Zaranj

Zaranj is the capital of Nimruz province, in the far south-west of Afghanistan. It lies on the flat plain of Sistan at about 480 m, close to where the lower Helmand River marks the border with Iran, and looks across the frontier to the Iranian part of Sistan. The city is above all a place of trade. A bridge over the border river links it with Iran, and a steady flow of trucks, traders and travellers passes through, making Zaranj one of the busiest crossing points in Afghanistan. The bazaars are crowded with goods from Iran and further afield, from fuel and building materials to clothing, food and electronics, and the city has grown quickly in recent decades as new markets, houses and offices have spread across the plain. Zaranj is a hot, dusty and energetic city rather than a monumental one. Its interest for visitors lies in its border atmosphere, its mix of languages and communities, and its position as the gateway to the deserts, wetlands and ruined towns of historic Sistan. The motor rickshaws known across Afghanistan as zaranj take their name from the city, through which many of them first arrived.

The name Zaranj comes from Zranka, the Old Persian name for Drangiana, the ancient province of the lower Helmand basin. Settlements in the area have risen and fallen over thousands of years, and the surrounding plain is scattered with the mounds and ruins of older towns, forts and canals. Medieval Zarang was the chief city of Sistan and the capital of the Saffarids in the 9th century. It remained an important centre under later rulers until invasion and the decline of irrigation, culminating in the campaigns of the late 14th century, left much of the region in ruins. The present city developed in the 20th century as an administrative centre. It grew rapidly after the paved road to the Kandahar–Herat highway at Delaram was completed in 2009 and cross-border trade expanded, and it is now by far the largest town in the province.

Zaranj is a meeting place of communities. Baluchi, Dari and Pashto are all spoken in its streets, and the Persian of Iran is widely understood through trade, family ties and television. Many residents have worked or studied in Iran, and styles of dress, food and music in the city reflect close links with the Iranian side of Sistan. Daily life revolves around the bazaar and the mosque. Business pauses for Friday prayers, and the evenings, when the heat eases, are the busiest time in the streets and tea houses. Weddings are large events with music, and Eid and Nowruz bring families out to visit relatives and to picnic beside the canals and fields on the edge of the city.

Zaranj sits on almost perfectly flat ground, crossed by irrigation canals drawn from the Helmand, with fields of wheat and melons and lines of tamarisk and other hardy trees on its fringes. Beyond the farmland the plain gives way quickly to open desert and wind-blown sand. North of the city lie the Hamun wetlands, which in good years spread into broad sheets of water and reed beds visited by flocks of migratory birds, and in dry years shrink to cracked mud. The river, its channels and the embankments along the border shape the landscape to the west. The defining natural force is the wind: from about June to September the wind of 120 days blows almost constantly from the north, bringing dust and sand into the city and piling small dunes against walls and roadsides.

The food of Zaranj blends Afghan cooking with the traditions of the Iranian side of Sistan. Restaurants and street stalls serve kebab cooked over charcoal, chicken and lamb with rice, qabuli palaw, shorwa, and Iranian-style dishes and flatbreads, and fresh bread comes from tandoor bakeries several times a day. Melons and watermelons from the Helmand delta pile up in the summer markets, and yoghurt, butter and qurut from the herds of the surrounding desert are part of everyday fare. Shops stock a wide range of packaged foods, sweets, biscuits and drinks imported from Iran. Tea is served everywhere, and cold drinks and ice cream are in high demand through the long, hot evenings.

Zaranj is a trading city more than a craft centre, and most of what its bazaars sell is imported: clothing, fabrics, shoes, kitchenware, machine-made carpets, electronics and building materials, much of it from Iran. Locally made goods can still be found. Baluch rugs and kilims, woven bags and the finely embroidered panels used on women's dresses come into the city from the surrounding villages and are sold in the cloth and carpet sections of the bazaar. Reed mats and baskets from the wetland villages are sold for household use. Visitors looking for handmade pieces do best to ask among the carpet and cloth traders.

Winter, from November to February, is the most comfortable season in Zaranj, with mild, sunny days that suit walking in the bazaars and trips into the surrounding countryside. Nights can be chilly, and an occasional rain shower turns dirt roads to mud for a day or two. March brings warm weather and Nowruz, but by late April the heat is building. From May to September Zaranj is one of the hottest places in Afghanistan, and summer days regularly exceed 45°C. The wind of 120 days, which blows from about June to September, makes the hot season dusty as well, and activity shifts to the early morning and the hours after sunset.

The road into Zaranj from the rest of Afghanistan is the paved highway from Delaram, about 215 km to the north-east, where it joins the main Kandahar–Herat highway; the drive across the desert takes around three to four hours. Shared taxis, minibuses and buses run to Delaram, Kandahar and Herat from terminals on the edge of the city. Zaranj's airport (ZAJ), on the outskirts, has been served by domestic flights. The border crossing to Iran, on the western side of the city, is one of the busiest in the country for goods and people. Road conditions and local circumstances change, so travellers should check current conditions before setting out.

Zaranj has the best choice of accommodation in Nimruz, with a number of hotels and guesthouses ranging from simple to mid-range. Most are on or near the main roads into the centre, close to the bazaar and the approach to the border, where they serve traders, drivers and people crossing to and from Iran. Rooms with air conditioning are worth seeking out in the hot months, and visitors should be prepared for interruptions to electricity and water. Smaller lodging houses near the bus stands offer basic shared rooms. Family hospitality remains the traditional way guests are received, and visitors with local contacts are often invited to stay.

Motor rickshaws are the city's signature transport and the easiest way to get around; drivers wait at every junction, and fares are agreed before setting off. Motorbikes are everywhere, and saloon-car taxis are available for longer trips or for travelling in more comfort during the heat. The centre and the main bazaar are compact enough to explore on foot in the cooler hours. For trips to the wetlands, the river or the ruins on the Sistan plain, visitors usually hire a four-wheel-drive vehicle with a local driver who knows the tracks, which can be hard to follow after a sandstorm.