Enclosed in a high reconstructed wall, there is a good museum that explains a lot about Babur (1483-1530). He was born in the Fergan Valley in Uzbekistan. He was the first Mughal Emporer. He captured Kabul in 1504 at age 21 and eventually went to India. He died in Agra in 1530 but his body was relocated here in 1540.
Walk up the long central stairs that cross 14 terraces. There are some rose bushes but basically it is grass and trees. Several groups of children were playing. The tomb of Babur is enclosed in a modern low compound. His marble grave (not the original) is inside a wonderful white marble wall of jali screens. There are three other graves including his son. Below the tomb is the Shah Jehan Mosque. Also reconstructed, it is all white marble open on three sides. Shah Jehan had visited here in 1630 and ordered the mosque constructed in honour of his victory over the Uzbek ruler of Balkh. 350A
Kabul Zoo. Very popular with Afghans, with over 100 animals in relatively poor condition. China was once one of the main donors of animals in the zoo, but after the death of a few animals due to disease and malnutrition, China has announced that there will be no donations until living conditions improve.
It was not as depressing as I thought it would be. There are lots of birds plus Bactrian camels, domestic yak, urial (an antelope-like an ibex), lion, a huge brown bear that was white, domestic cats and rabbits. 100A

I had a bolani on the street. I then got another share van to near the mosque. I ended up walking with a nice guy. He spoke great English and was in IT but unemployed since the Taliban.
Shah-e Doh Shamshira Mosque. A two-story mosque with a yellow/white accent exterior. The inside has an elaborate coffered wood ceiling and garish green gilt mihrab with 4 columns.
Abdul Rahman Mosque. This is a spectacular mosque all tiled in bronze/brown tiles. The guard wouldn’t let me past the gate.
I walked the 2 km back to the hotel passing several distressing 2-3 year olds propped into the small Vs of a blast wall. There were no parents around, one was crying uncontrollably and all had shoe shine brushed in front of them. I guess they were left to beg.
ON Kyber Hotel

Day 13 Tue June 11
I stayed in the hotel working on the book.

Day 14 Wed June 12
At BF, there was a woman from Switzerland and one from New York travelling together. We had a meeting with Sami a guide about providing a tour of Bamiyan and Band-E Amor National Park with the driver. ($250 for three). I thought it was a good deal but they had their own ideas about travel. I stayed in my room working on the book.

Day 14 Thur June 13
CENTRAL AFGHANISTAN (Bamiyan, Sari Pol, Ghor, Dai Kundy, Uruzgan, Wardak)
Bamiyan ethnic Hazara heartland and one of the most peaceful and progressive parts of the country. Enclosed between the high mountains of the Hindu Kush in the central highlands of Afghanistan, the Bamiyan Valley opens out into a large basin bordered to the north by a long, high stretch of rocky cliffs.

I took a taxi 24 km to the Bamiyan taxi/bus stand on the outskirts of Kabul – 700A. I was the 5^th person in a share taxi and we left immediately for the 140 km drive to Bamiyan. It took a little over 3 hours through a valley initially with average scenery, then over a pass. After the descent, the views were much nicer. Close to Bamiyan, there were some hoodoos in soft rock with a conglomerate in it.
After arriving in Bamiyan, I registered in about 5 minutes and found a taxi to take me to the Buddha niches 200A. We then negotiated a ride back to Kabul. He said 3000 first but I wanted to share. There was no one else and he finally agreed to 1500. We were back in Kabul by 4:30.

CULTURAL LANDSCAPE and ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS of the BAMIYAN VALLEY World Heritage Site. From the 1st to the 13th centuries, the Gandhara school of Buddhist art developed in ancient Bakhtria with Indian, Hellenistic, Roman, Sasanian and Islamic influences. Carved into the Bamiyan Cliffs are the two niches of the giant Buddha statues (55m and 38m high) tragically destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, and numerous caves forming a large ensemble of Buddhist monasteries, chapels and sanctuaries along the foothills of the valley dating from the 3rd to the 5th century C.E. In several of the caves and niches, often linked by galleries, there are remains of wall paintings and seated Buddha figures. The caves of Qoul-i Akram and Lalai Ghami also contain decorative features.
The niches were amazing but the statues were destroyed with barely any evidence of any statue. The male figure was covered in scaffolding. The female is about 500 m down the valley and has no scaffold but also nothing left of the figure.
The Taliban guard wanted me to buy a 200A ticket but I saw no point. “You should not have destroyed the Buddhas.”
The entire cliff face is covered with caves.
Kakrak Valley Caves, some 3km south-east of the Bamiyan Cliffs among the more than one hundred caves dating from the 6th to 13th centuries are fragments of a 10m tall standing Buddha figure and a sanctuary with painted decorations from the Sasanian period..
Fortified edifices from the Islamic period also exist along the Fuladi valley around 2km southwest of the Bamiyan Cliffs are Shahr-i Ghulghulah in the centre of the valley basin to the south of the great cliff are the remains of this fortress. Dating from the 6th to 10th centuries CE, this marks the original settlement of Bamiyan as a stopping place on the branch of the Silk Route, which linked China and India via ancient Bactria.
Further to the east along the Bamiyan Valley are the remains of fortification walls and settlements, dating from the 6th to 8th centuries at Qallai Kaphari A and B
Further east still (around 15km east of the Bamiyan Cliffs) at Shahr-i Zuhak, where the earlier remains are overlaid by developments of the 10th to 13th centuries under the rule of the Islamic Ghaznavid and Ghorid dynasties.
City of Screams – 13^th century conquered by Genghis Khan after months of resistance.
Darre Ajdaha Dragon Valley. Bamyan bazaar.
ON Bamyan Noor Band Qala hotel. Decent. 1,500 Af/night (across the river 5-minute walk from the bus station

I had the most frustrating taxi ride. I had gone to Bamiyan in the morning and he took me to the Buddhas 200A. He kept asking to drive me to Kabul. It started at 3000 and went down to 1500A ($20). It took me a while to realize that he couldn’t read. I kept giving him messages in Dari, Then he would phone his friend who barely spoke English. I said I would give him 500A to drive to my hotel. He phoned his friend. I had to repeat the name of my hotel and said I had a map to show him the way. We arrived in the outskirts of Kabul, He refused to follow the blue line and took us 10 km off course. After some assertiveness, he finally got back to the road between Bamiyan and Kabul. I paid him and got out 12 km from the Kyber Hotel. The Taliba wanted my passport (for the 5th time in 3 km. A crowd gathered adding nonsense to the discussion. Three guys kept wanting to help and I couldn’t get rid of them. I finally found a cab. He was the least aggressive taxi driver in Kabul – everyone got ahead of him. It was Kabul rush hour. He finally would follow the blue line. It took forever. He wanted 500A.

Day 15 Fri June 14
I was up early and had time to research my options. It was much better to fly to Islamabad than go overland to Torkham. I could get a SIM easily at the airport, buses were easier from Islamabad, and a bus was leaving Islamabad to Chitral at 20:00 so I didn’t require accommodation that night. It was Friday and the travel agency was closed by Seyer at the Khyber Hotel booked the ticket of all the hassles of needing to show my Pakistan visa and have a booked exit flight.
Flight Kam Air. Kabul to Islamabad @14:00-15:30. To book the flight, they required a copy of my Pakistan visa and an onward flight from Pakistan. They wouldn’t accept overland trips. I booked a fake ticket (onwardtickets.com) for $16.
There were 4 major security checks all with frisks. I think some of the Taliban are gay, they are so thorough. One even found my lighter in my secret pocket, the first time that had ever happened. Instead of taking it, I was allowed to put it into my big pack thinking it would be checked, not allowed anywhere else in the world.
At immigration, he noticed I didn’t have an entrance stamp but surprisingly wasn’t concerned and let me through.
At Kabul airport, they use buses to transport you to the plane, despite it being 50m away.

I didn’t see the following in Afghanistan
Shahr-i-Zuhak. Vestiges of the Past. (Zuhak City or the Red City), is a historic city ruin (foundations dating back to the 6th century) in Bamyan which was once home to 3,000 people. This city used to be a primary defence for the basin. The citadel was destroyed by Genghis Khan. Built by the Ghorids, they stand on f. Genghis Khan’s grandson was killed here, bringing down his murderous fury on the whole Bamiyan valley as a result.
The imposing ruins guard the entrance to the Bamiyan valley, perched high on the cliffs at the confluence of the Bamiyan and Kalu rivers. The towers of the citadel are some of the most dramatic in Afghanistan. Made of mud-brick on stone foundations, they wrap around the side of the cliff, with geometric patterns built into their crenellations for decoration. The towers had no doors but were accessed by ladders that the defenders pulled up behind them. Passing the towers, a path leads up through a rock tunnel and the main gateway of the fortress, before switching back up the hill, past ruined barracks and storerooms. A rusting anti-aircraft gun and abandoned soldier’s post-market the summit. The views over the confluence of the two rivers are awesome, with their thin strips of cultivated green providing a stark contrast to the dry pink and tan of the mountains. The location’s strategic value is immediately apparent, and the heights are seemingly impregnable to all except Genghis.
Shahr-e Zohak is around 9km from Bamiyan. To get there take any westbound transport out of Bamiyan. As the confluence of the Bamiyan and Kalu rivers is where the roads from the Shibar and Hajigak Passes meet, any transport should be able to drop you there. Ask to be let out at Tupchi village (Afg40, 25 minutes) or the checkpoint at Shashpul half a kilometre after it, which is next to the confluence. The soldiers here will check you have a ticket from the Director of Information and Culture in Bamiyan. From here, walk about 1km following the Kalu, until you can see a simple wood-and-earth bridge, roughly level with the last of the citadel’s towers (if your vehicle is going in the Hajigak Pass direction – the nearest villages to ask for are Dahane Khushkak, Paymuri or Sawzaw – you can be dropped at this point). A short walk along the edge of a field brings you to a pass leading up to the towers.

Band-E-Amir National Park. Tentative WHS: (08/09/2004). It is the first national park of Afghanistan. It is a stunning group of five turquoise lakes separated by natural dams made of travertine. You can walk around the lakes, hike up to several viewpoints, boat, and shisha lounges.
They are high in the Hindu Kush at an altitude of 2900m, and about 6,000 local tourists visit the site each year. Very remote and desolate, they are most easily visited from Bamiyan.
Get there. Shared minivans leave in the high season on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning and cost 150 Af. Otherwise, take a minivan towards Yakawlang (200 Af) and get off at the turn-off to the lakes. From there it’s a 3-hour hot walk… bring some water.
Private hire minivans are also available (3 hours) and should cost 2000-2500 Af, but you will have to bargain very hard for this price. You could also negotiate an overnight stay into the price for a little extra. he scenery is stunning.
See. All services at the lakes close up around mid-November and reopen around March. Walking is pretty much the only way to get around the area once you arrive
If staying overnight, try to be up on the road at the top of Band-e Haibat at sunrise (in October the ideal time was 06:00) for some great views and, if the water is calm, some gorgeous reflections of the surrounding mountains in the lake. A trail from behind Hotel de Reves leads up the hill, and a 20-minute walk brings you to some stunning views of 2 more of the lakes.
The small mosque-like tomb of Amir looks over Band-e Haibat, and unfortunately, there are 5 tacky swans, and peddle boats available for rent here… a good opportunity to ruin the beautiful reflections in the lake.
Behind the tomb of Amir is a women’s beach, with a hut built half into the water, allowing women to enjoy a bath in the lake covered by curious views. Taking a bath in the lake is said to cure diseases (though a lot of rubbish in and around the lake may lead one to fear the opposite).
Hotel de Reves (dream hotel). ambitiously named, has 3 very basic dirty rooms. A more private room is also just mats on the floor, most people prefer the much warmer main room at Dir.
Land mines used to be prevalent around this area, especially along the road that leads in from Bamiyan. Most have been cleared, but to be safe anyway, stick to well-worn paths, and don’t stray more than a couple of feet from the main access road.

OTHER DESTINATIONS in Kabul
Bagh-e Bala. Built in the late 19th century, it served as a summer palace for Amir Abdur Rahman. Today, much of the original interior has been preserved, and the area around the palace has become a large park.
Bagh-e Zanana (Family Park). A park and market for females only but includes male and female children. It was designed as a place where women could sell their own products and merchandise directly, which cannot be done in areas where men do business because women in Afghanistan are not supposed to deal directly with men who are not relatives. This park was created as an outlet for these women to sell their goods with respect to their culture. There is also a female-run restaurant. The park is also a nice place for women to enjoy the outdoors.
British Cemetery. Where foreigners are buried in Kabul. There are also memorial plaques commemorating those ISAF forces killed.
Daoud Khan Memorial, Up the hill behind Darul Aman Palace. On 28 Jun 2008, the body of President Daoud and those of his family were found in two separate mass graves in the Pul-e-Charkhi area, District 12 of Kabul city. There is now a small memorial to the deceased on a small hill, offering nice views over southern Kabul.
Lake Qargha. Described as Kabul’s lake district, only 9 km from the city. Spojmai restaurant provides international cuisine. Swimming and boating are popular on the lake.
Mausoleum of Nadir Shah and Zahir Shah (Teppe Maranjan). Zahir Shah, are buried. Under renovation?
Bala Hissar. The ancient fortress was first constructed in the 5th century AD.
Mosque of the King of Two Sword. The historic mosque was built during the reign of Amanullah Khan in the 1920s. Its Italian decorative stucco makes it unique compared to other mosques in the region. Id Gah Mosque. The second largest mosque in Kabul but is considered the cardinal mosque in Afghanistan. Up to a million people gather here during Eid prayers.

WEST AFGHANISTAN (Herat, Farah, Badgis)
HERAT (pop 575,000). The third-largest city of Afghanistan, it is situated in the fertile valley of the Hari River in the western part of the country. It is linked with Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif via Highway 1 or the ring road. It is further linked to the city of Mashhad in neighbouring Iran through the border town of Islam Qala, and to Mary in Turkmenistan to the north through the border town of Torghundi.

Herat dates back to Avestan times and was traditionally known for its wine. The city has a number of historic sites, including the Herat Citadel and the Musalla Complex. During the Middle Ages Herat became one of the important cities of Khorasan, as it was known as the Pearl of Khorasan. After the conquest of Tamerlane, the city became an important center of intellectual and artistic life in the Islamic world. Under the rule of Shah Rukh, the city served as the focal point of the Timurid Renaissance, whose glory matched Florence of the Italian Renaissance as the center of a cultural rebirth.
After the fall of the Timurid Empire, Herat has been governed by various Afghan rulers since the early 18th century.
Herat lies on the ancient trade routes of the Middle East, Central and South Asia, and today is a regional hub in western Afghanistan. The roads from Herat to Iran, Turkmenistan, and other parts of Afghanistan are still strategically important. As the gateway to Iran, it collects a high amount of customs revenue for Afghanistan. It also has an international airport (HEA). The city has high residential density clustered around the core of the city. Today the city is considered to be relatively safe.
City of Herat Tentative WHS: (17/08/2004). The city of Herat, currently the capital of western Afghanistan, has long been of strategic, commercial and cultural significance to the wider region. It is unique in that it has largely retained its historical footprint, and many significant Islamic monuments have survived.
Established around 500 BC as the ancient Persian town of Artacoana or Aria, in the fertile plain beside the Hari Rud river. Captured by Alexander the Great in 330 BC during his war against the Achaemenids, the town was developed and a citadel was built. The site retained its strategic importance, and was an important asset for the Seleucids, Parthians and Hephthalites, before becoming the western bastion of the Abbasid caliphate at the end of the 8th century AD. By the time of its capture by the Ghorids in 1175 AD, Herat had become renowned for the production of metalwork, especially decorated or inlaid bronze. After destruction at the hands of both the Mongols and Genghis Khan, Herat saw something of a renaissance in the late 14th century AD, under the rule of the son of Timur, Shah Rukh, who began an extensive programme of building. This was followed by extensive development ordered by Queen Gawharshad during the 15th century AD, which resulted in a remarkable and unique ensemble of monuments in the Timurid style.
The residential quarters of Herat were developed in a manner that responds to the specific climatic and social needs of the inhabitants. A complex network of alleys leads to fine houses built around open courtyards, or small gardens, or to the many mosques, synagogues, schools, public baths, or reservoirs that dot the urban fabric.
Apart from its architectural heritage, Herat has long been an important centre for the arts and sciences, with a rich tradition of music, calligraphy and painting, astronomy, mathematics and philosophy.

Jihad Museum
Herat Citadel. One of the oldest extant structures in the historic core of Herat is Qala e Ikhtyaruddin, built on the site of an ancient citadel thought to have been established by Alexander in around 330 BC. The layout of battlements and towers that survive is thought to date from the early 14th century AD when the Karts rebuilt a fortress that had been destroyed by the Mongols. Situated at the northern edge of the square-plan old city, the citadel was during the 15th and 16th centuries AD the seat of the Timurid rulers and was part of the architectural works undertaken by Shah Rukh, who commissioned the tilework that can still be seen on several towers. The citadel underwent conservation in the 1970s.
Musalla Complex. Built in the early 15th century under the direction of Queen Gawharshad, it is perhaps the largest historic architectural ensemble that survives in the region today.
The mausoleum complex of Khwaja Abdulla Ansari in Gozargah dates from the Timurid period and contains Ansari’s grave, a 16th-century structure that retains some fine Timurid tilework, and is where the unique black marble Haft Qalam sarcophagus, dating from the reign of Sultan Husain Baiqara (1468-1506) is situated. Other surviving parts of the complex are the late 15th century AD Zarnegar pavilion, whose interior has fine painted decoration on plaster, and a 17th century AD Namakdan, a decagonal building with vaulted balconies, overlooking the Timurid garden.
It is described as “the most beautiful example in colour in architecture ever devised by man to the glory of his God and himself” and was dynamited by the British Indian Army in 1885 to prevent their use as a fortress if the Russian army tried to invade. The tomb and minarets are still standing.
Today comprises a mosque, the mausoleum of Gawharshad, five minarets and the remains of the madrasa of Hussein Baiqara. Although damaged during fighting in the early 1990s, the mausoleum of Gawharshad retains its ribbed tiled dome, which is set above a high drum covered in tiled decoration, both with Koranic inscriptions and abstract patterns. The interior of the structure, where the tombstones of the Queen, her son Baisunghur and other members of the family survive, has important painted and stucco ornamentation. Only one minaret, which is badly damaged and is being stabilized, remains of the entrance to a madrasa complex that was associated with the musalla, which had a total of four minarets, and represents the zenith of Timurid architectural achievement.
The Masjid-e Jami dates from an original 10th-century AD Ghorid mosque, which has been extended and renovated through the ages. A unique Ghorid portal with tiled calligraphic and geometric decoration survives south of the existing main entrance of the mosque, which follows a typical four-iwan pattern, with a huge central courtyard. Fragments of both Timurid and Ghorid decorative work survive in the main iwan of the complex, but these are now under threat from ill-conceived “improvements”, as it the traditional earth-plastered roof, that has been recently replaced with a cement finish.
Herat bazaar
Soviet Tank Monument

MINARET AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS OF JAM World Heritage Site. The 65m-tall Minaret of Jam is a graceful, soaring structure, dating back to the 12th century. Covered in elaborate brickwork with a blue tile inscription at the top, it is noteworthy for the quality of its architecture and decoration, which represent the culmination of an architectural and artistic tradition in this region. Its impact is heightened by its dramatic setting, a deep river valley between towering mountains in the heart of the Ghur province.

At 1,900 m above sea level and far from any town, the Minaret of Jam rises within a rugged valley along the Hari-rud River at its junction with the river Jam around 215 km east of Herat. Rising to 65m from a 9m diameter octagonal base, its four superimposed, tapering cylindrical shafts are constructed from fired bricks. The Minaret is completely covered with geometric decoration in relief enhanced with a Kufic inscription in turquoise tiles. Built-in 1194 by the great Ghurid Sultan Ghiyas-od-din (1153-1203), its emplacement probably marks the site of the ancient city of Firuzkuh, believed to have been the summer capital of the Ghurid dynasty. The Ghurids controlled Afghanistan, eastern Iran, Central Asia, northern India and parts of Pakistan. It is a victory tower declaring the power of Islam.
Surrounding remains include a group of stones with Hebrew inscriptions from the 11th to 12th centuries on the Kushkak hill, and vestiges of castles and towers of the Ghurid settlements on the banks of the Hari River as well as to the east of the Minaret.
ON near minaret.
Getting there and back. From both Herat and Baniyan, first get to Chagcheran. From Heriat is a terrible road taking about 10 hours and from Bamiyan, a difficult 8-hour drive requires a private 4-wheel vehicle. From Chageheran. it is a 4-hour drive to where you must walk. The road to the minaret was washed out in June 2024. A 2-hour walk was required.

ON Herat. Amiri Hotel – new, good 2,000 Af / night. T+93 79 256 1515; Bustan Hotel; Esteqlal Hotel; Tejarat: 3500 afs/night
Guides Herat.
Somaya is an incredible Herat guide for accommodation, sights, permits, and transportation. https://www.traveltoafghanistan.com
Ehsan Rahmatian (WhatsApp +93796626164) – speaks English and Persia

From Herat, I had the option of driving to Kandahar. Drive south through the western desert, a Pashtun belt, through Nimroz and Farah provinces. Completely paved. See nomadic Kuchi settlements. 7-8 hours. The next day would be the drive from Kandahar to Kabul but it is an awful road. I decided to skip this part of the country.

SOUTH – PASHTUN HEARTLANDS
KANDAHAR (pop 615,000, elevation 3,310′). Located in the south on the Arghandab River, it is Afghanistan’s second-largest city after Kabul. In 1709, Mirwais Hotak made the region an independent kingdom and turned Kandahar into the capital of the Hotak dynasty. In 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the Durrani dynasty, made Kandahar the capital of the Afghan Empire.
Kandahar is one of the most culturally significant cities of the Pashtuns and has been their traditional seat of power for more than 300 years. It is a major trading centre for sheep, wool, cotton, silk, felt, food grains, fresh and dried fruit, and tobacco. The region produces fine fruits, especially pomegranates and grapes, and the city has plants for canning, drying, and packing fruit, and is a major source of marijuana and hashish.
The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements. A major fortified city existed at the site of Kandahar, probably as early as c. 1000–750 BC, and it became an important outpost of the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire in the 6th century BC. Alexander the Great had laid out the foundation of what is now Old Kandahar in the 4th century BC and gave it the Ancient Greek name (Alexandria of Arachosia). Many empires have long fought over the city due to its strategic location along the trade routes of southern, central and western Asia.
Second largest city. Cultural home of Pashtun and Taliban movement.
Kandahar Airport (KDH)
Kandahar Museum. Rarely seen art, Shrine of Baba Durrani, Sarphosa Bazar, Mosque of the Cloak of the Prophet Mohammad. Cloak worn by him on his famous night journey. Locked away since 1996.
Kandahar bazaar
Red Mosque
Tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani and Friday Mosque. The founder of modern Afghanistan (these two are sacred representing the power of Islam / Pashtun and Afghanistan.
Fly Kandahar / Kabul.
If you drive, pass through Zabol, Ghazni, and Maidan Wardak provinces. Ghazni great city with fort and 1000-year-old towers

SAFETY
The Taliban are calm and friendly with foreigners, but they do not like the West, even Canada. Safe but are terrorizing people and causing serious issues in an otherwise peaceful country. Taliban are very reserved when interacting with women. Taliban seem to make up the rules as they go – so you may run into the wrong guy.
The Taliban feel hate and lack of respect for women. Leave your political opinions at home. Hard if not impossible to go from province to province without a local.
The evolution of risk and security is following a very similar pattern as the one that was in place before the Taliban took over. There are numerous foreigners in detention at one time. Cities: relatively safe. Countryside: relatively unsafe.
Southern Afghanistan – being a Taliban stronghold it was unsafe before but relatively safe now (e.g. Helmand) and is the safest area in the country right now. Totally reversed compared to 2 years ago and the only major change. The south is problematic for other reasons (Taliban-mafia-type issues) so you can easily get detained for a while and held without reason. The remote mountain areas of Nangarhar is where IS-K is known to operate.
Eastern Afghanistan: Was not ok (Jalalabad itself is fine but Kunar and Nangarhar provinces are where ISIS was the most active. In early 2024, ISIS has been well controlled and most have left the country.
North Afghanistan: it depends The Hazarajat is fine, as is most of the north and west.
Dress code: Men: local outfit is required (kameez). Women: abaya and hijab

GET IN
Immigration on arrival in Kabul: Fill in an arrival card and need a single passport photo.
Departure out of Kabul – traffic in Kabul is terrible so start your journey to the airport in good time. 4-5 baggage scans and 2 temperature checks.
Flights. From Islamabad on KAM air and out to Dubai on KAM air. 300 US$ each way.

GET AROUND
If you take local transport, they check the papers of everyone on board.
Planes. Daily flights from Herat, Kandahar and Mazar to Kabul with Kam Air and Ariana. Price doesn’t vary based on demand or time of booking, and tickets rarely seem to sell out. Book through tourist agencies.
Shared taxis (faster but more likely to get stopped at checkpoints)
Buses. If doing everything by road, the infrastructure is so bad (potholes; traffic, roadblocks, checkpoints, more potholes), and flights reasonably cheap, that flying domestically is often best. The bus from Herat to Kandahar takes almost nine hours; Mazar to Herat by road takes almost 24 hours due to bad roads. The Northwestern Ring highway, in particular, is very bad. It is very uncomfortable, and you arrive at your destination tired. You have less time to see things.
Use taxis and private car hire for Mazar. In Herat everything is walkable.

Money. No issues changing US$/EUR in the cities. Prefer new 100 US$ bills, but 50 US$ bills are OK, but the rate changes. Struggle with smaller denominations. Credit cards don’t work.
Costs. Depends on if using local flights or share taxis and buses. As little as 80 US$/day to 400US$/day with Untamed Borders.
Accommodation. Price and quality of hotels vary a lot, and the two aren’t necessarily correlated. A lot of hotels mentioned online are also impossible to find on Google Maps, don’t have contact details listed and/or have shut down.
Couchsurfing works well to find locals, check people’s references, many locals use Couchsurfing as a way to get themselves known not as a place to stay.
Food. Good in Kabul and Mazar. chicken kebab, vegetarian dishes. Coffee is hard to find so bring a jar of instant. On long drives, food is not always available to buy on the side of the road.
Juma (Friday). All governmental offices close. Plan your registration on a Wednesday in case something goes wrong as they close at 12 on Thursdays.
Cameras. No Cameras at the two main blue shrines in Kabul and Mazar. The Taliban hold cameras. Use a tiny camera so as not to attract attention, for example, a Fuji x100v.

GUIDES
1. Local Guides. To focus on food, photography, and conversations with locals, go with a different guide for every city – get expert knowledge of each place from someone who lives there and knows their city/province well. Save on costs because the guides do not need to fly around the country with you, and don’t need to pay for their accommodation. Not stuck with a horrible guide for the duration of your stay. A lot more interesting, since you forge a connection and money goes directly to the guide. Many guides are paid very little by tour companies or middlemen even if they are the ones doing all the work.
When planning your trip, speak to the guides directly. Get references. Speak to other travellers. Many people are scammed. Local guides will completely understand what you want, make everything easier, and become friends.
Travelling independently without a guide is not recommended – TLB checkpoints are everywhere, and absolutely no way you can communicate with the soldiers. Throughout the country, you will struggle to find anyone who speaks English. Hire a guide. This is a very poor country, and that money can go a long way for them, and you will have a more enriching experience. Some trips are best experienced with locals, and this is one of them.
The standard rate is US$50-75 per day plus you pay for their meals and transport and accommodation and flights (if you’re spending the night outside of their home base).
Mazar/Bamiyan: Obaid Ullah Salar (WhatsApp +93778426816) – speaks English, Pashto and Persian
Helmand/Kandahar: Ehsan Khan (WhatsApp +93706950059) – speaks English, Pashto and Urdu
Herat: Ehsan Rahmatian (WhatsApp +93796626164) – speaks English and Persian

2.. Kausar Hussain had excellent recommendations but his reputation has become tarnished. WA: +923176852226). Nawruz Q may do the guiding (WA: +93795541855).
3. Mzungu Expeditions and Safi Usmani to visit Wakhan. Safi lives in Ishkashim.
4. Sardar Samim from Let’s Be Friends Afghanistan. Good recommendations.
$2375 each, including all internal flights, hotels, and most meals.
5. Untamed Borders (Note; to be discouraged as they use a “middle man” that charges astronomical amounts – and then they quote $2,800-$4,200 for 10 days! Many of these guides are “owned” by those who don’t speak fluent Pashto and are themselves afraid of interacting with the Taliban. They may be unfamiliar with certain areas, especially Kandahar and Helmand. A photographer was charged over $4k and was then told after arriving he would only be allowed to use his phone to take photos.
a. Afghanistan In 9 Days $2800
A 9-day trip to the highlights of Afghanistan. Starting and finishing in Kabul this trip includes:
Bamian in the Central Highlands of Afghanistan, home of the remains of the destroyed Buddha niches and the lakes of Band e Amir.
North – the ancient city of Balkh and the new city of Mazar e Sharif with its impressive and photogenic blue shrine of Hazrat Ali – Witness the pilgrims at the shrine
Winter – try to watch Buzkashi, the Afghan sport played on horseback with a dead goat as a ball.
Cross Salang Sass back to Kabul. A great introduction to the country.
Start Point: Islamabad, Pakistan. End Point: Kabul. Maximum number of people: 10
b. Afghanistan Central Route. $4500
An immersive exploration of Central and Southern Afghanistan. This 2000km road trip gives the visitor an insight into both the rural life of the Central highlands of Afghanistan and the rarely visited Pashtun heartlands of the south of the country.
Start in Kabul before taking the bone-jarring Central route to Herat. En route stop at Bamian to see the remains of the Buddhas, the lakes of Band e Amir and camp under the iconic Minaret of Jam. Pause in Herat, the most architecturally complete city in Afghanistan. Then we follow the southern road to explore the Pashtun heartlands of Ghazni, Kandahar and Helmand – stopping at the ancient city of Bost in Helmand, the ancient Afghan capital of Kandahar and the great city of Ghazni with its fort and 1000-year-old towers.
The majority of these regions have been impossible to visit for two decades due to security concerns.

INFORMATION
1. Emma Witters spent 2 months in total in Afghanistan on 3 separate trips from August to November 2022 and is now not sure how comfortable she would feel walking around Kabul alone as she did then. https://youtube.com/playlist…
2. https://www.afintl.com/en/202303072339
3. https://www.palladiummag.com/…/the-west-lives-on-in…/
The West Lives On in the Taliban’s Afghanistan
4. Arabnews.com https://www.arabnews.com/node/2265201/amp.
5. FB groups:

Experiences
Experience Buzkashi is a Central Asian sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal. Similar games are known as kokpar, kupkari, and ulak tartysh in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, and as kökbörü and gökbörü in Turkey, where it is played mainly by communities originally from Central Asia.
Jeshyn-Afghan Day, Afghanistan’s Independence Day is not a typical commemoration of freedom from a colonial power. Instead, this day is celebrated every year on August 19 to observe the Treaty of Rawalpindi which was signed in 1919 between Britain and Afghanistan. The treaty restored complete sovereignty to the country. The presidential address to the nation, the military parade, and a display of the country’s national costumes are some of the activities that mark the celebrations of Independence Day.
Play/hear rubab is a lute-like musical instrument originating from Afghanistan and a national musical instrument inhabited by the Pashtun and Baloch people. It proliferated throughout West, Central, South and Southeast Asia. It derives its name from the Arabicrebab ‘played with a bow’; in Central Asia, however, the instrument is plucked and is distinctly different in construction.

OTHER DESTINATIONS
NORTHEAST (Kabul, Nuristan, Badakhshan, Takhar, Parwan)
Wakhan Corridor Wakhan National Park, one of Afghanistan’s most isolated areas with soaring mountains and unique cultures, is the country’s second national park. It is spectacular especially the Kyrgyz people high in the mountains a highlight. 4×4 drive all the way to Lake Chaqmatin. The guide recommended is the ‘super pro’ for the Wakhan, Malang Darya from ‘Big and Little Parmir Travel’ (+93 79 476 6067). He is the first Afghan to climb the country’s highest mountain, he is hugely loved and respected in the area and travelling with him with no doubt opened doors. Bring all the cash you need as ATMs are rare. An absolute minimum is 8 days otherwise just drive back and forth and for acclimatization. If you need ‘basic comforts’, this may not be the right destination, for adventurers heaven on earth. The weather was perfect bright blue skies in the daytime, a bit of light snowfall here& there, and nights cool but not uncomfortably cold. we drove with
Panjshir Valley. XL. A beautiful trekking area, leading to the famous Anjuman Pass.
Tora Bora XL
Mes Aynak. (Vestiges of the Past). 40 km southeast of Kabul, this is Afghanistan’s largest copper deposit, plus an ancient settlement with over 400 Buddha statues, stupas and a 100-acre monastery complex. An older 5,000-year-old Bronze Age site beneath the Buddhist level includes an ancient copper smelter. The Silk Road yields a mixture of China and India. Afghanistan’s eagerness to unearth the copper below the site is leading to the site’s destruction
Surkh Kotal. (Vestiges of the Past). This ancient archaeological site about 18 km north of the city of Puli Khumri was built during the rule of the Kushans. Huge temples, statues of Kushan rulers and the Surkh Kotal and Rabatak inscriptions. Most were completely looted during the Afghan Civil War and artifacts are currently on display in the Afghan National Museum.
Tepe Narenj is the archaeological site for the remains of a 5th or 6th-century Buddhist monastery south of Kabul. The Buddhist monk Xuanzang visited the monastery while returning from India in the 7th century. Muslim armies destroyed the monastery in the ninth century and was forgotten until post-conflict excavations following the Soviet–Afghan War. Foundations for the site were discovered. The site lies along a hill and is 250 meters long. It is located south of Lake Koul-e Heshmatkhan and was discovered beneath a modern police station. The monastery consists of five small stupas for meditation and five chapels.

Ai Khanoum (Alexandria Oxiana) is the archaeological site of a Hellenistic city that was a military and economic centre for the rulers of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom until its destruction c. 145 BC. The city was probably founded between 300 and 285 BC. Located at the confluence of the Amu Darya (a.k.a. Oxus) and Kokcha rivers, surrounded by well-irrigated farmland, the city itself was divided between a lower town and a 60-metre-high (200 ft) acropolis. Although not situated on a major trade route, Ai-Khanoum controlled access to both mining in the Hindu Kush and strategically important choke points. Extensive fortifications surrounded the city.
Many of the present ruins date from the time of Eucratides I, who diedc. 145 BC, the Greco-Bactrian kingdom collapsed—Ai-Khanoum was captured by Saka invaders and was generally abandoned,
Huge palace in the lower town, a large gymnasium, a theatre capable of holding 6,000 spectators, an arsenal, and two sanctuaries. Several inscriptions were found, along with coins, artefacts, and ceramics.
Nuristan Nature Reserve
Pamir-i-Buzurg Wildlife Reserve

OTHER DESTINATIONS
SOUTHEAST AFGHANISTAN (Kandahar, Helmand, Nimruz, Ghazni, Zabul, Khost)
Museum of Islamic Art, Ghazni.
Khost Mosque, Khost.

AFGHANISTAN – The Trip

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