Some Country Views

Well, it's not my town, but I'm here for the next year or so. I got out of Kabul and into the countryside the other day. Everything here was taken on Saturday, 19 July. This is a land of contrasts both in her people and the landscape. The Kabul Valley is Afghanistan's breadbasket. Prior to the Soviet invasion Afghanistan was self-sufficient in food largely due to the excellent soil and abundant water in the Kabul Valley. And yet even in Kabul Province, you see wildly contrasting topography.

This is probably typical of how most people envision Afghanistan.
And there is much like this.
This in the northernwestern part of Kabul Province.
The mountains jut out of the level plain and form a bowl around the valley.

Looking back the other direction from the previous picture you see the mountains to the southeast. The agricultural basin in the valley below and nestled on the southern slopes provide a sharp contrast to the arid plain above.

More of the rugged mountains ringing the Kabul Valley.

Desert road through barren landscape.

This picture shows two things, the bed for the new road taking shape and a sense of scale.
You can see for miles and the distances can be deceptive.

A woman tends the family flock.

Villagers getting organized for the day's work. They were repairing the mud walls on this day and improving the irrigation ditches. Note the trees in the background. We are no longer in the desert.

A martyr's grave near the village.
Martyr's graves are distinguished with green or red flags.
This is a martyr who died during the Soviet occupation.

Fields of green. Note the fortress-like buildings in the background. Some villages in these remote areas are completely walled. It has always been dangerous living in the remote areas of Afghanistan.

Another farm. Poplar trees like these lining the field are very common.