Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is located in the central part of the country at an altitude of about 1800 meters above sea level. The city has an ancient history, with its founding dating back to ancient times. Kabul has played an important role in the history of Afghanistan, serving as a cultural, political and economic center.
History of the city
The city of Kabul is considered one of the oldest cities in Central Asia: its history dates back about 3.5 thousand years. The first mention of Kabul was found in the Rigveda, an ancient Indian collection of religious hymns composed in the 2nd millennium B.C. The existence of the city was also well known to the Greeks, and the scientist Ptolemy Claudius (c. 87-165) mentioned Kabul in his scientific works.
Kabul gained fame and importance due to the fact that it was at the crossroads of the most important trade routes: roads to India and Pakistan opened from it. Moreover, the Great Silk Road, which connected the Mediterranean and East Asia, passed through its territory – caravans flowed here in a continuous stream. Kabul was not particularly fortunate in this favorable location: many rulers dreamed of seizing this transit point sooner or later. At the beginning of our era, the city was part of the Kushan kingdom (I-III centuries.), and then throughout most of its history passed from one hand to another.
Until the VI century, the territories of Kabul were under the control of the Eftalites, to whom, according to various versions, are attributed ancient Turkic or ancient Iranian origin. Since the 10th century, the city was alternately ruled by the Iranian dynasties – Saffarid, Samanid, Ghaznavid and Timurid. In the XIII century, the hordes of Genghis Khan swept through Kabul, leaving no stone unturned. However, this did not prevent the city from reviving. In the XVI century the descendants of Timurids founded the Mughal Empire, and in 1504 Kabul became the capital of this state, where ruled Babur Khan (1483-1530), he built many palaces and mosques in the city.
The Afghan state proper with its capital in Kabul began to form in the XIX century. But already at the first steps of its development independent Afghanistan was forced to enter into war with Great Britain: in the period of 1838-1842 the First Anglo-Afghan War raged in the region, during which Kabul was occupied by British troops. Although uprisings in the city forced the British to abandon Kabul, the Second Anglo-Afghan War did not last long: hostilities resumed as early as 1878. Two years later, Britain withdrew its troops from Kabul, but by agreement with Emir Abdur-Rahman (1844-1901) retained the right to control the country’s foreign policy, and the Emir himself had a pro-English political orientation and was elevated to the throne by the British.
The capital of Afghanistan
It is to him that Kabul can be grateful for its current status: Abdur-Rahman declared the city the Afghan capital. Here in 1919 Emir Amanullah Khan (1892-1960) proclaimed Afghanistan an independent kingdom.
But the 20th century was already preparing Kabul for new severe trials. The USSR joined the struggle for influence in Afghanistan: in 1979, the Afghan war began, or, as official Soviet propaganda reported at the time, the “introduction of a limited contingent of Soviet troops”. Kabul was occupied by Soviet troops, who left it, as well as all of Afghanistan, only in 1989.
Immediately after the Soviet withdrawal, Afghanistan entered a period of civil wars. It is believed that there were three wars, but in fact the fighting was continuous. Many buildings in Kabul were destroyed during these years. Tens of thousands of people fled the city, but many more remained. In 1996, the city was taken over by the Taliban, and in 2001, after the September 11 attacks in New York, Northern Alliance troops entered the city, supported by the US and UK. Once again, buildings collapsed and roads fell into disrepair. To this day, this war has not come to an end. And yet the city is slowly beginning to recover.
There are, however, terrible losses. Darul Aman Palace, built in the 1920s, has suffered more than one fire in its short history, but has been rebuilt each time. After air attacks on the city in the early 1990s, the palace was left in ruins, and projects to rebuild it were never realized, as in the case of other damaged monuments.
Despite the huge losses, Kabul still has a lot to show its visitors. One of the legendary sights of the capital of Afghanistan is the gardens of Babur, the ruler of the 16th century, the founder of the Mughal dynasty. This warrior-conqueror loved Kabul very much and willed to bury himself here. Babur’s gardens were laid out during the ruler’s lifetime, presumably in 1528. Later Babur’s tomb was erected here, and nowadays the gardens are known primarily as the final resting place of the founder of the Mughal Empire.
The National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul deserves no less attention. The building of the museum has been bombed many times, many ancient exhibits were simply stolen, and eventually settled in private collections. And yet the museum curators managed to save the collection of valuable artifacts of Islamic culture.
Once in Kabul, you should not miss the opportunity to walk along the city wall, which, by the way, is well preserved.
It is hard to imagine an Asian city without traditional noisy bazaars, where you can not only buy fresh vegetables and spices, but also heartily chat with chatty, vivacious traders. And Kabul will not disappoint anyone in this respect. There are many such bazaars here, and Maiwand Avenue is considered to be the center of trade life of the capital. Mindai Bazaar is the most popular. It is not difficult to get lost in the labyrinth of stalls, stores and tea houses that this market represents, and it is even more difficult not to get lost in its atmosphere of general expansiveness and hustle and bustle. Kabulis are not without pride and often say that if you can’t find something on the stalls of Mindai, it simply doesn’t exist.
Elements of European culture have been particularly active in the city over the past decade. This is due to the foreign flow of investments that Afghanistan and its capital have been receiving since 2003: new buildings and roads are appearing. However, life in Kabul cannot yet be considered safe, and terrorist attacks are not uncommon.
General Information
- Capital of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
- Administrative division: 18 sectors.
- Languages: Dari, Pashto.
- Currency unit: Afghani.
- Religion: Islam.
- River: Kabul.
- Major airport: Kabul international airport.
- Area: 425 km2 (agglomeration).
- Population: 2,850,000 (2008) in agglomeration.
- Population density: 6705.8 people / km2 (agglomeration).
- Highest point: Sherdarwaza (2221 m).
Climate and weather
- Semi-desert, with mountainous features, sharp daily temperature fluctuations.
- Average summer temperature: +25ºС.
- Average winter temperature: 0 – +7ºС.
- Average precipitation: 312 mm.
Economy
- Industry: textile, furniture, food, traditional handicrafts.
Attractions
- Great Kabul Wall.
- Idg-Ah, Pule Kishti mosques.
- Bala Hissar Fortress.
- Royal Palace.
- National Museum of Afghanistan.
- Babur Gardens (Baghi-Babur Park).
- Maiwand Avenue.
- Mindai Bazaar.
- Kabul Zoo.
Fun facts
- Many legends are associated with the history of the founding of Kabul. One of them tells about how once the Padishah met an amazing place on his way. Here, in the middle of a huge lake, an island was visible, and it was impossible to get to it. The ruler ordered to gather as much straw as possible to build a ford. And so they did. As it turned out, it was a magical island, whose inhabitants devoted their whole life to music. Impressed by what he saw, the Padishah decided to build a city here and named it Kapul – “Straw Bridge”.
- According to some reports, in 2008, only one representative of Jewish culture – Zablon Simintov – lived on the territory of Kabul, a carpet merchant and part-time keeper of the only synagogue in the capital of Afghanistan. Kabul used to be home to several thousand Jews, but over time they moved to other countries, mainly the United States and Israel.
- Kabul is located on the river of the same name in the highland eastern region of Afghanistan. The Asamai and Sherdarwaza mountains rise above it, and it itself is at a decent altitude above sea level – it is about 1830 meters.
- With the rehabilitation of roads and the expansion of the road network, more and more people in Kabul have begun to own cars. It is often noted in the press that the special love of Kabul residents has long been won for some reason by the Toyota Corolla car: the most cars of this brand on the streets of the city. There are also Soviet Zhiguli cars, which have been around since the 1980s.
