Friday Off

Friday is the official weekend here. At our office, it’s Thurs afternoon and Friday, but Thurs afternoon tends to be shot anyway, at least for the foreign staff. Anyhow, we took advantage of the day and went for a hike up one of the mountains that ring the city. We started with a walk through Baburs Gardens (Bagh-i Babur), where the first Mogul emperor, Babur Shah, is buried. It’s a beautiful spacious public park on the edge of town. The gardens are terraced up the side of the mountain and near the top is a marble mosque built by Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Majal.

It was sort of late in the day when we started so drove up to a vista point that overlooks part of Kabul. From there we hiked up the side of the hill to where the old city wall is. The panoramic view from the top is a great reward after the steep hike, however, you must be mindful of the fact that the mountain was once heavily mined. We walked along the ridge of the mountain atop the remains of the long destroyed wall which used to be 12 ft wide and 20 ft high. A few of our motley bunch: Emma of Arabia, Guy, John, our fearless leader Rory, and Charlie.

As we started so late in the day, the sun was setting by the time we neared the end of the wall at Bala Hissar, an ancient citadel (5th C?). Much of the city is surrounded by informal settlements, people either fleeing more turbulent areas, seeking opportunities in the city, or returning to Kabul. The hillsides in particular are covered in these settlements where people have built up mud houses, one on top of the other, for lack of anywhere else to go.
In response, there are agencies that are working on land rights issues and bringing public services to these areas. Given that most of the people living in these areas have very little (I assume), it was such a surprise as we approached one of these villages on our descent, to hear people sitting outside their mud shacks calling their greetings to us and offering us to come join them for tea. Of course there is one part of you that must remain cautious, but another part that must smile at their generosity.