Kabul, Afghanistan

Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan and the nation's largest city, making it an economic and cultural hub. Built at the intersection of several important trade routes, it has been inhabited for thousands of years and has a rich history. However, Kabul has long struggled to find peace and prosperity. Beginning in 1979 with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and continuing through civil war and the rise, fall, and resurgence of the Taliban, the city has been a focal point for the struggle to rule the country, and has suffered extensive destruction as a result.

Landscape

Kabul is located in eastern Afghanistan, at an elevation of 1,800 meters (5,900 feet). Situated in a natural corridor between the Sherdawaza and Asmai mountain ranges, it has been a point of convergence for trade routes since ancient times. It has also long held a strategic importance, since routes over the Khyber Pass to the east and over the Hindu Kush mountain range to the north pass through it.

Kabul developed in the basin of the Kabul River, which flows east through the modern settlement. The river's source is west of the city and, because of irrigation and low rainfall, is often dry within Kabul itself, except during spring when it flows with melted snow from the mountains.

The city has a typical highland climate, with cold winters and hot, dry summers. Average temperatures in January, the coldest month, range from approximately -8 degrees to 2 degrees Celsius (18 to 36 degrees Fahrenheit) and can change quickly with nightfall. In the hottest month, July, temperatures range from about 16 to 33 degrees Celsius (61 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit). Precipitation is heaviest in the spring, when an average of 102 millimeters (4 inches) falls. The Hindu Kush is prone to earthquakes which are often felt in Kabul.

People

Since the twentieth century, the population of Kabul has fluctuated depending on the flashpoints of the various conflicts within Afghanistan. After the fall of the repressive Taliban regime in 2001, more than three million refugees returned to Afghanistan, with the majority of them settled in the capital. However, when the Taliban regained control of the country and the city in 2021, reports suggested many people fled the area. According to the CIA World Factbook, the population of the Kabul urban area was approximately 4.589 million in 2023.

Like Afghanistan itself, Kabul is a complex ethnic composite. Pashtuns, Tajiks, and Hazara comprise the three largest ethnic groups, with significantly smaller numbers of people of Uzbek, Aimak, Turkmen, and Baloch descent. Dari and Pashto, both languages of the Iranian branch of the Indo-European family and official languages of Afghanistan, are the most widely spoken, though dialects and other languages are also used among ethnic enclaves.

Sunni Islam is the primary religion of those living in Kabul. Shia Muslims comprise a significant minority. Islamic traditions remain a daily part of life, and the Islamic calendar, with its cycle of religious holidays, is strongly adhered to. Other religions are practiced by only small fractions of the populace.

Following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the removal of the Taliban from power, several hundred nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) began operating in Kabul. Most were at least partially staffed with foreign workers, giving rise to a small but significant expatriate community. There were also contingents of international troops stationed in the city. In 2020, however, the US government reached an agreement with the resurgent Taliban to withdraw all foreign troops from Afghanistan. Even before that withdrawal was completed, the Taliban rapidly took control of most of the country, including Kabul, in August 2021. Despite controversy, the United States completed its military withdrawal and also undertook efforts to evacuate US civilians and many international and Afghan allies from the city.

In the years following the US invasion of Afghanistan, massive efforts were put into reconstruction, with mixed results. The discrepancy between rich and poor, especially refugees and migrant workers, was highly pronounced in Kabul. Wealthy Afghans and foreigners tended to live in gated communities. The poorest, in contrast, depended on food aid and lived in tenement-like conditions or on the street. The US-backed government encouraged development outside of the center of Kabul as a means to relieve overcrowding in the city. Meanwhile, the resurgence of the Taliban coincided with an increase in incidents of suicide bombings in Afghanistan, making security a significant concern. As the Taliban returned to control in 2021, observers expected the group's enforcement of strict fundamentalist Islamic law would again shape the character of Kabul. The United Nations reported in 2023 that the Taliban had reinstated limits on girls and women such as excluding them from schools and banning women from many occupations outside the home.

Culturally, Kabul serves as a key hub for Afghanistan as a whole. For example, the city was known for hosting buzkashi and soccer tournaments each year, attracting players from neighboring countries. Buzkashi is the national sport of Afghanistan and is commonly played throughout Central Asia. The game involves teams of horse riders who move a goat carcass filled with salt along a field and attempt to score a goal.

Economy

Decades of conflict have frequently left Kabul's economy in shambles. It has been strained further by the in-migration of refugees and migrant workers, many of whom find few work opportunities and little social support once they arrive. The CIA World Factbook estimated that Afghanistan's unemployment rate was nearly 24 percent in 2017 and declined only to 13.2 percent by 2021. Kabul was once a center for textile production, food processing, and tourism, but these industries have been slow to recover from years of armed conflict. However, the city nevertheless remains Afghanistan's central economic hub, home to most of the country's important government, cultural, educational, and banking institutions.

After the fall of the Taliban, Western countries pledged billions of dollars toward the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Though a portion of these funds were utilized for rebuilding the country's infrastructure, significant amounts were misspent by government agencies or embezzled by public officials and unofficial local warlords. Property values decreased, while the cost of living rose steeply. Other funds continued to be raised in the illicit opium trade, despite US investment in government programs to combat opium production.

International investment caused a boom in construction projects in and around Kabul and in the attendant production of building materials. Nonetheless, much of the city's basic utilities, including the power grid, the water system, the sewers, the roads and public transportation system, have not received adequate attention. The 2021 takeover by the Taliban was expected to have a negative impact on foreign investment.

Landmarks

Kabul's ancient history is not generally evident as the city has undergone modernization and extensive destruction, particularly during Afghanistan's civil war (1992–1996). Some of the city's most famous monuments have been targeted for restoration, while others remain in a state of ruin. The presence of landmines limits access to some sites in the city.

In the city's bazaars, clustered in the old town, all types of goods are sold, from regional handicrafts and pets to imports both cheap and costly. Chicken Street is one well known shopping area.

Several large mosques serve the Muslim population of Kabul. These include the Pul-e Khisti mosque, the Sha-Do-Shamshira mosque, and the Sherpur mosque. The Id Gah mosque is the largest in the city.

Former Mughal and Afghan rulers interred in Kabul have mausoleums dedicated to them. Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, is buried in a classical garden complex at the base of the Sherdawaza Mountain. Babur's Gardens date from 1530. The Mausoleum of Timur Shah, dating from 1816, houses the tomb of the ruler who moved the Afghan capital to Kabul. The Abdur Rahman Mausoleum memorializes the ruler who reigned until the beginning of the twentieth century and was responsible for unifying and modernizing Afghanistan.

Other notable structures include Bala Hissar, an old fortress which overlooks Kabul, the old city walls, and the ruined Darulaman Palace.

The Kabul Museum, once the repository for artifacts from Central Asia's ancient history, was destroyed and looted during the civil conflicts; moreover, the Taliban were responsible for destroying artifacts which they considered an affront to Islam. Though the museum was restored and reopened, an estimated three-quarters of its collections were lost. Its future was uncertain again with the Taliban's second rise to power.

Kabul University, founded in 1931, is one of the best known educational institutions in Afghanistan. It too was disrupted by the decades of conflict and persecution of its academic staff and students, and often lacked many essential resources.

Ghazi Stadium, damaged in the civil conflicts, was also notorious during Taliban rule as a site of public punishments and executions.

History

Kabul has a long history, dating back more than three thousand years. As a strategic site which commands several mountain passes, it has been fought for and coveted by a succession of invaders, and has thus been influenced by many different cultures.

The pre-Islamic settlement had its start under a Bactrian state system, which was subsequently Hellenized by the passing of Alexander the Great and his armies. Though the Greeks were regional rulers for a time, Persian influence was ultimately much more decisive on the developing culture.

The Islamic conquest in the seventh and eighth centuries brought the next stage of domination, and established one of the major features of the modern country, its religion. Over the next centuries, until the Mongol invasion, Islam permeated the culture and mixed with the pre-existing tribal societies.

The empires that had arisen were unable to resist the onslaught of Genghis Khan and his armies, though the religious character of the Central Asia did not change. The Mongols did extensive damage to Kabul and ruled the region until the sixteenth century.

Kabul subsequently came under control of the Mughal Empire, the seat of which was in India. Babur, its first emperor, had great affection for Kabul and requested to be buried there.

As Mughal power began to diminish, some disparate tribes united under Nadir Shah, who conquered vast territory and attempted to rule the area from modern-day Iran. Following his death in 1747, tribal leaders stepped into the power vacuum. The tribes were loosely unified under the military leader, Ahmad Shah, who established the Durrani Empire with Kabul as its capital. For more than two centuries, power was passed down through Pashtun leaders.

In the nineteenth century, European colonial forces set upon the territory of Afghanistan in what has been termed the Great Game. The British and Russian empires, both fearing the other's influence in Central Asia and the threat to their colonial holdings, vied for influence over the region. This period led to two Anglo-Afghan wars. The British first occupied Kabul in 1839. Though their garrison was slaughtered in 1842, the British maintained a presence in the city until 1880.

The rule of Abdur Rahman Khan from 1880 to 1901 brought about the consolidation of Afghanistan, and thereby founded the modern Afghan nation. Abdur Rahman Khan was also responsible for making great strides in modernizing his country.

This trend, under successive monarchs, continued through the mid-twentieth century. The Soviet Union began meddling in the internal affairs of Afghanistan and ultimately invaded the country in 1979 as a means to support a Marxist-led government. For the next decade, the Soviets ruled Afghanistan through a puppet regime. Kabul served as the military center for their operation, which ended with their defeat and withdrawal in 1989.

Civil war ensued as guerilla groups who had fought the Soviets struggled for control of the country. Kabul was severely damaged during these conflicts. The Taliban captured Kabul in 1996 and set out to implement strict Islamic fundamentalist law. They held power until the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, which occurred after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. US forces brought down the Taliban in response to intelligence that stated that the Taliban helped to harbor al-Qaeda operatives involved in the planning of the attacks.

Kabul experienced significant changes in the years after the US invasion. American and coalition forces continued to combat the Taliban, as well as local affiliates of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), while nongovernmental organizations worked to rebuild the city's infrastructure and economy. It once again became the seat of an independent government, though one whose control over Afghanistan was considered weak. As the Taliban began their resurgence throughout the country, US and NATO forces helped maintain the Afghan government's hold over Kabul.

However, after the US made a deal with the Taliban to withdraw in exchange for a promise not to harbor terrorists, the elected Afghan government proved even more fragile than expected. The Taliban overran the country before the US withdrawal was even complete, with Kabul falling on August 15, 2021. There was a brief surge of US forces deployed to help complete the evacuation of remaining Western diplomatic and advisory personnel from the Kabul airport, but the military operation concluded by September 1. The Taliban quickly consolidated its hold over the capital city, but many residents fled out of fear of reprisal attacks.

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