Afghanistan Travel

Afghanistan is a country rich in culture and history but with an unfortunate recent past, one that has been stuck in various wars for the past few decades. The country became famous to much of the world after the United States invaded to fight off the taliban in its search for Osama Bin laden. Despite significant achievements, the country is considered to be among one of the most dangerous destinations in the world for travelers. Afghanistan's reputation for hospitality, deep culture, ancient cities, and some of the highest mountains in the world have been replaced with images of war and destruction. Few people know anything about Afghanistan other than the recent violence in the country. I went to Afghanistan not for the military or business, but just as a traveler seeking to experience places that few people in the western world get to see.

Afghanistan Links
	Even in the 1800s, Afghanistan was still the scene of several wars that existed throughout that century. Afghanistan was fighting both British and Russian influence over a hundred years ago, until those wars ended in 1919 and the country finally saw true independence. Afghan King Amanullah Khan then led the country, and ruled from his huge palace in Kabul. During the soviet war in the 1980s his palace was destroyed, but still stands today in ruins.

	When I visited, Afghanistan was led by President Hamid Karzai as seen to the left. Hamid Karzai was a fighter against the Russian invasion and at first was pro taliban when they took over the country. He was even asked to be a taliban spokesman at one point, but as they began to get more extreme he distanced himself from them. Eventually things between Karzai and the taliban went sour enough to where the taliban attempted to assassinate him, forcing him to flee to neighboring Pakistan. Later when the US invaded after 9/11, he supported the Americans in overthrowing the taliban and returned to his home to lead his country. On the left is a picture displayed in downtown Kabul. On the right is a mausoleum of a former Afghan ruler long before Karzai.

Afghanistan is famous for being a mountainous country. But like few cities in the world, Kabul is divided by mountains instead of built in between them. One place called TV mountain gives you great views of the city of 4 million people from both sides. The four photos above and below are views seen from TV mountain of Kabul, the lower left photo has Kabul's tallest building.


Many houses in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan are built right up along the bases of the mountain which kind of reminded me of La Paz Bolivia. On the upper left is TV mountain. Wireless service is available from Afghan Wireless, which Ehsan Bayat founded in 2002. The other photo shows a new mosque in the downtown part of the city, and the two right photos are of homes built in some of the steeper areas of Kabul.


Kabul still faces many challenges regarding security and violence. The photo of the guest house in the upper left is much safer than a normal hotel. Hotels get more attention, and a few months ago one was stormed in Kabul and several foreigners were gunned down. On the upper right is a US helicopter flying above Kabul probably going to Bagram air base.

Some things in Kabul have improved but recently most things have been going the wrong way; taliban are all around Kabul and violence is increasing. On my second night in Kabul taliban fighters launched rockets into the city. around 3am. Cars and trucks can be used to sneak in weapons, so traveling by bike maybe the best means of transportation for locals. On the right, trucks are stopped from entering Kabul due to the anniversary of a past leader's death. Trucks had to wait outside the borders all day until after the celebrations for fear of suicide bombers.

Signs of the city recovering are there, but Kabul definitely has a long way to go. On the left is the nation's Islamic University, almost completed when I visited at the end of 2008. On the right is a shrine to another famous Afghan, a former military commander.

In almost every street I drove through in Kabul, I was surprised to see busy markets. Chicken street is Kabul's busiest market, but for that reason it can be a target by insurgents so I didn't go there. Above is a photo of one random market on the left, and a new shopping mall in downtown Kabul in the right. Entering the shopping mall required passing by armed guards and going through metal detectors, but once inside you couldn't tell that you were in Afghanistan. Newer buildings like the shopping mall above are rare in the country with only a few in Kabul and one in Herat, but yes the mall above did have a working ATM machine that worked with my card!

Above are two photos from some other markets. On the left is a man selling burqas and other clothing items. On the right is a meat market with a soldier passing by, and yes, those are goat balls still attached to the animal!

There was also a really good book store in downtown Kabul. Almost every single book had to do with Afghanistan, mostly cultural and historical books. This is also one of the few places where you can buy postcards and posters.

One of my favorite places to visit in Kabul was Babur Gardens. Babur Gardens has been a popular place to visit for hundreds of years. The gardens were created in the 17th century, but have been abandoned and rebuilt several times throughout Afghanistan's history. Today the gardens are once again rebuilt and are popular with Afghan families.


The majority of Babur gardens are filled with trees, but of course there are plenty of flower beds like the ones above.

Some things are being built while others stay like they were for the past few decades. On the left is a man riding his bike past the presidential palace, on the right is a new marble home built in Kabul.

Another building that has been abandoned and not restored or demolished is the old Soviet cultural house. Just down the street from it I saw a fight between two guys, one had a stick and was hitting another guy and there was a small crowd around as seen on the left. On the right you can see bullet holes from past wars in a wall of the structure.

Inside the old soviet headquarters, I found almost everything completely looted and destroyed. There was a man and his son taking bricks from the building and hauling them off in a wheel barrel. One of the only things that remained was the murals on the wall above. On the right is Lenin's portrait which was above a main door, shot out with gunfire. While exploring the inside, I felt like the Soviets were just here years ago.
Something I didn't expect to find in the abandoned headquarters were many junkies. Many people were just homeless and lying around sleeping in the middle of the day. Others were doing drugs and just zoned out sitting in random parts of the building. On the left is a young kid who was passing through or living here, I'd like to think he wasn't doing drugs. Above is one of many syringes I found laying on the ground.

Some positive changes in Afghanistan are new freedoms that weren't allowed during taliban rule. Most people I talk to like it better without the taliban, but now they pay the price by facing the insecurity of kidnappings and bombings. Above on the left is a Ferris wheel in the Kabul zoo, and yes it was running along with another ride I saw. On the right is a kid flying a kite. Kites once again are in the Kabul skies, something that was also banned during taliban control.

Above are Afghan children in the area where I saw many kids flying kites. They couldn't speak English but were more than happy to run up to us and try to talk. I was surprised by the diversity of different ethnic groups in the country, I wouldn't have thought the girl on the upper right was Afghan if I had just seen her photo. I assume they are all brothers and sisters but had no way of knowing for sure.

Outside of Kabul I did a short drive to some nearby villages and was surprised when I saw several fields of grape vines like on the left. I was told these used to be very popular outside the capital but where destroyed by the taliban. The only other interesting plants I saw that were new to me are the strange looking flowers on the right.

Outside the city of Kabul is a town known as Istalif. It is a picturesque town but there are still signs of war as the collapsed roof on the right. Like most countries, people seemed to be more friendly here than the capital.

Also in this area I found an old soviet tank seen above with the pedals on the right. Below are some of the many bullet shells from the war that are all over the countryside. The red rocks indicate that there are mines in the area.

In the actual village of Istalif I saw similar markets like in Kabul, just that these mostly focused on food. Since Afghanistan is such a dry country I was surprised to see huge piles of fruits and vegetables for sale. Unfortunately for the people there didn't seem to be anyone to buy their food, but they had enough to feed ten times their village it seemed. On the left is a man selling in the Istalif market, above is a horse found in someone's yard.
The main economy in Istalif is its pottery collections. Parallel to the market street that I showed above is another street lined with pottery shops. Above is the inside of a store with several ceramics for sale, all are made by hand. On the right is a man making new items in the factory section of the village. He said they do export to other countries but have a very difficult time because of competition from countries like India and China.

On the left here is a loom with some more examples of some ceramics; teapots made in Istalif.
Two final photos of Istalif, beautiful flowers above and a beautiful mosque on the right. In Istalif where everything is based on art you naturally expect them to have an attractive mosque since they make all their tiles in their own village. This small village also had some small but impressive gardens throughout its borders. I was surprised how colorful parts of Istalif were and wish I had taken more photos of the town.
Next in Afghanistan was the city of Herat, on the border of Iran and Uzbekistan. Herat is a calmer city than Kabul but is not immune to violence. Only a week before I arrived dozens were killed between a NATO fire fight with militants. I didn't know much about Herat until I arrived here but I now believe it be one of Afghanistan's best cities. On the left is a photo with an ancient city wall still standing next to dozens of modern satellite dishes on a roof. The buildings on the right are being built in honor of the world trade center that was destroyed in 9/11 in America. These will also be called the twin towers.
	Herat is considered by many to be the cultural capital of Afghanistan. One of Herat's marvels is the Masjid-i Jami' of Herat, or the Friday Mosque in English. Many consider it to be the most beautiful mosque not only in Herat, but some go as far to say all of Afghanistan or even central and southern Asia. The Friday Mosque in Herat was first built in 1200A.D by Ghorid Sultan Ghiyasuddin, but has been severely damaged several times due to war and earthquakes in the past 800 years. Ghorids usually weren't very artistic with some of their architecture, so it was expected that the original Friday mosque wasn't as impressive as colorful as the one today. After the mosque was restored in the 15th century, it was believed that the colorful tiled mosaics were added but faded over the centuries. A more recent restoration of the Friday Mosque has made it one of the most beautiful in the world. There are parts of the mosque that you can enter such as the tile shop where they make all the decorations for the mosque and remodel them. Most parts you can not if you are a non Muslim, I did try to enter the main mosque but I was stopped by one of the mullahs who said I was an infidel and could not enter. He was nice about it at least.
	Details of the Friday mosque; one of the minarets on the left with details of the tiles on the mosque entrance seen on the right. Above is the tomb of the founder of the Friday Mosque which is located on the western side of the mosque.

The surrounding photos are of people at the Friday Mosque with the exception of the lower right photo. Above are some Afghans meeting in the mosque's gardens. The girl on the left was at the entrance, while the 3 women on the right where seen elsewhere in Herat as an example of traditional clothing. I saw several women with the blue burqas in Kabul which is supposed to be the current fashion, but they were much more popular in Herat than other parts of Afghanistan that I saw; I hear only black is used in Kandahar. I took the picture of the 3 women as I was passing by in a car, and a local police man saw me and gave me a crazy look. Nothing else happened but I could have been arrested.


Herat is another ancient Afghan city and has dozens of cemeteries that date back hundreds if not thousands of years. Above is a shrine and tomb of one of the kings of Afghanistan. Below is another shrine and tomb directly behind the above building.


The Musalla complex in Herat was another favorite place for me. The complex has 5 minarets that are still standing, one that has to be supported with cables. On the left is a shot of four of the minarets, with the lone one on the right. I had wanted to visit the Minaret of Jam which is a 15 hour drive east of this city, but didn't have the time and the road is controlled by taliban. Minaret of Jam is twice the height of these and built in a scenic area along a river. One day I'll see it, but these in Herat made me feel better about missing Minaret of Jam.

The Mussalla complex was founded in the 15th century by Gawhar Shad who was wife of the Timurid ruler Shah Rukh. Shah Rukh was known for his conquests in the region and after capturing Herat from the Kart Maliks, he made the city the capital of the Timur empire. Both Shah Rukh and his wife Gawhar Shad were known for their cultural renaissance that they led during their life time. After Gawhar Shad died in 1447 she continued to be an important face in the Timur empire before it fell apart. On the upper left you can see another photo of a minaret in the complex. Directly above is the structure that houses the tombs of Gawhar Shad herself and some of her family members, seen on the left.
Over a thousand years before Shah Rukh and Gawhar Shad ruled Herat, the famous Alexander the Great's conquest led him to the city in 330 B.C. where he built a major fort. Over the next centuries, Mongols, Shah Rukh, and other leaders continued to reinforce the citadel and it is still standing today. The 18th century Afghan kingdom used it as a royal palace where they also had public baths, a treasury, and a prison.

The bath you see on the left side was once used by one of the important family members living in the citadel, perhaps a prince or princess. On the right is the public bath which would have had been used by dozens of people.

The citadel seemed to be completely constructed of bricks instead of solid stone. On the left is a hallway filled with arches, on the right shows how the arches where made using bricks. Of course some reconstruction has been done, but it's still amazing how the citadel lasted this long.

Afghanistan has not really had the chance to fully explore the citadel, and when I visited it many parts were still being excavated. The photo on the left side shows Afghans uncovering a part of the citadel that was completely buried underground over the past centuries. Other parts like in the photo on the right have been preserved or restored. I wonder what kind of amazing discoveries they might find as they excavate.
It seemed like there were so many places in Herat I had already visited that I thought I already checked off the most important sites. Gazar Gah is one of Afghanistan's most holiest shrines and is dedicated to the poet Khoja Abdullah Ansari who lived around 1,000 A.D. The mosque and tombs together are considered the most important site in Herat by some. The area is a large cemetery that is the final resting place of some of the most famous people in the world. One sarcophagus contained the remains of another former King of Afghanistan, another the builder of the Taj Mahal in India, and yet another has the remains of Alexander the Great's son who died at a young age in the region. Many other important tombs are in Gazar Gah from fighters of the Afghan-Anglo war to other sultans throughout Afghanistan's history. The tomb of the poet Khoja Abdullah Ansari is at the front of the mosque near the tree and inside the blue tomb. No doubt about it Herat is one of Afghanistan's most beautiful cities.

The left sarcophagus contains the builder of the Taj Mahal who was actually an Afghan King, the sarcophagus on the right is supposedly the resting place of Alexander the Great's son. This is what locals tell me, but I couldn't find anything to support it or contradict it on the internet.
Herat has one of the best museums in the country called the jihad museum. It is dedicated to the Afghan-Soviet war that took place in the 1980s. Most of the museum displays real weapons used in the war, such as the soviet helicopter above, ammunition below, and the mine that was common during the war on the lower right. Inside the museum is a spiraling staircase that takes you on a second floor with a 360 view of sculptures and paintings acting out famous parts of the battle. One example is the sculpture on the right that shows mujahadeen forces taking over a soviet tank. I asked the curator if they had any stinger missiles, but he said someone had called in and said they would bring one next week


Like Kabul, Herat has some very interesting markets and shopping to do. Something that I didn't see in Kabul that I saw in Herat were tuk tuks like on the left side. These are popular in southeast Asia, but I hadn't seen one in Afghanistan until I came here in Herat. Unlike the ones in Thailand, the tuk tuks here are each decorated differently by the drivers. Take one of them to drop you off at the markets like I did. On the right is a carpet shop where some of them ranged from $50 to $400, great prices considering they can be several thousand in the west!

On the left is a photo of some Afghans looking into the window of an antique store. The photo on the right is the inside of an antique store where you could buy British muskets, ancient swords, and even 1,000 year old coins.

This guy above was blowing glass and making things like vases and other items. I am not a big shopper and I almost never by souvenirs, but if I had the means to bring it home I would have definitely have bought a lot of interesting items from Herat.

These two photos show someone trying out a Persian guitar on the left and one of the shopkeepers on the right. Several shopkeepers I met in all parts of Afghanistan invited me in for a free cup of tea with desert or fruits.

Mahta from USA: Your pictures and information about Afghanistan is nicely and thoughtfully organized, thank you. I am considering assisting an NGO in Afghanistan but as a woman, I am very afraid of the Taliban and while I do not mind wearing hijab, I am greatly against wearing a full burqu that has mesh over my eyes because I have heard it damages vision. Could you possibly tell me what cities impose these full burqus, and also, when were you there? Perhaps things have changed since then? Gratefully...

George: Hi Mahta. The main cities in Afghanistan where wearing the full burqa will be expected are in areas like Kanadahar and Jalabad. Though it's not legally enforced to wear them in these cities, the taliban has significant influence and control in this area and not doing so will only attract attention. If you stay in places like Kabul or Herat then wearing the hijab is fine. The taliban and al qaeda operate like the mafia; most of their attacks on individuals are planned out over time instead of being spontaneous. So in other words they will likely know you are in the country but you will be left alone as long as you don't make yourself stand out. They will be more focused on what they consider to be more important targets. As an example of standing out, one NGO was killed by the taliban in Kabul in October 08 for 'preaching Christianity'. Good luck and stay safe!

Phil from USA: Hi George- I really enjoyed this travelogue. Afghanistan has always seemed like an amazing place to me because of its traditions, violence, cultures and unbelievable architecture. I have been fortunate to meet an Afghan native who told me many stories from the country's past. Can you tell me more about how you decided to travel to Afghanistan and how you got around there? I would really like to know. Did you feel the violence is getting worse?

George: It sounds like my interests in traveling to Afghanistan where similar to yours. I know dozens of Afghans that live here in Virginia and the country has always appealed to me because it is almost never traveled by westerners and so little is known about it. Fly from Dubai to Kabul with Kam airlines, www.flykamair.com. Since I was fortunate enough not to have any violence directed towards me and I my time was measured in weeks not months I'm not really able to say if the violence has been getting worse or not based on my experience. Unfortunately everyone in the country did tell me things were getting worse so I just took there word for it.

Rohullah from Afghanistan: Hi George I am from Afghanistan and I am living in England for 2 years. I am a refugee. It was so nice to see the pictures you have put on this web. Thank you for this as it has made me very happy to see my country.

Naheed from Afghanistan: This is totally amazing, I love all the info here, thanks for posting this.

Hameed from Afghanistan: Hi George, Amazing photographs, I am a Journalist in Kandahar Afghanistan, i usually travel a lot in and outside of my country. I have taken some great pictures during my recent tour Herat, Mazar e Sharif and Kunduz Provinces, i thought i had the most amazing album of photographs but you totally made me wrong. as it seems from the photographs Afghanistan is very beautiful country i hope that one day securiy will get better and tourists from all over the world come to Afghanistan.

George: Thanks Hameed! I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. There are still plenty of beautiful things I haven't yet seen in Afghanistan, so as you know I'm only showing a small part. I'd love to return someday and visit Kandahar, Minaret of Jam, Bamiyan, and do some hiking and maybe even climbing in some of the tallest mountains in the world.

Dunia from Afghanistan: Wounderful and amazing............

Kaise from Australia: hello everybody my name is kaise im afghan and i love my afghani country afghanistan your pictures are very nice good photography george

Roh from Canada: I was born in afghanistan and i have visisted all these places and have seen every single thing you have shown. alot has changed.

Vinny from Fiji: its great to see pictures of places and Provinces in Afghanistan. I have been there several times over the Years through work however it will be wonderful to go back travelling, appreciate the Culture and local nationals despite all the security Risks. Met alot of generous, wonderful,friendly and amazing people.

Jake from Australia: Afghanistan is such a beautiful country, its sad that it has been torn apart by war.

Sarah from USA: Thank you so much for supplying an honest and beautiful snapshot of this often misrepresented nation! Afghanistan is truly a beautiful place with stunning culture and people. I hope very much to visit one day and I learned so much more from your blog - I appreciate your perspective. Thank you and God bless you more and more as you travel and write for others' eyes to be opened!

Shogofa from Afghanistan: Hello Mr George I am Shogofa Sahar 18 years old from Afghanistan studying in Turkey. I have a presentation. I was searching for some photos and information about my own country to put into my presentation slides. Fortunately I entered to your website and could find many beautiful pictures and useful information. It is just wonderful!!! Thanks for posting it.

Zabihullah from Afghanistan: I Love Afghanistan, I Pryer Ullah to bring pace to Afghanistan and all world Zandabad Afghan people's

Saheb from India: Thanks for such nice collection nd information regarding kabul , it is jst great 2 see such images bec...very few thing we know abt this country nd it helps us great . Realy beautiful images . God help afghanistan & its people :-)

Josh from UK: Wow! i really like how you have shown us how Peaceful and unique Afghanistan really is!

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