The South

Chapter 16

Kandahar
Mundigak   Shah Maqsud

From Kandahar to:	Distance	Time
Kabul	488 km; 305 mi.	6 hrs.
Herat	565 km; 353 mi.	7 hrs.
Spin Boldak (border)	104 km; 65 mi.	1 hr.

Population:	160,000
Altitudes:	Herat: 920 m; 3020 ft. Kandahar: 1009 m; 3310 ft. Kabul: 1797 m; 5900 ft.
Hotels:	Kandahar Hotel (23); Varied price range. Ahmad Shah Baba, across from Kandahar Hotel; Good, swimming pool. Inexpensive hotels near Id Gah Gate. Camping at Kandahar Hotel.
Refreshments:	Mir Vais Restauran, upstairs just west of Chawk. Kabab shops on Chawk serve pushti kabab, roast rib of lamb, charcoal broiled and sprinkled with crushed grape seed (ghora-i-angur).
Petrol:	Pumps on roads to Kabul and Herat.

KANDAHAR, capital of Kandahar Province, is Afghanistan’s second largest city; a thriving commercial and budding industrial center. Traditionally the home of the Durrani Pushtun, the leading Pushtun group in Afghanistan, Kandahar is famed for its superlative fruits and bustling bazaars. The city remains substantially unchanged from the city laid out by Ahmad Shah Durrani, except that it too, like so many of the old cities in Afghanistan, has spilled over into a Shahr-i-Naw (New City) which includes the fashionable residential section and the new government administration center.

Kandahar

Kandahar is hot in summer. From their inexhaustible store of legends the Kandahari explain this thus: A saint named Baba Farid, living in the hills of the Safid Koh, heard that the people of Kandahar, having become uncharitable, were refusing aid to holy persons, travellers and guests, contrary to all rules of hospitality. Travelling to Kandahar to ascertain if this deplorable state of affairs had indeed come to pass, Baba Farid roamed the streets begging for bread. Not that he needed to, for he had miraculous powers and could produce any quantity of food, at any time. He begged to test the Kandahari and they were, regrettably, found wanting. Angry, Baba Farid jumped into the river, caught a fish and held it upward toward the sun. The sun descended; the fish roasted. While the fish turned crisp and succulent, however, the people fried, water boiled in their vessels and the earth burned red hot. Baba Farid returned to the mountains of the Safid Koh never to return but the sun descends annually in perpetual castigation. Today’s visitors need not fear; they will find the rules of hospitality faithfully observed, and, incidentally, the winters cold.

Ahmad Shah Durrani had trouble at first finding land on which to build his city. His own tribe had no extensive lands and others who had, such as the Alikozai and Barakzai, refused to give up their lands. Only the Popalzai finally offered him his pick of their lands. The foundations for the city were laid in June, 1761.

Once begun, the city was built with grand proportions. It was laid out in the form of a regular rectangle with a circumference of three miles; walls 30 feet thick at the bottom and 15 feet at the top, rose 27 feet high to enclose it. Outside, the walls were ringed by a moat 24 feet wide. Six mammoth gateways pierced these walls: the Id Gah Gate on the north; the Shikarpur Gate on the south; the Herat and Top Khana Gates on the west; and, the Bar Durrani and Kabul Gates on the east.

The Herat, Kabul and Shikarpur gates were named after the major towns they faced. The Bar Durrani Gate is interesting. Durrani is, of course, the name which Ahmad Shah gave to the Abdali, the large tribe to which he belonged. His own branch of this tribe, the Sadozai, was, however, small compared to the other branches and Ahmad Shah feared the very real possibility of insurrection at home while he was away on various campaigns. With this in mind he persuaded members of his branch living near Attock to come to Kandahar where they settled in this section of the new city. They were known as the Bar (Upper, i.e. eastern) Durrani in contrast to the Lar (Lower, i.e. western) Durrani from Kandahar proper.

The Id Gah Gate led to the Id Gah Mosque on the plain to the north of the city next to a seemingly empty compound surrounded by a high wall. This is the 19th century British cemetery. The Top Khana Gate led into the section of the city which produced and sold ammunition and cannons. The Top Khana Bazaar specializes in the manufacture of gun powder even today.

The gateways were defended by double bastions and at the four angles of the rectangle there were four monumental circular towers. Between these and the gateways there were 54 smaller bastions. Kandahar was built to impress all who approached it.

These old walls of Kandahar were torn down in the 1940s, except for small portions on the east and southeast (20). The bazaars keep the old names, however, and the areas where the gates stood are still referred to as Herat Darwaza (Herat Gate), etc., as though they still stood. They still do, no doubt, in the minds of the Kandahari who are justly proud of their city and its history.

Sight-seeing

(1) DA SHAHIDANU CHAWK (Martyrs Square)

A Monument to Pious Martyrs (Shahidan: those who died in battle) stands in the center of Kandahar’s main square called Da Shahidanu Chawk. Flags and small cannon encircle this monument built between 1946 and 1948. All manner of wheeled and four-footed traffic revolves around this monument, including large canopied pushcarts stacked high with jingling bottles filled with brilliant, shimmering colored sodawater. They are an especially appealing addition to the street scenes of Kandahar.

(2) MAUSOLEUM OF AHMAD SHAH DURRANI

Entrance fee to view Mausoleum and the Kherqa Sharif (3), 20 afs; interior generally open on Thursdays but at times closed to non-Muslims. Photography occasionally prohibited.

The most important historical monument in Kandahar is the mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani, fondly known as Ahmad Shah Baba, Father of Afghanistan, who ruled an empire from Kandahar from 1747–1772.

The graceful octagonal monument stands on a basaltic platform, the plain beige brick exterior decorated with numerous niches of contrasting heights and depths, delicately outlined with yellow and green, green and blue, tile. Tall minarets connected by a floral balustrade top the main body of the monument and behind them yet another set of short minarets atop a series of shallow niches outlined in blue, surround a drum crowned with a dome of glistening blue tile. The soffits of the main arches are cleverly decorated in a honeycomb pattern composed of half circles centered with lapis lazuli and gold to resemble flowers.

The exterior decoration seems very spartan once one enters. (Remove shoes before entering.) Here the eye is delighted with a sumptuous richness of color and design from the gorgeous Afghan carpets on the marble floor to the brilliantly painted and gilded floral decoration of the dome. The blue-green tile with touches of yellow and brown around the base of the walls is made in Kandahar and is quite distinctive from the tilework of Herat.

On the eight cornices under the corner niches a large inscription in white on lapis blue tile extols the virtues of Emperor Ahmad Shah Durrani:

“The king of high rank, Ahmad Shah Durrani,
Was equal to Kisra in managing the affairs of his government.
In his time, from the awe of his glory and greatness,
The lioness nourished the stag with her milk.
From all sides in the ear of his enemies there arrived
A thousand reproofs from the tongue of his dagger.
The date of his departure for the house of mortality
Was the year of the Hijra 1186 (1772 A.D.)”

The sarcophagus is made of Kandahari marble and covered with a gold-embroidered cloth of deep wine velvet. Beside this there is a table holding fine copies of the Koran and a glass cabinet containing a gold-inlaid helmet and gauntlets together with a sceptre inlaid in silver and embellished with a two-headed bird. With these Ahmad Shah Durrani went forth to battle. (A donation to the caretaker before leaving is appropriate.)

(3) DA KHERQA SHERIF ZIARAT

Entrance fee to view this shrine and the adjoining mausoleum (2), 20 afs; interior not open to public. Photography occasionally prohibited.

The shrine of the Cloak of the Prophet Mohammad adjoins Ahmad Shah Durrani’s mausoleum. This is one of the holiest’ shrines in Afghanistan.

Ahmad Shah received the Prophet’s Cloak from Murad Beg, Amir of Bokhara, in 1768, as part of a treaty settling the northern boundaries. The building housing this relic is architecturally unpretentious but its sparkling tile decoration commands attention. The shrine was repaired and the entire exterior surface embellished during the reign of Amir Habibullah while Mohammad Usman Khan was Governor of Kandahar. The foundations are paneled with delicate green Lashkar Gah marble, the walls are completely covered with tile from the workshops of master tilemaker Nek Mohammad, and the arches were gilded and painted by Sufi A. Hamid in 1908. A splendid new door inlaid with lapis lazuli, Shah Maqsudi travertine, and chased silver inlaid with gold was installed in 1974.

It is not possible to view the relic. In fact, it has only been shown on rare occasions such as the time in 1929 when King Amanullah attempted to rally the tribes; and again, in 1935 when cholera raged in Kandahar, the relic was taken with ceremony to the Id Gah Mosque north of the city where special services were held.

(4) ARG (Citadel)

The Arg or Citadel is said to have been built during the early years of the 19th century by Prince Kamran, son of Shah Mahmud (1800–1803; 1809–1818), while he was his father’s governor at Kandahar. The offices of the Governor are still located here but only a small portion of the original layout remains. The massive curved veranda still commands an impressive view of the city, however. Standing on this veranda, looking to the right about a third of the way down the Shah Bazaar, one sees the house tops of the section where Ahmad Shah Durrani lived. This area is still called the Sadozai Kutsa (Sadozai Street) after Ahmad Shah who belonged to the Sadozai sub-tribe, and many of his descendants still live here. They will point out a crumbling wall which was the great king’s home. There are spice and fish shops, bakeries and butchers in the Sadozai Kutsa but, most interestingly, many bird shops as well. The Kandahari are great bird fanciers and wild birds netted by hunters are brought here before being distributed in other bazaars within the city. Pigeons are also prized and many elaborate names and games have been devised by the pigeon dealers and trainers of Kandahar, many of whom have their shops in this bazaar.

North of the Governor’s offices is the Id Gah Darwaza, the gate once used exclusively by the royal family. It was restored in 1951.

(5) CHAR SUQ (Four Bazaars)

The city of Kandahar was laid out by Ahmad Shah with amazing regularity. The four principal bazaar streets meet in the center of the city at the Char Suq, a square once covered with a lofty dome where public proclamations were made. It is still the hub of the city, the bustle and colour heightened by numbers of gaily decorated gadi (horse drawn carriages) trotting through or waiting patiently for passengers. Each bazaar is discussed in detail at the end of this chapter under shopping.

(6) JAME MUI MOBARAK

The Mosque of the Hair of the Prophet is located inside the covered bazaar, on the left as you enter from the Kabul Bazaar. It was built by Kohendil Khan, one of the Kandahari Sardars who held sway over Kandahar during the first half of the 19th century. The Patao Canal carrying water from the Arghandab River passes through the very center of the large spacious unadorned courtyard. There is also a pavilion for weary travellers and pilgrims.

The Hair of the Prophet, acquired from the Amir of Bokhara at the same time as the Cloak of the Prophet, now encased in a golden sheath, is kept in a small chapel in the northwest corner of the courtyard behind a simple wooden barricade. It is not open to the public.

(7) DEH KHATAY

Just beyond the end of the Shikarpur Bazaar, at Deh Khatay, Clay Village, brick kilns stand on both sides of the road like forbidding sentinels, belching forth thick, black clouds of smoke.

Potters at Work in Kandahar

Deh Khatay is always busy: kilns are packed, fired, stoked, unpacked and their contents loaded onto painted trucks; camels pad silently to their appointed kilns carrying huge, swaying loads of special oily grasses used to fire the kilns; potters spin their wheels and neatly spread their pots under the sun before consigning them to the kilns. Just beyond, the basket-makers fashion tall conical baskets of thick reeds. In these, grapes from the surrounding vineyards are transported throughout Afghanistan and down to India. Deh Khatay is a photographer’s delight.

(8) SHRINE OF HAZRATJI BABA

Just to the north of the city, off its northeast corner at the end of the buria (matting) bazaar, there is a charming shrine dedicated to a celebrated saint who lived in Kandahar more than 300 years ago. The grave of Hazratji Baba, 23 feet long to signify his greatness, but otherwise covered solely by rock chips, is undecorated save for tall pennants at its head. The graves of the Kandahari Sardars who ruled Kandahar during much of the first half of the 19th century lie near the saint’s tomb. Kohendil Khan lies to the right of the saint; Mehrdil Khan to the right of Kohendil Khan. Sherdil Khan lies at the foot of the saint’s tomb; Purdil to Sherdil’s left. Rahmdil, the fifth brother, grandfather of Mahmud Beg Tarzi, died in exile in Iran. The graves, simply and tastefully decorated with designs formed by black and white pebbles, are marked with tall marble head and foot stones which are among the more exquisite examples of the stonecutter’s art to be seen in Afghanistan.

On the eastern side of the courtyard there is a hauz (reservoir) with vestiges of floral paintings on the arches. An example of stucco wall decoration may be noted inside the entranceway. Such decorative devices were very popular during the 19th century, but few examples survive.

(9) KANDAHAR MUSEUM

Saturday through Wednesday open 8–12, 1–4; Thursday, 8–12.

The Kandahar Museum is located at the western end of the third block of buildings lining the main road east of the Id Gah gate. It has many paintings by the now famous Ghiyassuddin, painted while he was a young teacher in Kandahar. He is acknowledged among Afghanistan’s leading artists. The Museum also has a number of memorabilia of Amir Habibullah (1901–1919) including a worn red-plush couch-palanquin set with a brass plaque which tells us this was a gift to the Amir from the people of Kandahar. The Amir suffered from gout and the staircases at his garden palace at Manzel Bagh were steep, so no doubt this gift was duly appreciated. The façade of Manzel Bagh still retains interesting bits of decoration although the building is sadly in need of repair after a checkered career as palace, construction company commissary, hotel, cinema, hair dresser’s salon and, currently, a depot for heavy farm equipment. It sits to the north of the main road at the petrol pump 5 km; 3 mi. east of the Chawk, on the road to Kabul.

The most outstanding object in the Kandahar Museum is a large metal receptacle consisting of two bronze coffins, possibly of Achaemenid style, joined into one large receptacle at a later period. When it was accidentally discovered in 1934 on the western edge of Shahr-i-Naw, there were two funerary urns inside it. One was made of glazed pottery and still contained cremated bones. The other urn was made of silver and each urn was wreathed with a garland of gold leaves in the Greek fashion. Experts have placed their burial sometime during the 2nd–1st centuries B.C. The bronze receptacle and the two urns may be seen in the Museum. The gold wreaths disappeared some years ago.

(10) CHIHLZINA (Forty Steps)

4 km.; 2.5 mi. from Da Shahidanu Chowk on road to Herat. Turn left from small bazaar into petrol storage area. No photography toward petrol storage area permitted.

The Chihlzina is a rock-cut chamber high above the plain at the end of the rugged chain of mountains forming the western defence of Kandahar’s Old City. Forty steps, about, lead to the chamber which is guarded by two chained lions, defaced, and inscribed with an account of Moghul conquest:

“On the 13th of Shawal 928 H. (1522 A.D.) the Emperor Babur conquered Kandahar, and in the same year he ordered his son Mohammad Kamran Bahadur, to construct this lofty and splendid building. The excellent workmen, famed for their skills, under the charge of Shahzada Ferozbakht, finished this edifice in the year 937 H. (1531 A.D.) and when this prince delivered the rule of Kandahar unto his younger brother’s hand, named Mohammad Askari, the Emperor possessed himself at the same time of Delhi. His countries extended as far on each side of the globe as that none could reach from one boundary to another, if he would travel for two years (Long list of towns). Great hopes are entertained that some more of the rich countries will fall into the Emperor’s hand on account of good luck of the princes named Shah Salem, Shah Murad, Daniel Shah, Khaisru Shah, Feroz Shah. When Shah Beg Khan Kabuli was made the ruler of Kandahar, I held also a public situation in that country. My name is Mohammad Masum, the descendant of Hasan Abdal.” (Mohan Lal trans.)

Space remains for the inclusion of the hoped for conquests but even as the stonecutters carved the final date, Kandahar was already a bone of contention between the Moghuls and the Persians. As a matter of fact, in the very year the author gives for the completion of the chamber, a Persian mission visited at Humayun’s court and tried to persuade the Emperor to make good on a promise.

Court intrigue and family squabbles had driven Babur’s son and successor, Humayun, into exile in Persia about 10 years after Babur died in 1530. His reoccupation of Kandahar in 1545, an all important first step in regaining the throne of Delhi, had been possible only because Persian troops accompanied him. In return for this aid Humayun had promised to give Kandahar to Persia, but in this he procrastinated and was still in possession of the city on his death in 1556. The Persians took Kandahar immediately Humayun died and from then on the city reverted to Moghul rule only through the treachery of its governors. It is not surprising, therefore, that this account of glorious Moghul conquest remains unfinished.

A new series of steps built during the administration of Governor Mohammad Anas in the 1960s eases the climb to the first plateau where the 40 steps begin. Though there is an iron railing from here up to the chamber, the steps are very steep and not recommended for anyone with a feeling against heights. For those who make the climb, the grandeur of the view across a sea of fields and orchards is ample award for their efforts. Here at last one appreciates to its fullest how rich an oasis Kandahar really is: Kandahari grapes, figs, peaches, and melons are justly famous and images of Kandahar’s unsurpassed pomegranates grace the pages of many a Persian poem, so great is their reputation. In an unpublished diary an unidentified British officer serving with Shah Shuja’s contingent in the Army of the Indus camped at Kandahar in August 1839 writes rapturously about the fruits of Kandahar and reports that “A tumbler of pomegranate juice is a drink for the gods.” It is indeed.

(11) ZOR SHAR (Old City)

4 km; 2.5 mi. from Da Shahidanu Chawk, on road to Herat.

The rugged cliffs from which the Chihlzina was hewn form the natural western bastion of the Old City of Kandahar which was destroyed in 1738 by Nadir Shah Afshar of Persia. The very last battle for Kandahar, however, was fought among these ruins when the armies of Amir Abdur Rahman and his cousin, Ayub Khan, the hero of the Battle of Maiwand, faced each other here on September 22nd, 1881. Ayub watched the battle from the Chihlzina, a fact the Amir noted in his autobiography with the comment: “It must have been disheartening to his army.” Abdur Rahman preferred always to be with his troops. His superior generalship was evident; though Ayub gained the advantage first, dissension among his ranks led to his defeat. Many rebellious chiefs and governors had yet to be quelled by Amir Abdur Rahman as he sought to establish his control over Afghanistan, but this victory over Ayub removed his most serious opponent from the field — Afghanistan, not just the Kingdom of Kabul, was now his. This was, in fact, the most important battle in modern Afghan history — and yet it is also the most forgotten.

The highest crests of these cliffs are crowned with towers from which other fortifications radiate to meet at the foot of the hill in an extensive maze of ruins dominated by the massive core of the former citadel. On the top is Qasri Noranje (Orange Palace), the royal residence. A motorable road runs straight through the center of the Old City today, passing the citadel, and you may spend many an hour wandering through the ruins identifying fortifications, the four main gates, moats and other strengths of this old city. (Enter to left between shops in bazaar, just before petrol storage area at foot of Chihlzina.)

Just beyond the citadel core you will find the shrine of Mir Sahib (Spiritual Leader). Local belief attributes the destruction of this strong city-fortress to a curse put upon it by the Mir Sahib when he was evicted from his home by Sultan Husain.

Three important finds were accidentaly unearthed from these ruins. A huge bowl, 7 feet in diameter, carved from a solid block of dark-green serpentine was noted lying against a tree at the shrine of Sultan Wais Baba within the old city in 1872. In 1925 it was taken to the Kabul Museum where it now stands in the center of the foyer. Known as the Buddha’s begging bowl because of a distinctive Buddhist motif, a lotus blossom, carved on the bottom, its existence here points to a flourishing Buddhist community in Kandahar in pre-Islamic times. Also, on a rocky spur above and slightly south of the citadel core there is a circular ruin, seemingly part of the Islamic defenses, which is in reality a Buddhist stupa dating most probably from the 3rd–5th centuries A.D. It is flanked on the south by a monastery.

By 1490, as two verses engraved on the inside of the bowl relate, however, the basin was being filled with sherbat for the faithful followers of Islam. The very fine inscription on the outside of the bowl gives the rules and regulations of the Madrassa (religious college) of Kandahar. This inscription dates from the 16th century.

The other two finds from the Old City of Kandahar are Ashoka inscriptions which take the story of Kandahar as a city back to the middle of the 3rd century B.C. The first, a bilingual Greek-Aramaic inscription was found in April, 1957, by a Kandahari school teacher, A. B. Ashna, whose early death a few years later is greatly pitied. The inscribed panel, only a few centimeters deep, is 55 cm. high and includes a complete Greek text of 13.5 lines, and, 8 lines of an incomplete Aramaic text. Because the texts are inscribed on a massive boulder most difficult to remove, the panel remains in situ in the courtyard of a private home. It is, therefore, inaccessible to the general public but a plaster cast may be studied at the Kabul Museum. A translation is given in the historical section of this guide book.

The second, purely Greek, inscription was found by a German doctor in November, 1963. He presented it to the Kabul Museum in January, 1964. Reportedly found in the courtyard of a mosque within the Old City, the 45 cm. high and 69.5 cm. long stone block contains 22 lines of an incomplete inscription. Like the bilingual edict, this inscription does not copy any of the Rock or Pillar Edicts of India, but it does correspond in part to the 12th and 13th Edicts of the series known as the Major Rock Edicts of Ashoka.

It also dates from the mid–3rd century B.C. It is unusual in form, however, being neither a rock nor a pillar inscription. This regularly chiseled block seems quite obviously to have belonged to some architectural structure. A religious building? A government building? Maybe a school. Piety, obedience and humility are again the major themes:

Systematic excavations at the Old City initiated in 1974 by the British Institute of Afghan Studies (D. Whitehouse, 1974; A. McNicoll, 1975; S. Helms, 1976) indicate almost continuous occupation from the early 1st millennium B.C. to 1738. By 500 B.C. it would seem that Kandahar had usurped the position of major city in the south from Mundigak, situated to the northwest. During the early centuries A.D. extensive Kushan occupation is indicated until the end of the Kushano-Sasanian period (ca. 700 A.D.) when the city was largely abandoned. A soapstone mold depicting a winged lion on an elephant standing on a lotus blossom is a major find from the Kushan period. Renewed prosperity during the Ghaznavid period builds to an extensive occupation again under the Safavids and Moghuls. An ancient hamam (bath) well in the center of the city was found to be filled with objects dating from the 16th–18th centuries including two bronze ewers, worked bone objects, fine white Chinese porcelain, imported blue-white glazed Persian wares, ornate glass decanters, and locally made ceramics. Dozens of lovely bowls have been restored by the archaeologists from this welter of material.

(12) MAUSOLEUM OF MIR WAIS BABA

10 km; 6 mi. from Da Shahidanu Chawk, on road to Herat.

Continuing on the road to Herat, passing the Chihlzina on the left, one proceeds along a lovely boulevard refreshingly bordered by a double stand of fir trees for which we are indebted to Governor Abdul Ghani Khan, Governor of Kandahar for ten years during the 1950s. The trees extend to Hauz-i-Madad, the first rabat or one day’s journey by camel from Kandahar. 7 km; 4.5 mi. from Da Shahidanu Chawk an unpaved road on the left leads to Panjwai, near the Bronze Age sites of Deh Morasi Ghundai and Said Qala, and the cave of Shamshir Ghar, discussed in Chapter 3.

A little over a mile and a half beyond the Panjwai turnoff, a bright blue dome suddenly appears above a grove of trees on the right. This is the mausoleum of Mir Wais Hotak the Ghilzai chieftain who declared Kandahar’s independence from the Persians in 1709. It is of recent construction, built during the reign of King Nadir Shah (1929–1933). Before the new mausoleum was built the tomb had no covering and was surrounded by a low mud wall, backed by a shallow-domed shrine decorated with a few goat horns. Pennants fluttered from numerous poles near the grave but it looked no different from any number of venerated shrines to be seen anywhere in the country, exemplifying the Afghan sense of equality and dislike of ostentation. Magnificent mausoleums are the exception in Afghanistan.

This building is modeled after the mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani, though it is smaller and has no interior decoration. (Remove shoes; small contribution to shrine appropriate).

The large gardens and orchards of Kohkaran where Mir Wais Baba reportedly initiated the Afghan independence revolt by assassinating the Persian Governor Gurgin, are located behind the mausoleum.

A mile and a half beyond the mausoleum, just before crossing the Arghandab River, an unpaved road to the left leads to Bagh-i-Pul (Garden by the Bridge). These garden terraces among the willows by the river are very popular on Fridays and on holidays. Afghans love to picnic; they sing and dance, play games and thoroughly enjoy the natural beauty of their surroundings. Bagh-i-Pul can be a very gay spot. For the more sedate there is a small teahouse in the gardens built by Governor Abdul Ghani Khan.

(13) BABA WALI

8 km; 5 mi. north of Kandahar; unpaved road.

The shrine of Baba Wali, its terraces shaded by pomegranate groves beside the Arghandab River, is also very popular for picnics and afternoon outings. The terrace in front of an elaborate teahouse, abandoned in mid-construction, affords a fine view of the valley.

British forces fought several crucial battles in this valley. On the 12th of January, 1842, the day before Dr. Brydon arrived in Jalalabad to tell of the destruction of the Kabul garrison, 3500 troops under the command of General Nott marched out from Kandahar and “on clearing the pass we could see their main body drawn up about four miles on the opposite side of the river, presenting from their number (estimated at 18–20,000) and their many gay and floating banners a very imposing appearance” (Neill). The victory at Baba Wali that day was the first British success following the humiliating Kabul retreat, but the Afghans returned time and again to express their displeasure at the failure of the British to respect their desire for independence. They played cat and mouse games leading General Nott in one direction while doubling back behind him to attack the city. On the 10th of March the Herat Gate burned and fell to the ground. On the 25th of March Neill again writes of a march beyond Baba Wali: “As we cleared the Pass, a most beautiful spectacle presented itself; — the sun gleamed brightly on a forest of sabres, and the whole valley glittered with the pomp of war. Our three regiments of infantry, forming a hollow square, were drawn up in the plain, in which was a host of camels; …” The harassment continued until the British troops finally departed Kandahar on August 7th.

Rug Merchants in Kandahar

During the second British intrusion into Afghanistan, the last battle took place on this same plain of Baba Wali. Ayub Khan, the Victor of Maiwand who had inflicted such disastrous discomfort on the Kandahar garrison on July 27, 1880, was overcome here by the discipline of General Roberts’ troops from Kabul. Although they had marched all the way from Kabul in only 23 days, the General marched his troops into battle on these plains of Baba Wali on the 1st day of September, the very morning after their arrival at Kandahar.

It is said that Baba Wali was the spiritual confidant of Shah Rukh Mirza of Herat (1405–1447). The charming shrine of this venerated saint is situated on the hillside above the teahouse. It has no covering, only a low enclosure, a Koran stand in one corner. There are several alms bowls hung in the garden around the shrine in which you may deposit a contribution if you wish. Tall, fair-skinned, jet-bearded Abdul Kayeum Sahibzada is in constant attendance at the shrine. His ancestors were charged with this responsibility “many centuries” ago and his son, Agha Lala, sits with him today learning to carry on the important family tradition.

Two of the saint’s pupils are buried at the foot of his grave. One is said to have been a prince of the royal house of Egypt whose task it was to bring water from the river for the saint. One day his mother came to visit. She was horrified to find her son, son of a king, living in poverty, his shoulder a mass of sores from carrying the heavy water jar. She begged and pleaded with him to return home but he was adamant in his determination to serve his master. Accepting defeat, Patao, as the Queen was called, ordered a canal to be dug to bring water from the river so that at the very least his task should be lightened. The Patao Canal flows through the center of Kandahar City today. The Kandahari as will be noted throughout this discussion of their city, delight in legends, and they have one for every nook in the city.

You may return to Kandahar along the bank of the South Canal, a part of the multi-million dollar Hilmand-Arghandab Valley Authority (Chapter 17) which aims to make these deserts bloom. The dam on the Arghandab River is located some 25 km; 16 mi; 1 hr. northeast of Kandahar. Completed in February 1952, it is 44 m; 145 ft. high; 530 m; 1740 ft. long and retains 358,000 acre feet of water or 450 million cubic feet of water. Permission to visit the dam must be obtained from the Governor of Kandahar Province. No chaikhana or hotel facilities are available.

Returning by way of the Baba Wali Pass, note the rocky promontory to your left. A famous landmark in Kandahar, it is called Fil Koh or Elephant Mountain. From the Baba Wali side it seems well named indeed.

(14) SHER SURKH

5 km; 3 mi. south of the Shikarpur Gate; unpaved. Visit with guide.

The charming village of Sher Surkh is located southeast of the city, about a mile south of Jadi Haji Jamal, in the suburbs of the old city of Nadirabad. Jadi Haji Jamal continues to Zakud, the homelands and mausoleum of the 18th century Barakzai chief who stepped down in favor of Ahmad Khan, later Ahmad Shah Durrani, in 1747. His son, Payenda Khan, who was murdered by Ahmad Shah’s grandson, is also buried here. Payenda Khan was the father of Amir Dost Mohammad who was destined to take the throne from Ahmad Shah’s grandsons and establish the dynasty which ruled at Kabul until 1973.

The track to the village of Sher Surkh winds its way across the Chaman (Meadow) of Salo Khan, branching off here and there to several villages. This is a rich grape growing area, there are many villages and consequently many tracks. For this reason we suggest a guide accompany you.

During the grape harvest, in summer and early fall, donkeys, seemingly minute beside loaded camels, trot jauntily across this Chaman. Both camels and donkeys carry grapes in long, dark-brown conical baskets woven of tough reeds by specialists working at Deh Khatay, just beyond the southern limit of the kilns.

The grapes are cut in the cool of early morning and packed in the baskets lined with grape leaves. As the sun sets, they are loaded onto camels (6 baskets to a camel) or donkeys (3 baskets) and with the deep camel bells providing a bass accompaniment for the tinkling of the donkey bells, they wend their way across the fields toward the city. To return from Sher Surkh on a late summer’s afternoon is an unforgettable experience. From the mild confusion of Deh Khatay one plunges into tremendous activity in Shikarpur Bazaar where camels and donkeys jockey for position in competition with those citified sophisticates, the gadi horses, who stubbornly obstruct them. Breaking through eventually, the beleaguered animals make their way to the Baru Darwaza where the baskets are neatly stacked on lorries, doused with water, and hurried off through the night to the markets of Pakistan and India.

From Vineyard…

by Donkey…

by Camel…

by Truck

The village of Sher Surkh takes its name from the holy shrine of Sher Surkh (Red Lion) which is located here. Again a legend. Early one morning, a long time ago when this was a choice garden belonging to Ahmad Khan situated in the heart of the great city of Nadirabad, a gardener was astounded to find the heads of two lions, one red, one green, lying under the trees. Frightened, he sent for Ahmad Khan who immediately recognized the heads as the metamorphic forms of two malang (itinerant mendicants) who had been given refuge in the garden some days before. Believing that this strange manifestation must surely be significant, Ahmad Khan ordered the heads buried with proper ceremony, and their graves covered with simple domed structures. Building proceeded without mishap at the grave of Sher Surkh, but the dome over the Green Lion collapsed no matter how expertly it was constructed. The prominence of the Red Lion was thus acknowledged and the tomb of the Green Lion remains uncovered. Today, however, every Monday, barren women visit both these tombs to ask the holy men to intercede on their behalf.

Fida Mohammad, caretaker of the shrine, is descended from that gardener who first saw the lion heads. Ahmad Shah granted his family lands adjacent to the shrine, charging them with the responsibility of its care. Members of this family have cared for this important Afghan shrine ever since.

Sher Surkh’s fame in history rises from the fact that the coronation of Ahmad Shah took place here in 1747. The building is said to date from his reign. Though unadorned and unpainted, it is architecturally very interesting.

Shopping

Kandahar’s colourful bustling bazaars excite, fascinate and captivate. A leisurely walking tour of the bazaars, or an afternoon’s ride through them by gadi (horse carriage), is highly recommended. The following discussion gives but the barest outline of what to look for; much more will attract your attention.

(15) HERAT BAZAAR

The Herat Bazaar offers two typically Kandahari items: gay multi-colored cotton-mesh bird cages and silver-wired, beaded pipestems for the chilim or water pipe. Unfortunately for tourists both of these items are bulky additions to baggage. No matter, many will be unable to resist them.

As the sun sets during the summer, the Herat Bazaar acquires an entirely new atmosphere as villagers come in with donkeys piled high with all the many varieties of grapes grown in the Kandahar area. These they arrange in artistic mounds on the curbside to tempt the passerby: the green grapes can be small and round, round and plump, or long and very sweet; the tiny little red grapes are unique and the big purple grapes are very juicy.

Proceeding toward the Char Suq one finds the entrance to the Ata Mohammad Serai on the left just before reaching the central square. Here you will find a fascinating display of beads, silks and mirrors used in embroidering the turban caps and shirts for which Kandahar is famous. Beyond this, in the open courtyard of the serai, you will find all manner of herbs and medicinal roots and plants which local hakim (doctors) prescribe for their patients. Many hakim claim to be followers of the physicians who travelled with Alexander of Macedon and call the use of medicinal plants dawa-yunani or Greek medicine. White-bearded patriarchs seated on mattresses on the upper verandas observe the bustle below and in quiet offices off these verandas influential merchants deal with the intricacies of a flourishing import-export trade, many continuing family businesses established generations ago. Other courtyards follow and you may exit from any one of them into the Shah Bazaar (17).

(16) KABUL BAZAAR

The Herat Bazaar ends at the Char Suq and then becomes the Kabul Bazaar. Silver merchants and goldsmiths display their wares in glass cases intermingled with mounds of fruits on the right; rug merchants demand your attention to the left, calling from shops on either side of the entrance to the covered bazaar called the SAR POSHA BAZAAR (19) which is filled with shoe shops. The rug merchants sell fine Mauri and Turkoman rugs from the north but do not overlook the Baluch rugs which, though of coarser quality, are lively and interesting in design and colour. Here too you will find wheat and donkey bags which are woven of heavy white cotton and embroidered with colourful primitive designs. They are highly artistic, adaptable to modern decor, and eminently reasonable in price.

(17) SHAH BAZAAR OR THE KING’S BAZAAR

The King’s Bazaar runs to the north from the Char Suq to the Arg. Notions of every description fill these stores. To the right after you leave the Char Suq you will find another entrance to the covered bazaar where beaded and embroidered hats, embroidered shirt pieces (ghara), embroidered velvet vests, etc. are sold. Many Afghan handicrafts are made by women, notably the carpets, but most are taken to market by their menfolk. In Kandahar, however, the women laboriously embroider hats and decorate them with shining beads, and then compete with one another in selling them. You will find them hard bargainers.

About midway in this bazaar, you will find the attractive cupolas of the Shahi Jame on the left. The famous Shah Maqsudi tasbeh (prayer beads) are made in an alleyway to the right of the street across from this mosque. You will find it fascinating to watch these craftsmen cut, polish and drill these tiny uniform beads by hand. It is done with the simplest of tools, a sure eye and most expert hands. These tasbeh, a famed specialty of Kandahar, are made of travertine found in the Shah Maqsud mountains to the northwest of the city. They vary in colour from light grape-green to chartreuse; price depends on colour and size. Across the street from the tasbeh shops many artisans busily make sandals from old automobile tires, another interesting craft to watch. North of this street, on the Shah Bazaar, metalworkers work midst much glitter and din.

Fashioning Shah Maqsudi Tasbeh

(18) SHIKARPUR BAZAAR

This bazaar caters almost exclusively to household customers in search of vegetables, pottery, and other everyday items. It is worth a visit, however, if only to enjoy the sight of long chains of dried red chilies alternating with chains of white garlic festooning the ceilings of the tiny shops, the neatly piled melons or the great variety of pottery overflowing onto the side walks. Glimpses into caravanserais filled with horses, camels and donkeys also fascinate.

Excursions

MUNDIGAK AND SHAH MAQSUD

Full day, or overnight, tour.
Kandahar–Mundigak: 56 km; 35 mi; 2 hrs.
Mundigak–Shah Maqsud: 10 km; 6 mi; 30 min.
Attractive camping site at Shah Maqsud in grove of fir trees.
Numerous chaikhana. No petrol.

This tour combines a visit to one of Afghanistan’s more important archaeological sites and one of its more venerated shrines. Road conditions can change drastically from year to year.

Proceed from the Da Shahidanu Chawk toward Herat; 1.6 km; 1 mi. after crossing the bridge over the Arghandab River, turn right onto first major unpaved road where a few houses mark the junction. Keep going in a generally northeastern direction through an intensely cultivated area where many jui (irrigation canals) cut the road. About 7 km; 4.5 mi. after leaving the paved road take road to left; 5.7 km; 3.6 mi. beyond this where there is a qala (walled-residence) on the right, take another left fork onto a desert road which heads in a northerly direction toward a cleft in the mountains 10 km; 6 mi; 20 min. from the fork.

The road twists and turns in the mountains, rising to the summit called the Khawk Rez (Sliding Dust) Pass which was a notorious hangout for highwaymen in the early years of the 20th century. In those days there were police posts at either end. The road descends into a vast desert landscape relieved only occasionally by villages such as Mundigak (9 km; 6 mi; 30 min. from top of pass). Two kilometers beyond the village a cairn marks the track leading to the excavation site a scant kilometer to the left (15 min. from village).

Sculptured Limestone Head, from Mundigak, 3rd Millennium B.C. (h. 9 cm)

According to J.-M. Casal, the French archaeologist from DAFA who directed the excavations at this Bronze Age site from 1951–58, this area was probably first used as a camp site by a nomadic group who later settled here and introduced cultural traditions acquired from the subcontinent. The small agricultural village they established gradually evolved into a densely populated urban town related to an elaborate complex of agricultural communities supporting the Indus Valley Civilization. Villages such as Deh Morasi Ghundai and Said Qala some 35 kilometers to the south helped sustain and supply Mundigak, and Mundigak contributed to the prosperity of such large cities in the Indus Valley as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. Coming into being about 3000 B.C. Mundigak reached a splendid period of florescence ca. 2000 B.C. characterized by monumental public buildings indicative of a highly organized society composed of large numbers of administrative, economic, and religious specialists.

The most prominent building sits on top of a conical mound 20 meters high and 150 meters at its base, the highest mound in the complex. This grandiose edifice which seems most likely to have been the city’s palace-citadel sat on a brick foundation fronting onto a paved court. Its walls were plastered white and decorated with half cylinders of brick topped by a stepped-brick frieze. Staircases led to a now vanished superstructure and a massive wall around the entire mound indicates an effective defensive system in the heart of the city.

Some two hundred meters east of the main mound another building stood on a smaller hill. It was surrounded by a compartmented wall faced with buttresses and inside there were various rooms containing numerous hearths and benches suggesting that this may have been the main temple in the city. Another large building stood on the west, and inner and outer walls with two meters between them connected these high spots in the city. This wall was buttressed on the outside and stout bastions stood at the main angles.

A sizeable collection of painted goblets, terracotta figurines resembling female goddesses, bulls, goats, and a dog or a pig, bone and steatite seals, flint tools, bronze and copper implements and mirrors, semi-precious jewelry, and a superb sculptured limestone head was recovered from the site. Many examples are on display at the National Museum, Kabul.

There is evidence of several destructive intrusions. After the first of these the city was quickly rebuilt and reached a new climax. After the mid-second millennium B.C. (ca. 1500 B.C.), however, the city seems to have been less densely populated and only periodic occupation by nomads and semi-nomads is indicated. It was finally abandoned ca. 1000 B.C.

The town and shrine of Shah Maqsud is only 10 km; 6 mi; 30 min. beyond the turnoff to the excavations. Take left fork 4 km; 2.5 mi. from excavation turnoff. This is a popular place of pilgrimage, particularly on Nawroz (21 March) and on the two major Id holidays, so you find numerous chaikhana and a “hotel” situated in a grove of fir trees. You will need full camping equipment should you decide to stay the night.

Shah Maqsud was a companion of the Hazrat Ali, cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammad and fourth orthodox Caliph of Islam. Numbers of battles were fought in the dispute which arose over the legitimacy of Ali’s succession to the Caliphate, however, and Ali had arranged with his followers that in the event of his death his body was to be placed in an unmarked coffin so that his enemies might not desecrate it. Furthermore, according to the story told at Shah Maqsud, three identical coffins were to be allotted to any three of his companions who might fall with him. No one was to know who lay in which coffin and all four were to be placed on camels which were to be allowed to wander at will. The coffins were then to be buried where the camels came to rest, their occupants still unidentified. Hazrat Ali’s final battle took place in 661 A.D. and the four coffins were duly dispatched. Long afterwards miraculous visions revealed that the Hazrat Ali lay in Mazar-i-Sharif and his companion, Shah Maqsud, rested on this hillside. Some pilgrims, however, wonder if perhaps it is not the Hazrat Ali himself who is actually buried here.

The grave of the saint lies in a stone-paved courtyard at the base of a sacred tree under a stepped-marble base covered with silken cloths of green and red; green pennants flutter above from tall poles topped with the hand of Fatima, daughter of the Prophet and wife of Hazrat Ali, a symbol of protection; a carved marble balustrade encircles it. A second grave marks the resting place of an unknown disciple. A table with several Korans stands in the north-west corner.

In the forecourt there is a stone porch in which huge cooking vessels are stored. Affluent pilgrims and those whose prayers have been answered will sacrifice several animals and feed the faithful from these pots. The shrine is particularly patronized by those afflicted with paralysis and those possessed by evil spirits. It is appropriate to leave a donation for the shrine in bowls placed by the door for this purpose. Many dervish frequent Shah Maqsud and visitors are requested to be particularly respectful in their conduct at this most venerated shrine.

South-west of the main shrine there is a pavilion sheltering two extremely large kettledrums. As the sun begins to rise and as it sets the rhythmic beat of these drums fills the valley, a ritual of many centuries going back perhaps even to the days when Mundigak flourished. In fact, it is almost certain that numbers of the scores of shrines dotting the hillside date from prehistoric times.

The shrines are too numerous to describe in detail. Several circles of stones may be prehistoric graves. The shrine of Imaman contains the graves of several Imam (those who lead congregational prayers) who officiated for Shah Maqsud. They lie to the west of the main shrine, inside a mud-walled enclosure printed with red and yellow symbols. The graves are covered with countless fragments of worked marble, many of which are of considerable antiquity. A small mud and stone enclosure between Shah Maqsud and Imaman contains the graves of Lala Malang and his brother, Saifullah, together with a dozen or so distinguished dervishes.

West of the hotel, beyond the fir trees, south of a grove of mulberries, there is a large melon-shaped black stone encircled with small boulders. This is Hatakai (melon in Pashto) Baba. Legend relates that the Hazrat Ali was seated here with some of his followers enjoying a huge melon when the enemy appeared. As they rose to flee, Hazrat Ali turned the melon into stone so that his enemies might not be refreshed by it. As you will see, they had had time to enjoy only one slice of this luscious fruit before being forced to abandon it.

next: Lashkar Gah and Bost

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