Introduction
The history of Kabul is a long and eventful history, some of it but hazily recorded, some of it recorded in minutest detail. I have tried to marshal these historical facts to serve the needs of
two quite different groups: the casual tourist and the resident of Kabul interested in a broader knowledge of local sites and historical events.
Generally speaking, the introductory history section relates the history of the city to the events of successive periods of Afghan history. The tours relate the details of that history to
specific sites in and around the city. It has been impossible, however, to include everything and I urge those interested to take advantage of Kabul's very good libraries.
This has been a frustrating time to attempt a guide to Kabul. Many are the paragraphs that have been written only to be deleted because of the sudden disappearance of the subject. The city's
President of Construction, Esmatollah Enayat Seraj, has been most helpful in apprizing me of expected developments but should you find yourself directed by the text to note a non-existent
object, please know that change is rampant in Kabul today.
It is difficult adequately to thank all who have had a part in this Guide. The Afghan is justly proud of his history and generous in discussing it. May I therefore start by thanking all my
Afghan friends who have so graciously borne a veritable barrage of questioning and carried out numerous special tasks.
To my collaborator, Ahmad Ali Kohzad, I owe a special debt. It has been a stimulating experience to work again with one known as Afghanistan's foremost historians. He has shared with me his vast
fund of knowledge and his intimate appreciation of the city without which I would have been at a considerable loss. The hours spent with Mr. Kohzad on the hillsides and in the winding alleys of
Kabul will remain with me among my most pleasant memories.
Mr. Abdul Wahab Tarzi, President of the Afghan Tourist Organization, has continued to offer encouragement throughout and his own considerable interest in history has been of much value. I must
also add acknowledgement of gratitude to Robert Alston, Oriental Secretary at the British Embassy, who reads parts of the manuscript and
tested the tours. His constructive comments were greatly appreciated. Dr. Scerrato and members of the Italian Archeological Mission were most generous with their time in allowing me to study
their sites and in checking the section on Ghazni. My sincere thanks also to M. Le Berre and my other friends at the Delegation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan who were, again, of great
assistance in giving of their personal knowledge and in sharing the rich resources of DAFA. Their patient, if at times amused, interest was invaluable.
The assistance of others is readily visible. The cover showing the Bala Hissar as it was in 1831 is
taken from a sketch by Charles Masson, one of the west's earliest and most articulate visitors to the city. The sketch was photographed for the Guide by Erik Hansen, UNESCO's advisor to the
Government of Afghanistan on the restoration of historical monuments. He was also kind enough to photograph for me the sketches of the Shah Jahan mosque and
Babur's tomb and to allow me to use his photographs of the Buddhist monuments discussed in the text.
The frontispiece is a selection of couplets from a 17th century poem entitled "Kabul" by Sa'ib-i-Tabrizi copied specially for the Guide by the noted Afghan
calligrapher Ibrahim Khalil. When visiting the Ziarat-i-Tamim beyond the Bala Hissar you may see yet another example of Mr. Khalil's
artistry in the dedicatory inscription to the right of the door.
Sa'ib-i-Tabrizi was a Persian poet of fame who was called to the court of the Moghuls in India. On returning, he penned this ode to Kabul, a city well beloved by the Moghul emperors. Though
every Kabuli delights in quoting passages from it today, it was only through the kindness of Ahmad Javaid, Professor of Literature with the Compilation Department of the Ministry of
Education, that I was successful in obtaining a text of the original. Professor Javaid was also generous in sharing his collection of Afghan legends.
The translator insists on anonymity but I cannot refrain from acknowledging my deep appreciation for his most important contribution to the Guide.
KABUL
Oh, the beautiful city of Kabul wears a rugged mountain Skirt,
And the rose is jealous of its lash-like thorns.
The dust of Kabul's blowing soil smarts lightly in my eyes,
But I love her, for knowledge and love both come from her dust.
I sing bright praises to her colourful tulips,
The beauty of her trees make me blush.
How sparkling the water flows from Pul-i-Mastaan!
May Allah protect such beauty from the evil eye of man!
Khizr chose Kabul to Paradise,
For her mountains brought him near to heaven's delights.
The fort's dragon-sprawling walls guard the city well,
Each brick is more precious than the treasure of Shayagan.
Every street in Kabul fascinates the eye,
In the bazaars, Egypt's caravans pass by.
No one can count the beauteous moons on her rooftops,
And hundreds of lovely suns hide behind her walls.
Her morning's laugh is as gay as flowers,
Her dark nights shine like beautiful hair.
Her tuneful nightingales sing with flame in their notes,
Fiery songs like burning leaves, fall from their throats.
I sing to the gardens, Jahanara and Shahrara.
Even the Tuba of Paradise is jealous of their greenery.
A fuller understanding of certain references and various subtleties of the imagery heightens one's appreciation of the tribute being paid the city. In couplet one, the poet uses an image favoured
by many Persian poets in which the eyelashes of a beautiful girl are said to pierce the heart of her lover as though they were thorns. Couplet two uses a play on words referring to Ashukhan
(Lover) and Arefan (Spiritually Enlightened), Kabul's patron saints, whose shrine is discussed in Tour II.
The tulips in the Koh Daman mentioned in couplet three have long been the object of admiration. The Emperor Babur, for instance, was so captivated by them that he writes in his memoirs:
"In the skirts of the mountains the ground is richly diversified by various kinds of tulips. I once directed them to be counted, and they brought in thirty-two or thirty-three different sorts
of tulips." In the second line of this couplet the poet refers to the Arghawan or Red-bud which imparts a blush to the mountains in spring.
The Pul-i-Mastaan of couplet four still stands outside the main entrance to the Bala Hissar, altered into an insignificance which would
hardly inspire a poet today. The fifth couplet, however, refers to the shrine at Cheshme Khedr discussed in Tour II, which still plays an important part in the lives
of the city's citizens.
The poet's image of the ancient walls as a protective dragon in couplet six is interesting when it is realized that throughout Buddhist
mythology the snake is considered as the guardian of treasure. Shayagan is used throughout Islamic literature to signify treasure of immense magnitude and is akin to the Greek Croesus.
Couplet eight pays tribute to the celebrated beauty of the ladies of Kabul, an unchanging quality which holds true today. The same may be said of the next couplet's tribute to Kabul's weather
made all the more glorious when contrasted to that of the plains of India. The gardens of Jahanara and Shahrara were gardens laid out during the time of the Emperor Babur as discussed on page 74.
The Tuba is a tree of great beauty in Paradise.
On the title page, you will find a small emblem taken from the first copper coins issued at Kabul by Timur Shah Shadozai after he transferred the capital of
Afghanistan from Qandahar to Kabul. Again, we find the tulip, this time symbolizing the city as a flower protected by the royal swords. The coin was found after a long and what seemed to be a
doomed search, at Istalif. It is a pleasure to acknowledge my indebtedness to the dean of Afghanistan's artists, Ghafur Brechna, for
preparing the sketch for the Guide.
Most of the photographs were taken specially for the Guide by friends who have been generous with their time and talents. The size of the book and efforts to include as many pictures as possible
have made it inadvisable to give individual credits with each picture as I would have liked to have done. I wish to thank them for their assistance and for adding to the completeness and
attractiveness of the Guide. A. Samad Asefi, Chief of the Photographic Section of the Ministry of Press and Information; Jimmy Bedford, Fulbright; Paul Conklin, Peace Corps, for his view of
Istalif from the Takht; Louis Dupree, American Universities Field Staff; Erik Hansen, UNESCO; H. E. Klappert, USIS;
Robert MacMakin, Franklin Book Programs; the Kabul Museum; Alan Wolfe,
American Embassy.
It was suggested that the Guide be printed outside Afghanistan. The results of the decision to print it in Kabul are most gratifying. For this, I am indebted to
Robert MacMakin, Consultant on Printing Management for Franklin Book Programs, who took a personal interest in all phases of the Guide's production.
Towards the end of the project of this sort come the tasks of proofreading and other final details with which it was my good fortune to receive the expert assistance of Annie Dupree. I owe her
more than these labours, for her understanding of and sympathy for the city has been a constant guide since my arrival.
It is my sincere hope that this Guide will add to the visitor's enjoyment of this historic city. This is my attempt to repay Kabul for the happy years I have spent here.
Nancy Hatch Dupree
Paghman, August 1964
