Sometimes
people ask me about what it’s like to live in Afghanistan, expecting a
revelation of sorts as to how some people are able to forge a life here.
And while there’s no surefire guarantee how you will react to the place,
what I have learned is this: in Afghanistan, what looks outwardly simple
often belies a complexity that only surfaces upon careful consideration.
Take the Hindu Kush, for example. From the country’s capital, Kabul, these
mountains appear like cardboard cut-outs, deceptively close to the city
and almost painted with neat caps of snow. But take the winding, bumpy
road out of Kabul and you realize how monumentally towering they become,
and how those tiny mounds of snow are catastrophes waiting to trap your
vehicle along deadly switchback grades.
Having
resided in Kabul for nearly two years now, I thought I “knew” Afghanistan
by having experienced the ins and outs of its capital city. Now, after
merely scratching the surface of some of Afghanistan’s other provinces,
I realize how wrong I was - to assume that Kabul is the real Afghanistan
is like calling New York the real America; it misses the nuances, the rich
history and the diverse landscape of this amazing country. Here are a few
of the sometimes overlooked places Afghanistan has to offer both the resident
and casual visitor (and indeed, visitors there are–albeit very few):
Samangan
You may be familiar with the name Bamyan
and the infamous footage of the now-destroyed Buddhas, but central Afghanistan
also has many other untouched relics of a Buddhist past. Samangan, for
instance, boasts a provincial capital (called Aybak) that is a green oasis
among brown hills and a perfect stopping point for the long drive between
the capital and the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in the north. Ask a local for
directions to Takht-i Rustam (literally, “the throne of Rustam”, a reference
to the ancient Book of Kings from Persian folklore) and you’ll be led to
a series of hillside caves from where you can get a fantastic view of Aybak
city–brown mud homes set amid a lush green valley.
The caves themselves originated
in the fourth or fifth century AD, and range in size to the quite small
(a private bath, the local tour guide tells me) to a lengthy network of
domed archways. There are few tourists or even locals here… chances are,
you won’t have any competition to quietly contemplate the universe from
these surroundings and do a little Zen meditation of your own.
Tashkurgan
Further north, beyond a stunningly beautiful
gorge and near Afghanistan’s border with Uzbekistan, lies the small town
of Tashkurgan.
Few foreigners make it to this place,
and a walk through the winding maze of the main road will bring the attention
of delighted residents, some milling about shopping for fruit and vegetables,
others taking a leisurely stroll in horse-drawn carriages.
Stop at any of the shops and pick
up the fresh round naan (flatbread) characteristic of this region, or bargain
for some blue lacquered serving bowls. One of the main attractions in Tashkurgan
is a royal summer palace that rests along the outskirts of town. Outside,
a quiet reflecting pool amid a row of pine trees is only disturbed by a
group of young boys taking a late summer plunge.
Inside
are rooms whose only palatial grandeur is in their size and the light coming
in from the windows. This is the perfect venue for a picnic, if you
can find a space amid the locals. As elsewhere in Afghanistan, everywhere
the refuse of war invades the serene landscape. In what used to be the
palace stables, Soviet propaganda litters the walls. Behind the palace
wall, an abandoned tank rests in fields flanking red-tinged mountains.
The region’s natives don’t seem to mind, however, riding their bicycles
along at a steady pace without batting an eye.
Herat
Perhaps the city most evocative of ancient
Persia, Herat lies in western Afghanistan, bordering Iran. For the casual
tourist, this is the place to go. There’s more to do and see in Herat than
in any other Afghan city, and with a lot less traffic and wide, tree-lined
boulevards, the atmosphere invites a casual stroll. The center of Herat
city boasts two extraordinary structures. The elegant blue minarets of
the Friday/Blue Mosque can be seen from around the city, and beg for a
closer look. This mosque, built in the thirteenth century, features a gorgeous
array of blue tile flowers, viewed best from the interior courtyard of
the mosque (be sure to remove your shoes first).
If Herat were in monochrome, blue
would be its chosen color…one of the city’s most famous exports is handblown
blue glass shaped into vases and cups that range in hue from aquamarine
to deep navy - all for the ridiculously low price of around a dollar per
item. Just next to the Blue Mosque is a street boasting several glass shops,
as well as traditional carpet sellers. A network of alleyways snake off
from the western side of the mosque through the city’s bazaar, tempting
the visitor into archways promising rich velour fabrics, succulent pomegranates
and copper bowls. Here too the astonishing blue-green eyes of the Indo-Aryans
are also on display among the locals.
Just past the bazaar is the other
centrally located tourist attraction – the ancient Citadel.
Historians argue that a fort/citadel has been on this same site since Alexander
the Great’s foray into the region around 330 BC. The current citadel is
only a few centuries younger, and still an impressive structure, with more
than a dozen mud-brick round towers, some retaining their original blue
calligraphic tile.
Herat, too, seems to be more catered
to a tourist industry than other Afghan cities. Two hotels stand out as
popular among natives and foreigners - the Marco Polo has good sized rooms
in a central location, while the Green Palace sports a large garden for
guests to relax in. Outside the city itself, Herat hosts several other
attractions, from the Sufi shrine at Gazar Gah to the slightly off-center
minarets of the Musalla Complex. Any of these are a short taxi ride from
the center of the city.
Paghman
For those of us who don’t get to visit
northern and western Afghanistan as often as we’d like, Paghman is where
Kabul residents get their taste of the countryside. This suburban district
was once the summer playground of Kabul elites. Pictures of Paghman in
the 1930s and 40s display Viennese style country homes, in which one imagines
a Debussy record playing on the living room victrola.
The sad reality is that Paghman was
also on the front line of fighting during the civil war years, and those
beautiful European-style homes were almost all leveled and torched beyond
recognition. War tourism aside, there is a significant effort underway
to restore the central Paghman gardens to their previous glory. Fridays
are still popular with the locals for picnicking, so if you decide to venture
out on that day, you might struggle to find a secluded patch of green.
Walk beyond the main picnic gardens, however, and you can come to a cool
river bed where men comb sheep’s wool for mattresses beside the stream.
While Afghanistan attempts to carve
out a democratic state after more than two decades of war, tourism is still
largely underdeveloped and planned for. And though there are swaths of
the country that are still no-go due to conflict, much of the country’s
charm is in its still undiscovered beauty. For those of us who have the
pleasure to live here, we wouldn’t want it any other way.
The following are Brandy's previous
articles for the magazine:
Copyright 1996 -
EscapeArtist.com
Inc. All Rights Reserved