Sar-e Pol

Sar-e Pol Province lies in northern Afghanistan, reaching from the edge of the northern plains to the mountains of the central highlands. It borders Jowzjan to the north, Balkh and Samangan to the east, Bamyan to the south-east, Ghor to the south and Faryab to the west. The north of the province, around the capital, also called Sar-e Pol, is a land of low hills and irrigated valleys where wheat, melons and fruit are grown. Further south the country becomes steadily higher and more rugged, with deep valleys and mountain villages in districts such as Sancharak, Kohistanat and Balkhab, the last named after the Balkh River, which flows through it on its way north. The province also holds oil and gas deposits that have been explored in recent years. Sar-e Pol sees very few visitors, and it has no monuments on the scale of those in neighbouring Balkh. Its interest lies in its landscapes, which change from steppe to high mountain within a short distance, and in the life of its villages, where Uzbek, Tajik, Hazara, Pashtun and other communities farm and keep livestock much as they have for generations. Most visitors arrive on the road south from Sheberghan.

Like its neighbours, Sar-e Pol lay within the medieval region of Guzganan, and its valleys were settled long before that, though they have been little studied by archaeologists. The position of its main town, where the hills meet the plains, made it a natural market where the produce of the mountains was traded for that of the lowlands. In the 18th and 19th centuries Sar-e Pol was one of the Uzbek principalities of the Chahar Wilayat, alongside Sheberghan, Andkhoy and Maymana, ruled by its own khans, who were often drawn into the rivalries between Bukhara, Kabul and Herat. The Afghan amirs brought it under their direct control in the later 19th century. For a long time the area was administered as part of larger northern provinces, and it became a province of its own in 1988. Like much of northern Afghanistan, it has been affected by the conflicts of recent decades.

Dari, Uzbek and Pashto are all spoken in the province, and Hazaragi, the Dari of the Hazara communities, is common in the southern mountain districts. The population includes Uzbek, Tajik, Hazara, Pashtun and other communities. Most people are Muslim, and local shrines and village mosques are at the centre of community life. Life follows the farming year. Nowruz is celebrated with family visits, picnics and special dishes, and the end of the harvest and the return of the flocks from summer pastures are times for weddings and gatherings. Buzkashi is popular on the northern plains around the capital, while in the mountain districts the traditions of the central highlands are stronger, including the music of the dambura, played to accompany songs and poetry.

Sar-e Pol has one of the widest ranges of landscape in the north. Its northern districts are open steppe and low, rolling hills of wind-blown loess, green for a short season in spring and brown for the rest of the year, with irrigated fields and orchards along the river valleys. The river that flows past the capital and on towards Sheberghan is the main source of water for the north of the province. South of the capital the land climbs into the mountains that divide the northern plains from the central highlands, with narrow valleys, rocky gorges and high summer pastures used by herders. Balkhab district lies along the upper Balkh River, here a fast mountain stream. Much of the farming in the hills relies on rain-fed wheat and barley, and fruit trees are grown in the sheltered valleys.

The food of Sar-e Pol is simple and rooted in what the land produces. Wheat is the staple, baked into bread in tandoor ovens or on iron griddles, and mutton, rice and dairy are the basis of meals for guests. Palaw, shorwa and kebab are found in the bazaar eateries of the capital, and mantu and ashak are made at home for special occasions. The herds of the hill country provide yoghurt, butter, qaymaq and qurut, which is used in dishes such as qurutab, bread soaked in a sauce of qurut and oil and topped with fried onions. The irrigated valleys produce melons, watermelons and grapes in late summer, and dried fruit and nuts are eaten through the winter, often served with tea to visitors.

Sar-e Pol is not a major craft centre, but carpets and kilims are woven in many villages, especially in the north of the province, where weaving traditions are shared with neighbouring Jowzjan and Faryab. Many of these pieces are sold through dealers in Sheberghan and Mazar-i-Sharif rather than locally. The bazaar in the capital mainly sells everyday goods: cloth, household wares, farm tools and clothes, alongside some rugs, felt mats and woven bags from the surrounding villages. In the mountain districts, families make felt, spin wool and weave plain cloth, mostly for their own use rather than for sale.

The best months are April to June and September to October. In spring the hills of the north are briefly green and flowering and the weather is mild; in the mountain districts the snow melts later, and the high valleys are at their best in early summer. Autumn brings clear, settled weather and the harvest. Summers on the lower ground are hot and dry, while the southern mountains stay cooler. Winters are cold, with snow that can block the roads into the southern districts for weeks at a time, and rain and snowmelt turn unpaved roads to mud in late winter and early spring.

Sar-e Pol is reached from the north. From Kabul, the route runs over the Salang Pass to Mazar-i-Sharif, west to Sheberghan and then south to the provincial capital, about 600 kilometres in all, or roughly ten to eleven hours of driving. Sheberghan is about an hour away, and Mazar-i-Sharif about three hours. Roads from the capital lead south into the mountain districts, but many are unpaved and slow, and some are closed by snow in winter. The nearest airport with domestic flights is at Mazar-i-Sharif. Road conditions and local circumstances change, so travellers should check current conditions before setting out.

Accommodation in the province is very limited. The capital has a few basic hotels and guest rooms, and many visitors prefer to stay in Sheberghan or Mazar-i-Sharif and come to Sar-e Pol for the day. In the district towns and mountain villages there are no hotels. Roadside tea houses may offer a meal and a place to sleep on the floor, and travellers are otherwise hosted by local families, which is the custom in the region and best arranged in advance through local contacts. Anyone travelling into the mountains should be ready for very simple conditions, cold nights for much of the year, and little or no electricity.

Shared taxis and minibuses connect the capital with Sheberghan and with the larger district centres, leaving when full from stands in the town. They run most often in the morning, and services to the more distant districts may not run every day. Travel into the mountain districts is slow, over unpaved roads that are rough after rain and closed by snow in winter, and a sturdy vehicle with an experienced local driver is needed. In the remote valleys, people still travel on foot, by motorbike, or with donkeys and horses, which carry goods along paths that vehicles cannot use.