Overland to London - Kandahar to Herat

Barrenness of the Afghan Desert near Farah

 Wed 11 March                  KANDAHAR – HERAT                                                                                                                                            568kms

        Left Kandahar 9.00am after having to change a wheel on our coach. Drive today is through featureless desert with distant jagged mountains. 

Near disaster on the road to Herat

 There was near disaster in the desert when the coach  we were running tandem with, blew a tyre and left the road. Fortunately the vehicle stayed upright, but it took 2½hours to repair the damage and get the vehicle back on the road. 

Afghan tribesmen near Farah

While the tyre was being fixed, a number of local tribesmen came around and indicated they would like the wrecked tyre. Looking at their feet we soon saw why. They would covert the tyre rubber into basic sandals similar to those they were already wearing. It was speculated that they may have placed something on the roadway to  cause the tyre to blow, but there was no evidence that this happened. They were given the remains of the tyre.

 We continued on to Farah for a very late lunch at the Farahrod Hotel. This hotel was built by the Russians and is modern by 1960s standards, except nobody stays there. The restaurant was well-stocked with modern appliances, but, we were in for a surprise. We were led through the hotel to a dirty old shed out the back, where all they could offer were omelettes cooked over a primus stove! The rest of the drive to Herat was after dusk,  arriving at about 8.30pm. The Herat Hotel where we are staying is also a modern hotel built by the Russians but has no hot water. The Hotel could  only provide food for 20 people, so most of the group went into the city to eat.

Thu 12 March                          HERAT 

Herat is the third largest city in Afghanistan and like the other cities we have visited, has a long and turbulent history. The city had a long connection with  the early Iranian Empires, being mentioned in the Avesta, the Zoroastrian holy book and the 4^th century BC Greek historian, Herodotus,  described the Herat region (the satrapy of Aria)  as the bread basket of Central Asia.  In the 7^th century AD Herat  was conquered by Arab armies and Islam was introduced and in 14th, after the conquest of Tamerlane, Herat became an important intellectual and artistic centre in the Islamic World. In the mid-18^th century the city became part of Afghanistan under the Durranis, and during the ‘Great Game’, in 1856, the Anglo-Persian War was fought by the British to halt an attempt by Persia to reclaim the city of Herat.  Herat had been part of Persia, but had declared itself independent under its own Emir who had placed the city under the protection of the British in India, in alliance with the Emirate of Kabul. The British campaign was successful, although none of the fighting was in Herat district, but in the form of a naval action in southern Persia around Bushire. Herat had been another important city on the Silk Road and was of interest to the Russians during the ‘Great Game’.

  

The Masjid-i Jami, or Great Mosque in Herat

        In the centre of Herat is the Masjid-I Jami, or Great Mosque which originally dates from the early 13^th century, but after the original mosque was destroyed in a massive earthquake in 1364, the Timurid rulers rebuilt the Great Mosque, adding the distinctive blue tiling that is seen throughout Iran.  Considerable restoration work to both the interior and exterior has been carried out since 1945.

The Minars of the Mussala Mausoleum near Herat

15th century tile work on the Mussala minars, Herat

        Just out of town are the Mussala Mausoleum and minar complex whose central feature, the tomb of Gawhar Shad has been extensively damaged. Gawhar Shad was the chief wife of the Timurid ruler Saha Rukh and she commissioned the mausoleum, which was completed in 1438,  to house the remains of her son, Prince Baysunghur Gawhar Shad, her brother and other son were also interred here. A theological school or madrassa, was also part of the complex. After the Panjdeh incident (between Afghanistan and Russia)  in 1885, the complex was largely destroyed by the British who regarded the tomb as of strategic  importance and a possible base if the Russians should invade Afghanistan. The minarets that remain stand precariously leaning and look as if they could collapse at any time. Much of the fine blue tilework of the minars has been damaged, or picked out by souvenir hunters but enough remains to bear witness to its former splendour.  

After dinner and a look around the muddy streets of the city, we returned to the Herat Hotel where we just about froze to death. No heating or hot water and no electricity until 6.30.

 Fri 13 March                     HERAT

In contrast to yesterday, today dawned fine but cold. We had another free day in Herat. In the morning I walked with several companions into Herat and after a lunch of chicken kebabs (25 afghanis) we trudged around the muddy streets, now drying out after the recent rain,  looking at karakul coats and other local crafts. We have been warned that as we would be crossing the border into Iran the next day, drugs and firearms in particular, are frowned upon by SAVAK, the Shah’s secret police.

The view from the Herat Hotel, on the edge of the city

It was during the afternoon that occurred an interesting episode, which I have often thought about in recent years. This was an incident with a pistol, a little Spanish-made Astra automatic.  Leigh, one of my American travelling companions, had purchased this weapon when he had travelled by motorbike through Central America a few years earlier. He could conceal it neatly in his toilet bag. In view of our warning about SAVAK ,Leigh decided he would sell his automatic pistol and would, perhaps, buy a wolf-skin coat. In a small gun shop in Herat, Leigh asked the owner if he had an Astra automatic pistol. Yes, said the little Afghan, and scurried away to the back recesses of the shop, returning a few seconds later with an identical weapon to the one Leigh had. Leigh looked closely at it, looked up and said “This made in Afghanistan” “No, no” said the little Afghan, “this made in Spain – see here is the mark!’

Guernica-made Astra automatic, similar to 
the one Leigh was selling

He pointed to the ‘Made in Guernica’ inscription.  “No”, said Leigh producing his pistol, “This made in Spain.” Even to someone like me who knew nothing at all about firearms, the difference was evident, a much rougher finish, particular around the screws on the butt, and it took a different calibre bullet. The shopkeeper, when he had got over his initial shock, admitted it was Afghan adding “You sell?” A lengthy haggling session commenced before Leigh and the Afghan agreed on a price. I have often thought about this little Astra, especially after I visited the Khyber gun village of Darra Adam Khel over 10 years later. Was it stripped down and all its components all assiduously copied or has it ended up rusting on a forgotten Afghan battlefield  along with its fallen owner, a victim of the endless wars that began with the Russian invasion in 1979.

text & photographs ©Neil Rawlins 

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