By Kai Pflug
In terms of sightseeing, the highlight of my stay in Afghanistan in November 2023 was a two-day trip to Bamiyan. That trip also included some time at Band-e-Amir, a national park – that park is described in a separate post written with Zarina Reza.
A road trip through Afghanistan can be very fruitful for those people enjoying the sight of accidents.
It took me a moment to understand what this sign presumably indicates.
In November, most of the landscape shows no green at all.
In the villages, animals are very visible …
… and sometimes share the road with cars.
The scenery is quite spectacular. While my travel companions told me that all this looks much better in spring and summer, when it is green, I find this winter color combination particularly attractive.
The target group for people liking both animals and ruins is probably quite small, but it includes me.
Just like Utah, only without a potential Trump presidency.
Shar-e Zuhak, an ancient city on a mountain ridge about 10 kilometers away from Bamiyan.
Built sometime around 500-600 AD, it was destroyed by Genghis Khan and his coworkers probably in 1221.
Coming from crowded China, it seems incredible to have such a spectacular sight to one’s own.
You can even enter the crumbling watchtowers.
Arriving in Bamiyan, there are some ruins …
… as well as many cave dwellings …
… often resembling multi-story apartment blocks.
But in a way, the biggest attraction is something that is no longer there.
Very close to the city center of Bamiyan are the ruins of another ancient city …
… Shar-e Gholghola. It suffered a similar fate as Zuhak – it was sieged by Genghis Khan, and after his favorite grandson was killed in battle by an arrow from the walls, Genghis massacred the population of the city, earning the city the name “City of Screams” (Wikipedia).
The view from the ruins of Shar-e Gholghola to modern-day Bamiyan and the hole in the wall where the buddha statue once was.
The Mongols had a reputation for thoroughly destroying whatever stood up against them, as these ruins attest.
Near Bamiyan, there is another attraction – a rock split in the middle at a length of at least 100 meters. The local scientific explanation is that this was done by some hero cutting the snake (= the rock) in half.
It looks even better around sunset.
Modern-day Bamiyan is also an interesting place, very lowly built …
… but bustling with life.
Though the nightlife is somewhat less impressive.
Then, back on the road for the drive toward Kabul …
… and a last look at the mountains as the sun sets again.
Originally posted 2024-05-09 06:28:47.
