From October 11 until November 11, 1977, I travelled through Afghanistan with 3 French people in a rented chauffeur-driven Toyota landcruiser. We stayed with a very hospitable Afghan-French couple, from whose house every separate trip started. This adventure was all the more impressive as in 1978 the Russian invasion took place…. If you would like to know how I came to take this trip, please press here. I divided this report into 4 parts, to facilitate reading.
- 1st trip: Kabul – Bamiyan – Band-E-Amir – Doshi – Pul-E-Khumri – Kunduz – excavations in Ai Khanoum-Kabul.
- 4 days in Kabul.
- 2nd trip: Nuristan.
- 3rd trip: Mazar-E-Sharif. Day trips to Gazni and Istalief.
In retrospect I realise that this has been a fantastic trip through a beautiful country with strong, independant, but friendly people, and in peaceful circumstances. As I said before, just a year later the Russian invasion took place and ever since there has been only war and misery, although with changing protagonists. Well-known are the T.V. pictures of damaged houses in Kabul after the Russians’ departure, but less known is the fact that this was mainly caused by the warlords – who had fought successfully against the Russians with weapons received from the West – who now fought each other for dominance of the country. And there is still no peace in Afghanistan…….. If you are interested in the history of Afghanistan, please press here.
I wish you pleasant reading, Froukje (2016)