Travels in Afghanistan

Asia — By Bob Riel on January 22, 2007 at 12:13 pm

Not many people see Afghanistan as a tourist destination these days, although a few decades ago it was a popular stop on the backpacker trail that went overland from North Africa across the Middle East to India. Despite Afghanistan’s fall from the tourist map, however, there are still travelers heading to the country.

As Joshua Hammer reports in the Sunday NY Times, Afghanistan is an interesting destination and the capital city of Kabul is actually pretty safe compared to the rest of the country. Some excerpts from the article:

In the 1970s, tens of thousands of visitors poured into Kabul each year, when the Afghan capital rivaled Kathmandu as the favored Central Asian haunt for young backpackers… Then came the Russians, then the Taliban, and then the bombings following 9/11, pretty much destroying Kabul’s reputation as a favored stop on the Hippie Trail. Now, however, even though much of Afghanistan remains dangerous, tourists are beginning to trickle back in…

Most tourists who pass through view Kabul as an overnight stopover on the way to more remote corners of the country: the rugged Pamir Mountains in the northeast; the exotic bazaar town of Mazar-i-Sharif; and Bamiyan, the former site of the giant stone Buddhas that were destroyed by the Taliban. But those who linger for a few days, as I did, will discover a vibrant capital, steeped in tumultuous history and rich with Silk Road atmospherics…

In a week of exploring the city, from the windswept, near-deserted ramparts to the teeming, labyrinthine passageways of the Mandayi Bazaar, I never once felt threatened. To the contrary, I was welcomed everywhere by Afghans eager to show me that their country and city were groping their way toward recovery.

If you’re interested in reading more about contemporary Afghanistan, you should pick up a copy of The Places in Between by Rory Stewart. It’s a tale of the author’s walk across Afghanistan and was named one of the ten best books of 2006, an unusual compliment for a travel narrative.