Kandahar

Kandahar Province lies in southern Afghanistan, bordered by Helmand to the west, Uruzgan to the north, Zabul to the north-east and Pakistan's Balochistan province to the south and south-east. Much of it is a broad, arid plain that falls away southwards towards the sands of the Registan desert, but the Arghandab River and its canals sustain a green belt of orchards, vineyards and wheat fields around the provincial capital, Kandahar city. The province has long been a crossroads. Caravan routes between Iran, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent met here, and the national highway from Kabul to Herat still runs through it. Kandahar is closely tied to the founding of the modern Afghan state, and its districts hold prehistoric mounds, shrines and the battlefield of Maiwand. Visitors usually come for the city and its monuments, for the pomegranate orchards of Arghandab district, and to see a part of Afghanistan where Pashtun traditions of hospitality, poetry and dress are strongly felt. Away from the irrigated valleys the landscape is open and dry, with low ridges of bare rock rising from the plain and long views towards the desert.

People have farmed this region for thousands of years. Mundigak, a large mound north-west of Kandahar city, was a substantial Bronze Age settlement with links to Iran and the Indus valley. In antiquity the area formed part of Arachosia, a province of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and later came under Alexander the Great, the Mauryan Empire and a succession of other dynasties. From the 16th century the Safavids of Iran and the Mughals of India fought repeatedly for control of Kandahar. In 1709 Mirwais Hotak led a successful revolt against Safavid rule, and his Hotak dynasty briefly ruled much of Iran. After Nader Shah's conquest in 1738, Ahmad Shah Durrani was chosen as leader at Kandahar in 1747 and built an empire with Kandahar as its first capital. In 1880, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, Afghan forces defeated a British-Indian brigade at Maiwand, west of the city, a battle remembered in Afghan tradition through the figure of Malalai. The province saw heavy fighting in the conflicts of recent decades.

Pashto is the main language of the province, and Dari is widely understood in Kandahar city and among traders. Most people are Sunni Muslims, and rural life is shaped by Pashtun customs of hospitality, honour and collective decision-making, in which elders meet in councils known as jirgas to settle local matters. Pashto poetry has deep roots here, and verses by classical poets are quoted in everyday conversation. Weddings bring the attan, a circle dance performed to the beat of a large drum, along with music played on the rubab and harmonium. Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are the main festivals of the year, marked with prayers, new clothes and visits to relatives. Shrines are visited across the province, among them that of Shah Maqsud in Khakrez district, north of the city. Cricket is very popular, and young people play it on any open patch of ground, while volleyball is a common evening game in the villages.

Most of Kandahar is a dry, open plain broken by ridges of bare rock. The Arghandab River, flowing south-west from the highlands to the north-east, is held back by the Dahla Dam in Shah Wali Kot district and feeds a network of canals that turns the land around the city green. The Tarnak and Dori rivers cross the eastern and southern districts and eventually join the Arghandab, which in turn flows into the Helmand. In the south the plain gives way to the Registan, a desert of reddish sand dunes that stretches towards the Pakistani border and is crossed mainly by herders. With fierce summer heat and little rain, farming depends on rivers, canals and karez, the old underground channels that carry water from the foothills. The irrigated districts of Arghandab, Zhari, Panjwai and Maiwand are known for pomegranate orchards and vineyards, with wheat, melons and vegetables grown on the surrounding fields.

Kandahar is best known for its pomegranates, large and deep red, which are harvested in autumn and sold across the country and abroad. The province also produces grapes, many of which are dried into raisins, along with figs, almonds and melons. Meals are generous and centre on mutton, rice and bread. Qabuli palaw, rice cooked with lamb, carrots and raisins, is the dish of choice for guests and gatherings, and kebabs grilled over charcoal are sold in every bazaar. Shorwa, a broth of meat and vegetables eaten with torn naan, is a common everyday meal. In winter many families eat landi, mutton that is salted and dried in autumn and later cooked with rice or in a stew. Green tea is drunk throughout the day and is offered to visitors with dried fruit, nuts and sweets.

The craft most closely tied to Kandahar is khamak, a fine counted-thread embroidery worked in silk on cotton, with dense geometric patterns. It decorates men's shirts, women's dresses, caps and shawls, and is mostly made at home by women, many of whom learn the stitches as girls. Good khamak takes many weeks to complete and is valued as a gift. Round caps embroidered in the Kandahari style, often set with small mirrors, are widely made and worn. Prayer beads made from a stone quarried near the shrine of Shah Maqsud in Khakrez district are sold in the bazaars of the south. The province is not known for carpet weaving, but rugs and kilims from other regions are sold in Kandahar city alongside cloth, embroidery and dried fruit.

Kandahar has a hot desert climate. From June to August daytime temperatures commonly pass 40°C, dust storms are frequent, and travel in the middle of the day is tiring. Winters are mild by Afghan standards, with sunny days, cold nights and occasional frost, and most of the year's scant rain falls between December and April. Spring, from March to April, is the most comfortable season: the orchards are in blossom, the fields are green and Nowruz, around 21 March, brings families outdoors. The period from late September to November is the other good window, when the heat has passed and the pomegranate and grape harvests fill the markets. During Ramadan the rhythm of daily life changes, with many shops and eating houses opening later in the day.

Kandahar city is the transport hub of the south. The main highway from Kabul runs south-west through Ghazni and Qalat, about 480 km in total and usually eight to ten hours of driving. To the west the same national ring road continues through Helmand and Farah towards Herat, around 560 km away, while Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand, is about three hours to the west and a road leads north to Tarinkot in Uruzgan. Kandahar International Airport, south-east of the city, has served domestic flights to Kabul and other cities, and the flight from Kabul takes about an hour. To the south-east, the road to Spin Boldak reaches the main border crossing with Pakistan, opposite the town of Chaman, from where a road continues to Quetta. Road conditions and local circumstances change, so travellers should check current conditions before setting out.

Most accommodation in the province is in Kandahar city, which has hotels of varying standards in the centre and along the main roads leading out of town. Some are geared to business travellers and officials, with restaurants, generators and parking, while others offer simple rooms for traders arriving from the districts. Outside the city, options are basic and few. District centres on the main roads, such as Spin Boldak, have small hotels and tea houses that serve drivers and traders. In rural areas visitors usually stay as guests of a family, following the strong local custom of hospitality. Rooms are usually arranged by phone or through local contacts, and it helps to confirm availability in advance, particularly during the Eid holidays.

Shared taxis, usually estate cars or minibuses, link Kandahar city with the district centres and leave when full from stands on the edge of the city. Larger buses and minibuses run along the highway towards Kabul and Herat. Within towns, the three-wheeled motor rickshaw known as the zaranj is everywhere, and motorbikes are a common way for local people to get around. Visitors who want to see several places in a day usually hire a private car with a driver, which also makes it easier to stop at shrines and orchards along the way. In the desert south, travel is by four-wheel drive along sand tracks, and herders still move their goods with camels and donkeys.