Kabul

Overview

Introduction

Set atop a plateau nearly 6,000 ft/1,825 m high in the Hindu Kush mountain range, 3,000-year-old Kabul once rated at least a three-night stay. Today, the arid capital city is not much more than ruins. Thousands of missiles fell on the city during the Soviet war, and street fighting with rockets and grenades was the norm for years after. The once-grand museums have been looted or destroyed, though clever curators at the National Gallery managed to preserve some pieces. (They secretly covered oil paintings deemed offensive by the Taliban with benign images painted in watercolors. Later, the watercolor paint was washed off, revealing the oil painting underneath.) About the best thing to do in Kabul these days is go fly a kite, which was a popular diversion before the fighting. Afghans crowd into Kite Street on Friday afternoon to buy cheap kites from the many vendors there, then go to a park or a rooftop to fly them. It is unlikely that there will be much more to see in the city for years to come. Nearby are Mahipar Falls, the spectacular Kabul Gorge (on the way to the Khyber Pass), the Babur Garden Tomb (where the Mongol emperor Babur, a descendant of Tamerlane, is buried) and Charikar (Buddhist stupas from the second and third centuries AD). 185 mi/300 km southeast of Mazar-i-Sharif.

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