Mihtarlam

Mihtarlam is the capital of Laghman province and its main town. It lies at the northern edge of the Laghman plain, close to where the Alingar and Alishing rivers meet, with mountains rising steeply behind it to the north. Jalalabad is about 45 kilometres away by road to the south-east, and the main Kabul to Jalalabad highway is a short drive to the south. The town is modest in size. Its centre is a cluster of bazaar streets lined with shops, workshops and teahouses, around which stand government offices, schools, mosques and residential quarters of walled family compounds. Beyond them the town merges into fields and orchards, and the line between town and countryside is soft. Mihtarlam takes its name from the shrine of Mihtarlam Baba, its best-known landmark. As the seat of the provincial administration and the market for the surrounding valleys, the town draws farmers, traders and officials from across Laghman, and its bazaar is at its busiest in the mornings. For visitors, Mihtarlam is a place to see everyday life in a small eastern Afghan town, to visit the shrine, and to set out into the green valleys of Alingar and Alishing.

According to local tradition, the shrine around which Mihtarlam grew is the resting place of Lam, or Lamech, the father of the prophet Noah, and the town's name joins his name to mihtar, an honorific meaning elder or chief. Whatever its origins, the shrine has been a place of pilgrimage for a long time, and a settlement grew up beside it. The wider district has a long recorded past, but Mihtarlam's growth as a town is comparatively recent. It developed as the administrative centre of Laghman in the 20th century, as government offices, schools and other services were established and the bazaar expanded to serve the valleys around it. The town has been affected by the conflicts of recent decades, like much of the region. It has continued to grow as families from the valleys have settled closer to schools, markets and services.

Pashto is the main language of Mihtarlam, and Pashai is widely heard among people who come in from the surrounding valleys; Dari is understood by many traders and officials. The town is conservative and family-centred, and much social life takes place within family compounds, in the mosques and in the teahouses of the bazaar. The shrine of Mihtarlam Baba is the focus of the town's religious life outside the mosques. As at many shrines in Afghanistan, pilgrims come to pray, make vows and share food, and visits increase on Fridays and religious holidays. Visitors are expected to dress modestly and to follow the lead of those around them. Eid prayers and celebrations are the high points of the year. Weddings are marked with music and the attan dance, and cricket and volleyball are played on open ground around the town, especially in the long, warm evenings.

Mihtarlam sits on the gently sloping floor of the valley, at a little over 700 metres, where the Alingar and Alishing rivers leave their narrower gorges and spread across the plain. Steep, mostly bare mountains rise close to the town on the north, and on clear days the snowy peaks of the higher ranges can be seen beyond them. The town is surrounded by green. Irrigation channels from the rivers water rice paddies, wheat fields and orchards of citrus, mulberry and pomegranate right up to the edge of the bazaar, and trees line many of the lanes. The riverbanks, with their gravel bars, willows and poplars, are popular for walks and picnics. The low, warm setting means that orange trees and other plants of warmer climates grow alongside crops familiar from the plateau, such as wheat and maize.

The bazaar in Mihtarlam reflects the produce of the valleys around it. Rice, much of it grown locally, is sold by the sack, alongside fresh vegetables, citrus in winter, mulberries and apricots in early summer, and walnuts and honey brought down from the northern districts. Teahouses and small restaurants in the centre serve simple, filling meals: rice with meat or beans, qorma stews, kebabs grilled over charcoal, and fresh naan from the town's bakeries. Chapli kebab and bolani are popular snacks, and fried fish appears in the cooler months. Green tea is the standard drink, served with sugar, sweets or dried mulberries, and dogh is welcome in the summer heat. In family homes, guests may be offered qabuli palaw and several dishes at once, as hospitality demands.

Mihtarlam's bazaar is practical rather than decorative. Its shops mainly sell cloth, clothing, shoes, kitchenware, farm tools and goods brought from Jalalabad, Kabul and Pakistan, together with the produce of the surrounding valleys. Some local work can be found. Carpenters' workshops make doors, window frames, beds and simple furniture, sometimes with carved details in the style of the northern valleys, and smiths repair tools and make knives and household metal goods. Tailors stitch shalwar kameez to order, and embroidered caps and shawls are sold in a few shops. There is no specialised craft market, and visitors interested in carpets, jewellery or other well-known Afghan handicrafts will find a much wider selection in Jalalabad or Kabul.

Mihtarlam's low altitude gives it a warm climate. Winters are mild, with sunny days, cool nights and only occasional frost, while summers are long and hot, with afternoon temperatures often above 35°C from June to August. The best times for a visit are spring and autumn. From March to May the orchards and fields around the town are green and in flower, the rivers are full, and the weather is warm without being oppressive; Nowruz in March is a pleasant time to be out. October and November bring clear skies and harvest work in the surrounding fields. Winter visits are also comfortable in the town itself, though the mountain valleys to the north may be cold and snowbound. In high summer, outdoor activity is best kept to the early morning and evening.

Mihtarlam lies on the road that runs north from the main Kabul to Jalalabad highway at the Qarghayi junction. From Kabul the drive of about 150 kilometres takes around three hours, and from Jalalabad the trip of roughly 45 kilometres takes about an hour. Shared taxis and minibuses from Jalalabad and Kabul arrive at the town's vehicle stands, and they leave again when full. From Mihtarlam, roads continue north into the Alingar and Alishing valleys, giving access to the district centres and, further on, to the mountain routes that lead towards Nuristan. There is no airport in the town; the nearest is at Jalalabad. Road conditions and local circumstances change, so travellers should check current conditions before setting out.

Mihtarlam has only a handful of places to stay. Simple hotels and guesthouses are found in and near the central bazaar and along the main road into town, offering basic rooms used by traders, drivers and visitors on official business. Some have a restaurant or can provide meals. Standards are modest: shared bathrooms, intermittent electricity and limited hot water are common, and air conditioning is not guaranteed in the summer heat. Many visitors prefer to stay in Jalalabad, an hour away, and come to Mihtarlam for the day. Visitors with family or professional connections in the town are often hosted in private homes, in keeping with the strong local tradition of hospitality.

Mihtarlam is compact enough to explore the central bazaar and the area around the shrine on foot. Motorised rickshaws are the most common way to cover longer distances within the town and to reach outlying neighbourhoods, and they can be flagged down on the main streets. Shared taxis and minibuses gather at stands near the centre for Jalalabad, the highway junction and the district centres, while pickups carry passengers and goods up the valleys. Motorcycles are widely used by residents. A private car with a driver, arranged through a hotel or local contact, is the most practical way to make day trips into the Alingar and Alishing valleys.