It's moving day. It is time to leave Kabul and head north to Mazar - e- Sharif and that means flying domestic in Afghanistan with Ariana Air. Yes that's right, a domestic flight in Afghanistan so I had no intention at looking for online reviews. I felt I knew what I was getting into and in the end it was exactly what I was getting into. The plane itself had to be 30 years old, at the very least but there must be some international safety inspectors that make sure the thing does not drop out of the sky, well let's hope that is the case.
After arriving I had to register with the airport which meant showing my passport, my itinerary and the contact of my guide. It was painless. I grabbed my pack from the carousel and walked out into the blazing heat of Mazar -e-Sharif. In Afghanistan nobody can wait in the terminal at arrivals, they wait outside the airport in the parking lots. A short 5 minute walk and my new guide Alim and new driver Rashed found us easy enough. If I have not mentioned it, I am travelling with David who is on my tour. Originally from Hong Kong but now living in the UK he is a low maintenance team member which is great.
Our first stop after a dropping our bags off at the hotel and a quick lunch we registered with the town tourism department, then we stopped at a very anonymous building and Alim went inside and said we will go back to get our security guard. That perked me up a bit from my slumber.
We had time so off we went to visit the Green Mosque which was beautiful and the phones came out and we clicked away. I usually do not take many photos, but this crew is all about it so I joined right it the fun. Plus, they always take at least five shots because one will not do. It was then off to a city park where there was a working water pump and I was told that the water was fresh and clean. I drank some, fu** it. I have gained the travelers 20 so a bit of dysentry to lose the expanding belly is not the worst thing, I guess.
It was fun, but this day was all bout going to be the Burj e Ayaran Tower and City Wall. Remember that security guard I was talking about? It turns out he was a member of the local Taliban community. We went back to the nondescript building where Alim asked me to join him, so like a lemming, I did. We entered and walked down a short hallway then spread the curtain and entered a room that could have come straight out of any movie of the genre. There was an older guy sitting on the floor and he waved us in. There were three other guys, each deep in prayer, kneeling on their rugs, their AK47s beside them. I was in the dragons den, but oddly calm. Alim spoke with the older guy who I guess (correctly) was the local commander. He was going to have one of the soldiers escort us to Burj e Ayaran Tower and City Wall because in the past there has been trouble with some of the locals. Our guard would stop any nonsense in a second, and yes it is exactly what you think. We jumped in the car, Alim joined David and myself in the back and our guide posted up in the passenger seat, his well work niAK on full display.
Our first stop was a short 30 minute drive to The Ruins Haji Piyada or Nine Domed Mosque, which date back to the 9th century. This is ancient history at its finest. As Alim was explaining both the history and significance most of it went over my head. The historical names meant nothing to me because I know nothing about them, this place or that time in history. A bit of googly googly when we went back to the hotel later that day helped.
We wandered around for about an hour and to be honest, I was enthralled by the site. These site go to the core of human civilization and although I nothing about this part of human history I was fascinated by the architecture, the carved inscriptions and what this placed looked like in it's glory.
Back into our little vehicle of security for another short drive that took us to Burj e Ayaran Tower and the City Wall. This was to be the highlight of the day, but trust me, that highlight happened about two hours later. I am going to repeat myself in that this ancient site could only be imagined in all of its spectacular glory. The other important part of this area is the Temple of Zoroaster, which is a small stone dedicated to the creator of Zoroastrain.
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| Ancient City Wall |
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| Temple of Zoroaster |
There were locals in the area offering horseback rides and trinkets for sale. I paid the horse owner a few Afghani (a more creative name for their money should be a priority). We wandered the walls and the tower, the views were great but the enormity of the city is what catches your eye. As I have posted in the past, and I suspect will continue to do so. This was a major stop on the Ancient Silk Road and it was conquered by Genghis Khan. (you can look up the dates).
Highlight of the day you ask? Alim sent the driver to pick up a watermelon, it is the season and they are everywhere. They spread out a blanket just outside the city wall and in the shade of a huge tree. We all sit down, including our security guard and Alim proceeds to cut the fruit and distribute it. A few locals walked by and joined us. I was just chilling enjoying the moment when it dawned on me that I was having a watermelon picnic that included a member of the Taliban, whose AK was resting on the blanket beside him, about 6 feet from me. In the end, he was quite friendly in a standoffish way and he allowed us to take his photo.
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