Afghanistan - May 2024

At the end of my Pakistan trip I took a flight from Islamabad to Kabul.  I had picked up an Afghanistan visa in Peshawar and had arranged a tour with Culture Roads, the Dutch travel company that organized my Pakistan trip.  I was a little bit apprehensive about visiting such a troubled country as Afghanistan but all my research seemed to suggest that the Taliban were now trying to encourage tourism and that things were quite safe.

My Afghanistan Visa

The Kam Air flight to Kabul was just over an hour long.  The plane was about half full with mainly Pakistanis and Afghans.  There were quite a few women on the plane and most were showing their faces; only a few were covered with a full burqa.  There was one other Westerner, a British woman, someone I saw later on the BBC news channel reporting from the floods in north eastern Afghanistan.

As we approached Kabul, we flew over some beautiful dramatic mountains before dropping down into the city of Kabul.  On the ground we were led through into Immigration.  The process was quite straightforward, I showed them my visa, filled out a couple of forms and I was through.

I then had to find my guide, Omid.  The airport security arrangements didn’t allow him to come into the airport so I had to locate him in the parking lot outside.  We had already been in touch on WhatsApp while I was in Pakistan and my T Mobile International plan also gave me cell coverage in Afghanistan so we exchanged messages again and he directed me to the right parking lot where he was waiting.  Without WhatsApp and cell service it would have been more complicated.

We drove into the center of Kabul in quite a nice clean Land Cruiser.  The traffic was much more orderly and calmer than in Pakistan.  There was very little honking of the horn, and everyone followed the rules of the road and kept in the right lane.  There was no frantic overtaking at every possible moment like there was in Pakistan.  They drive on the right side of the road in Afghanistan, whereas in Pakistan they drive on the left.  The streets also looked cleaner and tidier than Pakistan.  What a pleasant surprise and a nice welcome to Afghanistan. 

At the Tailors

The first stop we made was to a tailor's shop.  There I picked out a fabric and was measured for my perahan tunban, the local Afghani dress.  It was recommended that in order to not stand out as a foreigner I should wear the local dress.  Of course I still had a clean shaven face and was a white guy so it likely didn’t fool anyone for too long.  The tailor said the tunic would be ready the next morning.  Next to the tailor shop there was a jewelry shop that provided money changing facilities.  I changed $100 into Afghanis at around 70 Afghanis to the US $.

Hotel Security

We next went to my hotel, the Park Star Hotel.  The security around the hotel was quite extreme.  The street had barriers at the entrance where the underneath and back of the car was carefully inspected before they would let us drive through.  Then the hotel itself had a fortified metal building added on to the front door with an armed guard standing over the entry.  Inside there was a baggage screening machine and a metal detector scan of your body before you were allowed into the hotel lobby.

Apparently that level of security was no longer required but the hotel kept it up to provide that extra level of confidence for their guests.  The security was provided by a private security firm and not the Taliban.  

After checking in and a brief rest, in what was quite a nice room, I was again picked up by the driver and guide and we went to get dinner.  The restaurant, the Barg, was quite modern and offered a wide range of dishes from local food, to pizza, to ice cream.  They had a midget dressed in uniform greeting people coming into the restaurant.  That felt a little weird.

There were a wide range of people in the restaurant, people in western wear, people in Afghani wear, women with their faces exposed, women in burqas (all women had their heads covered), there were even Taliban carrying their weapons, the whole gamut.

The next morning, after a breakfast of porridge in the hotel (that was the only thing that looked appealing to me), my guide brought me my new clothes, my perahan tunban.  It was basically a pair of pajama-like pants and a tunic that came down below my knees.  It was quite comfortable and cool. It cost only 1700 Afghanis (about $25).

Kabul Market

On this my first day in Afghanistan, we were actually heading out of Kabul to Bamiyan.  We drove out through the streets of Kabul and up towards the mountains.  Again I was impressed by the relative cleanliness and orderliness of the streets.  There were market stalls alongside the road selling vegetables and fruit (it was melon season).  There were hardly any tuk-tuks, the primary people mover in Pakistan, and not so many motorcycles either.

The Big Apple in Wardak

We passed through the town of Wardak where there was a giant apple sculpture in the main crossroads.  They grow a lot of apples in that area and the road was flanked by apple orchards for many miles.

Mosque on outskirts of Kabul

Many of the mosques in Afghanistan had nice shiny metallic roofs. A little different from the ones in Pakistan. 

The roads on the outskirts of Kabul were frequently pockmarked.  My guide said it was because the Kabul area is inhabited by Pashtuns, the ethnic group of the Taliban.  The Taliban were the main opponents to the USA during the war and so the roads were more frequently mined and bombed.  As we moved out towards Bamiyan, the home of the Hazara people, there was less fighting and the roads were much smoother.

Schoolchildren

We saw many young school children on the way.  Both boys and girls.  Most of them were carrying blue UNICEF satchels which really stood out against the brown desert landscape

Taliban checking my papers

Every now and again there would be a Taliban checkpoint.  We would have to stop and they would check the guide and driver's permits and examine my passport.  I was traveling on my US passport and everyone was quite welcoming.  My guide pointed out that all of the Taliban members likely had a close family member that was killed during the war with the US.  It was surprising that I never sensed any hostility or disrespect towards myself or America.  Provided you smiled and were polite and did the appropriate Salem Alaikum greeting they were all very nice.  Some Taliban even posed for photos.

The pass Between Kabul and Bamiyan

At the lower levels the countryside was quite beautiful - orchards, cultivated fields, simple mud built houses.  It looked like most of the cultivation was done by hand or by wooden plows pulled by oxen.  Everything looked very fertile.  As we climbed up into the mountains on relatively good roads the cultivated land became less and less.  The highest mountain pass was around 11,500 feet and there was a fair bit of snow.  The surrounding mountains of the Pamir Range were in 15,000 ft range.

Taliban Checkpoint - Bamiyan

There was a security checkpoint just outside Bamiyan that was more rigorous than the others.  The Taliban flag was flying and there was a US Humvee parked at the side of the road.  A lot of US military equipment was left in Afghanistan and now it is used by the Taliban.

View across Bamiyan from Hotel

In Bamiyan we stopped for lunch before going to our hotel.  The hotel, the Royal Hotel, was quite nice, relatively speaking, and I had a great view  from my room across the valley to the cliffs where the Buddha statues once stood.

In the afternoon we went to the tourist office in town where we bought tickets to allow us to visit the various sites in the area.  

The City of Screams

The first stop on our tour was Shahr-el-Ghoghola or the City of Screams.  This was the center of Bamiyan from the 6th to the 13th centuries.  It was destroyed by Ghengis Khan in 1221 and he massacred all the inhabitants hence the name - the City of Screams.

Taliban Guards

The complex comprises a series of mud built buildings and caves spreading up the hillside. I climbed up to the top of the hill where there was a small tower where two Taliban guards were keeping watch.  They were quite friendly and were quite happy to pose for photos. 

The once Buddha Statues of Bamiyan

From the City of Screams, we moved on to the famous Buddha statues or rather what is left of the Buddha statues after the Taliban destroyed them when they were fighting the US.

How they once looked

It is a huge pity that these magnificent statues were destroyed.  One of the beliefs of the Taliban was that there should not be any human images in their world (it must say that in the Koran somewhere).  So the statues became a target for destruction.  Apparently it was not an easy exercise as they were fairly large and carved out of the cliff side.  They needed serious munitions to get rid of them.

What remains of the Female Buddha

There were two statues, a larger male one on the left side and a smaller female one on the right.  The Taliban perhaps are a bit regretful for their actions as they now see what a tourist draw this would have been.  They have saved some of the pieces of the statues and are protecting them in basic wooden shelters.  It looked like a collection of boulders and none of the pieces I saw showed any resemblance to a carved statue.

The Male Buddha's Space

There had been an attempt to rebuild the statues, financed by Japan I believe, but the work was halted as not everyone thought it a good idea to rebuild a copy of a prior statue.  I think I agree, the empty cavities where the statues once stood are more poignant. The scaffolding from this restoration attempt is still in place in the larger male statue. 

We walked along the base of the cliff and stood beneath these now immense cavities in the cliff face.  Even now it is an impressive sight.

I chatted with a group of Afghani women in the parking lot.  One was an Afghan woman who had moved to Australia.  She was visiting family and wanted to see the statue site up close.  Unfortunately being a woman, and being accompanied by other women, the Taliban would not allow them to get close to the site.  Even in the basic act of tourism the women of the Afghan world are not allowed to participate.

The other thing about the Taliban’s policy on females is of course in education.  Females are educated up to the age of 11 or 12 and then their education must stop and they must stay at home.  How tragic for those young girls.  This refusal to educate women is also one of the main sticking points for Afghanistan receiving aid from the western world.  Afghanistan could use a lot of financial assistance but, as long as they discriminate against women like this, that aid is not coming their way. 

The Queen's Castle, Zohak

The next site was the so-called Queen’s Castle in the City of Zohak (Shahr e Zohak).  This was a fortified complex that guarded the eastern entry to Bamiyan.  Like the City of Screams, the mud built structures are ruined and incomplete, but it looks like any further decay has been halted. 

Children at Zohak

On the way up the hill to the castle, there were children playing in the fields below.  They were quite friendly and interested in a foreign visitor and we waved at each other as we climbed up the hill.  On the way down they were leaving the fields - they had been picking some sort of spinach-like greenery and each had a bowl of leaves.  They were quite playful and loved having their pictures taken.  This is the occasion when a Polaroid camera would be useful.  The children were so delighted to see their pictures on my phone but I could not leave them with a copy.

My Afghan Attire

Back in Bamiyan we stopped at a shop to buy me a hat and a scarf to compliment my Afghan outfit.  The hat didn’t quite fit and I still was a clean shaven white guy.

That night in the hotel I dined on something that resembled a vegetarian pizza.  It was quite nice actually. Of course Afghanistan, like Pakistan, is a Moslem country so there is no beer available.  Sweet soft drinks, hot tea and water are the only drink options.

The next day we drove out of Bamiyan towards the Band e Amir National Park.  All along the way I noticed houses painted with the letters CLTS and MRRD.  This was a sign that the rural community was following certain sanitation processes (toilets, no open defecation) and had a clean water supply. 

Band e Amir National Park

We climbed up out of the valley into some nice mountainous and high plains areas.  We turned off the main road into the park.  The desert landscape was quite beautiful.  It felt like I was in Arizona.  

Band e Amir Lakes

Then we got our first glimpse of the lakes for which this area is noted for.  Beautiful azure blue lakes contrasting with the red-orange desert landscape.  The lakes are spring fed and there is a chain of them that cascade from one to the next. 

We drove down to the small settlement that had been developed next to the lowest lake.  The area is Afghanistan’s only National Park and at various times they have been trying to develop a small tourist industry there.  Pathways and observation areas had been created.  There was a small market for tourist related stuff and you could rent pedalo boats to get out onto the water.  There were very few tourists however.

We drove up to the highest lake and walked around.  The color was quite amazing. I don’t think I have seen such a vivid blue lake before.  At the lower lake there were a couple of groups of Taliban walking around.  They were armed of course.  It just seems strange to be in such a beautiful spot and then see a gang of armed Taliban doing the same tourist thing as I was.  They did not bother us at all.

The Taliban 

There was hardly anyone else there.  My guide said that he had wanted to bring his family there but the Taliban does not allow women to visit the site.  What a pointless ruling that is.  Only male Afghanis can visit this remarkable natural wonder.  

The Fissure at Dragon Rock

We left the park and drove back to Bamiyan where we stopped by the last thing the guide wanted to show me.  It was something called Dragon Rock.  An interesting geological formation just outside Bamiyan.  A long narrow fissure is present on the top of a ridge above the valley.  There is a mythology surrounding the feature involving the slaying of a dragon.  It is not the most impressive site but it is different.

No Faces Allowed

The Taliban do not like images of the human form hence the destruction of the Buddha statues.  In Bamiyan there were several posters advertising women’s health issues.  These had a picture of a veiled woman on them and someone, presumably the Taliban, had defaced the poster to obliterate the woman’s face.  Strict interpretation of the Quran leads to some awful behavior.

Lunch in Bamiyan

We had lunch in Bamiyan.  Seated cross legged on a platform with the food served on the same platform.  My aging knees are not good at that kind of sitting any more.

Colorful Spices, Bamiyan

After a post lunch rest at the hotel we went back into the town to walk around the market.  The long Main Street of Bamiyan is lined on either side with shops and stalls selling all manner of goods.  It was most interesting to walk up the street checking out the different stalls - colorful spice stalls, vegetable stalls, clothing, shoes, hardware, jewelry and even live birds (it appears bird fighting is quite popular).  

Shopkeepers, Bamiyan

The locals were all very friendly - Hello, How are you?, Where are you from?  All of them were interested when I said I was from America.

My Taliban Friend

We were joined by a member of the Taliban who had a wonderful face - a full black beard like most of the Taliban members.  He wanted to know how old I was.  He said he was 55 and admitted to dying his hair and beard black to make him look more attractive to his wife.

I was persuaded to look inside one of the shops where they had nice lapis lazuli jewelry.  I decided to buy one piece.  The driver, Sarwar, in an act of generosity bought a small lapis necklace and gave it to me.  That felt a little weird, though to be honest it was probably only a $5 or $6 item.

My walk around the market was on a Wednesday evening.  When I got back to Pakistan, I was shocked to hear that 2 days later, a larger group of tourists had been walking through the same market and three Spanish tourists and three Afghans had been murdered by an ISIS gunman.  That was a little unexpected after my most welcoming visit and that was a little too close for comfort.

ISIS are the only group currently actively in opposition to the Taliban and I guess this was their attempt to enact vengeance on westerners and to disrupt future tourism helping the economy.

Rawash roadside stall

The next morning we set off back to Kabul.  In the high mountain area there were quite a few roadside stalls where people were selling a rhubarb-like vegetable called rawash.  I had tried it in the market the previous night - it was very bitter and, in my opinion, quite unpleasant.  The rawash in the mountains was thicker and juicier but no less unpleasant.  The driver obviously quite liked it as he bought a couple of large bundles  to take back to Kabul.  The stall owners were living in a tent by the side of the road out in the middle of nowhere.  They had a solar panel charging their batteries, a tent, cooking equipment and a motorcycle - a very simple life.

Primitive Agriculture

As we drove down from the hills there was more agriculture.  Plowing the fields, planting potatoes and other crops.  As we got even lower, apple trees once more became the dominant crop.

The Taliban Flag

After a lunch of pizza we made a tour of the capital.  First stop was to see the large Taliban flag (these Central Asian countries like their large flags and flag poles).  This one was in a park on higher ground overlooking the city.  There was a small mosque, a swimming pool and the huge flagpole from which the white with black lettering Taliban flag was flying.  The script on the flag says “There is no god but God and Muhammad is God’s messenger”. 

The Flag and the sinister Diving Board

In the first Taliban rule, the more extreme Taliban rule, executions were carried out at the swimming pool.  People sentenced to death were thrown off the diving board into the empty pool below.  What horrors they perpetrated.

The Bird Market

The next stop was the bird market.  This was a section of a larger market devoted to the sale of birds.  All manner of birds were to be found - songbirds, small colorful finches, budgerigars, guinea fowl, small hawks, chickens, doves.  With so many caged birds in a small area the smell was pretty foul.  The birds of prey all had remnants of smaller birds, their last meal, lying in the bottom of their cages. The song birds were all singing away and seemed happy despite the cramped condition in their cages.

Baghe Babur Gardens

We moved on to the Baghe Babur gardens.  This was a nicely laid out garden complex gently sloping up the hill to the tomb of Babur and the Shah Jahan Mosque.  Babur, the grandson of Jahangir, whose tomb I saw in Lahore, died in Agra, India in 1530.  His body was eventually brought back to Kabul some 10 years after his death.  Jahangir himself came along later and erected the headstone in 1607.  

Shah Jahan Mosque

Shah Jahan, one of the Mughal rulers, visited the site in 1647 and dedicated a small marble mosque that now carries his name.  The white marble Shah Jahan mosque is quite beautiful.

The Blue Mosque

The final spot on the tour of Kabul was the Blue Mosque, a beautifully ornate tiled mosque.  I was not allowed in but I walked around the exterior.  It was quite popular and lots of locals were visiting the site.  

My Guide Obid at the Ice Cream Shop

That was the end of my tour and it was back to the hotel for the evening.  The guide and I did go out for ice cream later on in the evening.  

The next morning I was picked up and driven to the airport.  I bid farewell to my excellent guide, Obid, and entered the airport terminal.  There were three security pat downs, and two bag scans to get into the terminal building then another pat down and scan to get to the gate.  In the customs area, they found that my passport had not been stamped when I entered the country and the computer system did not have a picture of me entering.  That caused a bit of consternation for a while but in the end they let me leave.  

It was a relatively short flight to Islamabad where I was picked up and driven to a hotel (the same one I had used earlier).  Strangely there are no hotels near the airport so it was a 30 minute drive into Islamabad for my relatively short overnight stay.  I was picked up at 3:30 am the next morning to go back to the airport and the Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul.

It was a wonderful trip to this rarely visited country.  I found everyone to be most welcoming.  If it weren’t for the Taliban’s atrocious treatment of women and ISIS’s random execution of tourists I would recommend it to everyone.

There are more photos here.