34°30N 69°10E, pop (2000e) 2 375 000. Capital city of Afghanistan, and capital of Kabul province, E Afghanistan; on R Kabul in a high mountain valley, commanding the approaches to the Khyber Pass; capital of Mughal Empire (15041738); modern state capital, 1773; captured in 1839 and 1879 by the British during the Afghan Wars; target of US-led military bombardment in October 2001 in response to the Taliban government's refusal to give up Osama bin Laden; university (1931); airport; wool, cloth, sugar-beet, plastics, leather goods, furniture, glass, soap, heavy industry; power production increased 25% in 1984 by the opening of a gas turbine plant.
| Kabul, Afghanistan | ||
| View of Kabul City | ||
| Country | Afghanistan | |
|---|---|---|
| Province | Kabul | |
| Districts | ||
| Chief of Police | AliShah Paktiawal | |
| Area | ||
| - City | km² | |
| Population | UN estimate of city proper | |
| Time zone | GMT+04:30 Kabul (UTC) | |
Kabul, Kâb'l (locally: کابل), is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of approximately 3 million people.
It is an economic and cultural center strategically situated in a narrow valley along the Kabul River, high in the mountains before the Khyber Pass. Kabul is linked with Ghazni, Kandahar, Herat and Mazari Sharif via a long beltway (circular highway) that stretches across Afghanistan.
Kabul's main products include ordnance, cloth, furniture, and beet sugar, though, since 1978, a state of nearly continuous war has limited the economic productivity of the city. Kabul's population is multicultural and multi-ethnic, reflecting the diversity of Afghanistan, with Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks and others all comprising the bulk of the city's population.
History
In the earlier records of Kabul are a mention of Kubha as the name of river around 1200 BCE and a reference to the settlement Kabura by the Persian Achaemenids around 300 BCE. Kabul was known as Chabolo in antiquity . The Bactrians founded the town of Paropamisadae near Kabul, but it was later ceded to the Mauryans in the 1st century BCE.
Kabul (Gaofu) was conquered by the first Kushan Emperor, Kujula Kadphises in the early 1st century CE, and it remained Kushan territory until at least the 3rd century CE.
From the 4th to the 7th century Kabul seems to have been ruled by a series of Hindu kings. The Islamic troops met the most strict defense in Kabul than any other city nearby. In the 14th century, Kabul rose again as a trading centre under the kingdom of Timur Lang, who married the sister of Kabul's ruler. Haidar, an Indian poet who visited at the time wrote "Dine and drink in Kabul: it is mountain, desert, city, river and all else."
Nader Shah of Persia captured Kabul in 1738, but after his death in 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani took the throne, asserting Pashtun rule and further expanding his new Afghan Empire. In 1772, Durrani's son Timur Shah Durrani inherited power and transferred the capital of Afghanistan from Kandahar to Kabul. An 1841 local uprising massacred both the British mission and approximately 16,000 British-Indian army troops on their subsequent retreat from Kabul to Jalalabad.
The British returned in 1878 as Kabul was under Sher Ali Khan's rule, but its residents were again massacred. In 1929, Ammanullah Khan left Kabul due to a local uprise and his brother Nadir Shah took control.
Kabul University opened for classes in early 1930s, and in 1940s, the city began to grow as an industrial center.
In the 1960s, Kabul developed a cosmopolitan mood. The first Marks and Spencer store in Central Asia was built there, and Kabul Zoo was inaugurated in 1967.
In 1975 an east-west electric trolley-bus system provided public transportation across the city.
After Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, on December 23, 1979, the red army occupied the city turning it into their command center during the 10-year conflict between the Soviet-allied government and the mujahideen rebels. Kabul fell into the hands of local militias after the 1992 collapse of Mohammad Najibullah's pro-communist government.
At this time, Burhannudin Rabbani's millitia (Jamiat-e Islami) held power but the nominal prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami began a five-year shelling of the city, which lasted until 1996.
Kabul was captured by the Taliban in September, 1996, publicly lynching ex-president Najibullah and his brother. The Taliban abandoned Kabul in the following months due to extensive American bombing, while the Afghan Northern Alliance (former militias) came to retake control of the city. On December 20, 2001, Kabul became the capital of the Afghan Transitional Administration, which transformed to the present government of Afghanistan that is led by US backed President Hamid Karzai.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Kabul International Airport serves the population of the city as a method of traveling to far destinations.
Kabul has its own public buses (Millie Bus) that take commuters on daily routes to many destinations throughout the city.
Private vehicles are on the rise in Kabul, with Toyota, Land Rover, BMW and Hyundai dealerships all over the city.
Communications and technology
Telecommunications in the city are provided by Afghan Wireless, Roshan and Areeba, all have boasted increase in rapid cellular phone usage.
Local (Afghan) television channels include:
Aina TV Ariana TV Lamar TV Shamshad TV Tolo TV Ariana Afghanistan TVReconstructions and developments
As of October 2006, there are fourteen licensed banks in Kabul: including Afghanistan International Bank (managed by the Dutch ING Bank), Standard Chartered Bank, Kabul Bank, Azizi Bank, Punjab National Bank, Habib Bank and others.
A modern indoor shopping mall (Kabul City Center) with a 4-star (Safi Landmark) hotel on the top six floors opened in 2005.
An initial concept design called the City of Light Development, envisioned by Dr. Hisham N. for the development and the implementation of a privately based investment enterprise has been proposed for multi-function commercial, historic and cultural development within the limits of the Old City of Kabul along the Southern side of the Kabul River and along Jade Meywand Avenue, revitalizing some of the most commercial and historic districts in the City of Kabul, which contains numerous historic mosques and shrines as well as viable commercial activities among war damaged buildings.
About 4 miles from downtown Kabul, in Bagrami section, a 22 acres wide industrial complex has completed with modern facilities, which will allow companies to operate businesses there.
Tourism and sightseeing
The old part of Kabul is filled with bazaars nestled along its narrow, crooked streets.
Other places of interest include Kabul City Center, which is Kabul's first shopping mall, the shops around Flower Street and Chicken Street, Wazir Akbar Khan district, Kabul Zoo, Babur's Gardens, Shah Do Shamshera and other famouse Mosques, the Afghan National Gallery, Afghan National Archive, Afghan Royal Family Mausoleum, the OMAR Mine Museum, Bibi Mahroo Hill, Kabul Cemetery, and Paghman Gardens.
General Flower Street Chicken Street Districts Shahr-e Naw (New District) Sherpur Macro Ryans Wazir Akbar Khan Chehlstoon Darul-Amaan Parks Bāghi Bābur (Babur's Garden) Bāghi Bālā Mosques Grand Mosque (Under Construction) Id Gah Mosque Pull-e Khishti Mosque Shah-e Do Shamshera Mosque Mausoleums Mausoleum of Tamim Ansar Mausoleum of Emperor Babur Mausoleum of King Timur Shah Mausoleum of Mohammad Nader Shah Mausoleum of Amir Abdur Rahman Museums Afghan National Museum National Archives Negaristani Milli Attractions Kabul City Center Kabul Zoo Hotels Serena Hotel Safi Landmark Hotel InterContinental Hotel Goldenstar Hotel Heetal Plaza Hotel Hyatt Regency(2007) Banks AIB Bank Kabul Bank Azizi Bank Habib Bank Punjab National Bank Western Union Communication Afghan Wireless RoshanEducation
Universities in Kabul
American University of Afghanistan Kabul University Kabul Institute of Medicine Kabul Polytechnic Kabul International SchoolKabul in literature and poetry
Kabul is mentioned on numerous occasions in classical Persian (Dari) literature well back into the last millennium.
ززابل به کابل رسید آن زمان
From Zabul he arrived to Kabul
گرازان و خندان و دل شادمان
Strutting, happy, and mirthful
---Ferdowsi in Shahnama
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