The First Seventy Years: Chapter 54 - In Kabul
Eric Biddulph was fascinated by the Afghans - their dress code, their mosques, their life style.
To read earlier chapters of Eric's autobiography please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_first_seventy_years/
Following the river towards Jalalabad in Afghanistan I was suddenly faced with a road which started to claw its way out of the steep sided valley. A series of hairpin bends appeared and continued for some considerable time.
After climbing several thousand metres to sounds of the lorries labouring up this massive climb could be heard way down in the gorge. Eventually reaching a plateau we drove into Kabul, the capital of this troubled nation. The king had only recently been toppled from power and was living in exile. Despite its reputation and the fierce appearance of its male citizens we experienced nothing but friendliness.
We stayed several days soaking up the atmosphere of the city. Kandahar lay five hundred kilometres in the south of the country. It was reached by driving on the surfaced road built by the USA as part of its aid contribution. What had prompted its construction was the road built by the Soviet Union linking Kandahar with Herat in the west. This was after all The Cold War era.
I continued to be fascinated by the Afghans; their dress code; their mosques and their life style. There appeared to be a high proportion of German goods in the shops. The policemen wore German style hats and uniforms. What was the root of this German connection? The Nazis had identified the Afghans as Aryan people. As a consequence, during the 1930s aid was made available and the German influence was born. This remained a feature of life until at least 1973; funny old world.
On the road to Herat we noted the many austere buildings erected by the Soviet Union to house the numerous workers engaged on the construction of the highway. Herat possessed a mosque with exterior designs which must stand as some of the best in the Islamic world.
