Kabul: Difference between revisions

Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan and the largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of approximately three million. It is an economic and cultural centre, situated 5,900 feet (1,800 m) above sea level in a narrow valley, wedged between the Hindu Kush mountains along the Kabul River. Kabul is linked with Ghazni, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar-e Sharif via a long beltway (circular highway) that stretches across the country. It is also linked by highways with Pakistan to the east and southeast and Tajikistan to the north.

Kabul's main products include munitions, cloth, furniture and beet sugar, but, since 1978, a state of nearly continuous war has limited the economic productivity of the city.

Kabul is over 3,000 years old and many empires have fought over the city for its strategic location along the trade routes of Southern and Central Asia. In 1504, Babur captured Kabul and used it as his headquarters until 1526, before his conquest of India. In 1776, Timur Shah Durrani made it the capital of modern Afghanistan.[3] The population of the city is predominantly Persian-speaking.[4][5]

• See Wikipedia article on Kabul for more information

In the news

Kabul Sikh cremation goes ahead BBC News, 17 September 2007

A group of local Sikhs have been allowed to carry out a cremation in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

The authorities intervened after Muslims in the Old City stopped Sikhs burning a body at their traditional cremation site in the Qalacha area.

Sikh mourners carried the body to the presidential palace and UN headquarters until the chief of police escorted them back and the cremation went ahead.

Muslims near the site had complained about the smell from funeral pyres.