Kandahar کندهار Candahar
—  City  —
Kandahar University
Kandahar Location in Afghanistan
Coordinates: 31°37′01″N 65°43′01″E / 31.61694°N 65.71694°E / 31.61694; 65.71694Coordinates: 31°37′01″N 65°43′01″E / 31.61694°N 65.71694°E / 31.61694; 65.71694
Country	Afghanistan
Province	Kandahar
District	Kandahar
Government
• Mayor	Vacant
Elevation	1,000 m (3,000 ft)
Population (2006)
• Total	512,200
	[1]
Time zone	Afghanistan Standard Time (UTC+4:30)

Kandahar, occasionally Candahar, or Qandahar, (Pashto: کندهار Kandahār) is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011.^[1] It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m (3,297 feet) above sea level. The Arghandab River runs along the west of the city.

Kandahar is the original and most culturally significant city of the Pashtuns and has always been their traditional seat of power. It is a major trading center for sheep, wool, cotton, silk, felt, food grains, fresh and dried fruit, and tobacco. The region produces fine fruits, especially pomegranates and grapes, and the city has plants for canning, drying, and packing fruit. Kandahar has an international airport and extensive road links with Farah and Herat to the west, Kabul and Peshawar to the northeast, Tarinkot to the north, and Quetta in neighboring Balochistan (Pakistan) to the south.

The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements. Alexander the Great is said to have laid-out the foundation of what is now Old Kandahar in the 4th century BC and gave it the Ancient Greek name Αλεξάνδρεια Aραχωσίας (Alexandria of Arachosia). Many empires have long fought over the city due to its strategic location along the trade routes of southern, central and western Asia. In 1709, Mirwais Hotak made the region an independent kingdom and turned Kandahar into the first capital of the Hotaki dynasty. In 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the last Afghan empire, made it the capital of modern Afghanistan.^[2][3]

Since the 1978 Marxist revolution, the city has been a magnet for groups such as the Pakistan-based Haqqani network, Quetta Shura, Hezbi Islami, al-Qaida and other terrorist groups, many of which are believed to receive support from Pakistan's ISI spy network.^[4][5] From late 1994 to 2001, it served as the capital of the Taliban government. It was toppled by US-led NATO forces during Operation Enduring Freedom in late 2001 and replaced by the current government of President Hamid Karzai.

Name[link]

Bilingual Edict of Ashoka (in Greek and Aramaic), found in Kandahar. c. 250 BC

It is believed that Kandahar may have derived from Alexandria (Iskandariya in various local languages)^[6] or Alexandropolis, one of the many cities renamed by Alexander the Great after himself.^[7] A temple to the deified Alexander as well as an inscription in Greek and Aramaic by the Indian Emperor Ashoka, who lived a few decades later, have been discovered in Kandahar.^{[8][dead link]}

An alternative etymology derives the name of the city from Gandhara,^[9][10] the name of an ancient Hindu kingdom from the Vedic period and its capital city located between the Hindu Kush and Sulaiman Mountains (basically identical to the modern extent of the Pashtun-inhabited territories in Pakistan and Afghanistan),^[11] although Kandahar in modern times and the ancient Gandhara are not geographically identical but are far away from each other.^[12][13]

Another etymology offered is that the word "kand" or "qand" in Persian and Pashto (the local languages) means "candy", and "har" means necklace. The name of the city (قند هار/Qandahar) in this form translates to "candy-necklace". The ق is not an actual Persian alphabet, but in Turkish languages (especially in Uzbeki) the <<qand>> means "candy" and <<ar>> means "river", and <<har> is extraction an of <<ar>>, therefore, "Qandahar" becomes "river of candy". And the ancient word Gandh derived from Gandhar also means a sweet nice smell. This probably has to do with the city being known for producing fine grapes, pomegranates, apricots, melons and other sweet fruits.^{[2][not in citation given]}

The historian of Islamic cultures in India André Wink gives the meaning "where people do not eat cows."^[14]

A fourth etymology derives the name of the city as combination of two PIE words, even used in Indo-Pakistan now by nomadic Bagga and Sansi tribes, kand = wall and har = mountain or stone leading to understand a city made of stones or fortress with stone wall.^{[citation needed]}

Yet a fifth etymology derives the name of the city from the name of the Indo-Parthian King Gondophares: he founded it under the name Gundopharron.^[15]

History[link]

History of Afghanistan

See also: Timeline

Pre-Islamic Proto-Elamite civilization (2300–1800 BC) Indus valley civilization (2200–1800 BC) Oxus civilization (2100–1800 BC) Aryans (1700–700 BC) Median Empire (728–550 BC) Achaemenids (550–330 BC) Seleucids (330–150 BC) Mauryans (305–180 BC) Greco-Bactrians (256–125 BC) Indo-Greeks (180–130 BC) Indo-Scythians (Sakas) (155–80? BC) Indo-Parthians (20 BC–50? AD) Kushans (135 BC–248 AD) Sassanids (230–565) Indo-Sassanids (248–410) Kidarites (320–465) Hephthalites (410–557) Kabul Shahi (565–879) Islamic period Rashidun Caliphate (642–641) Umayyads (661–750) Abbasids (750–821) Tahirids (821–873) Saffarids (863–900) Samanids (875–999) Ghaznavids (963–1187) Seljukids (1037–1194) Khwarezmids (1077–1231) Ghorids (1149–1212) Ilkhanate (1258–1353) Kartids (1245–1381) Timurids (1370–1506) Arghun (1479-1522) Mughals (1501–1738) |Safavids (1510–1709) Hotaki dynasty (1709–1738) Afsharids (1738–1747) Modern history Durrani Empire (1747–1826) Emirate (1826–1919) Kingdom (1919–1973) Republic (1973–1978) Democratic Republic (1978–1992) Islamic State (1992–1996) Islamic Emirate (1996–2001) Islamic Republic (2001–present) Afghan Civil War  (1979–present) Soviet war  (1979–1989) Civil War, first phase (1989–1992) Civil War, second phase (1992–1996) Civil War, third phase (1996–2001)  War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

Book ·  Category ·  Portal

Prehistory[link]

Excavations of prehistoric sites by archaeologists such as Louis Dupree and others suggest that the region around Kandahar is one of the oldest human settlements known so far.

...Early peasant farming villages came into existence in Afghanistan ca. 5000 B.C., or 7000 years ago. Deh Morasi Ghundai, the first prehistoric site to be excavated in Afghanistan, lies 27 km (17 mi.) southwest of Kandahar (Dupree, 1951). Another Bronze Age village mound site with multiroomed mud-brick buildings dating from the same period sits nearby at Said Qala (J. Shaffer, 1970). Second millennium B.C. Bronze Age pottery, copper and bronze horse trappings and stone seals were found in the lowermost levels in the nearby cave called Shamshir Ghar (Dupree, 1950). In the Seistan, southwest of these Kandahar sites, two teams of American archaeologists discovered sites relating to the 2nd millennium B.C. (G. Dales, University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 1969, 1971; W, Trousdale, Smithsonian Institution, 1971 – 76). Stylistically the finds from Deh Morasi and Said Qala tie in with those of pre-Indus Valley sites and with those of comparable age on the Iranian Plateau and in Central Asia, indicating cultural contacts during this very early age...^[16]

—N. Dupree, 1971

Hellenistic era[link]

Kandahar was founded in 330 BC by Alexander the Great, near the site of the ancient city of Mundigak (established around 3000 BC). Previously, Mundigak served as the provincial capital of Arachosia and was ruled by the Achaemenid Empire. The main inhabitants of Arachosia were the Pactyans,^[17] an ancient Iranian tribe, who may be among the ancestors of today's Pashtuns. Kandahar was named Alexandria, a popular name given to many cities that Alexander found during his conquests.^[6]

The city has been a frequent target for conquest because of its strategic location in Southern Asia, controlling the main trade route linking the Indian subcontinent with the Middle East, Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.^[18] It later became part of the Indian Mauryan Empire under Chandragupta Maurya, after the departure of Alexander. The Mauryan emperor Ashoka erected a pillar there with a bilingual inscription in Greek and Aramaic.^[19] The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom occupied Kandahar after the Mauryans, but then lost the city to the Indo-Scythians.

Islamization and Mongol invasion[link]

A miniature from Padshahnama depicting the surrender of the Shi'a Safavid at what is now Old Kandahar in 1638 to the Mughal army of Shah Jahan commanded by Kilij Khan.

In the 7th century AD, Arab armies conquered the region with the new religion of Islam but were unable to succeed in fully converting the population. In 870 AD, Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari, a local ruler of the Saffarid dynasty conquered Kandahar and the rest of the nearby regions in the name of Islam.

...Arab armies carrying the banner of Islam came out of the west to defeat the Sasanians in 642 AD and then they marched with confidence to the east. On the western periphery of the Afghan area the princes of Herat and Seistan gave way to rule by Arab governors but in the east, in the mountains, cities submitted only to rise in revolt and the hastily converted returned to their old beliefs once the armies passed. The harshness and avariciousness of Arab rule produced such unrest, however, that once the waning power of the Caliphate became apparent, native rulers once again established themselves independent. Among these the Saffarids of Seistan shone briefly in the Afghan area. The fanatic founder of this dynasty, the coppersmith’s apprentice Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari, came forth from his capital at Zaranj in 870 AD and marched through Bost, Kandahar, Ghazni, Kabul, Bamiyan, Balkh and Herat, conquering in the name of Islam.^[16]

—N. Dupree, 1971

It is believed that the Zunbil dynasty, who were related to the Shahi dynasty of Kabul, were probably the rulers of the Kandahar region from the 7th century until the late 9th century AD.

The Zunbils ruled in the Kandahar area for nearly 250 years until the late 9th century AD.^[20]

—Anthony McNicoll

Kandahar was taken by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni in the 11th century followed by the Ghurids of Ghor. The region was invaded in the 13th century by Genghis Khan and his Mongol armies, who caused destruction but did not settle. It became part of the Timurid Empire from the 14th century to the 15th century, which was founded by Timur (Tamerlane). Pir Muhammad, a grandson of Tamerlane, held the seat of government in Kandahar from about 1383 until his death in 1407. Following his death, the city was ruled by other Timurid government officials. Kandahar was entrusted to the Arghuns in the late 15th century, who eventually achieved independence from the Timurids.

Tamerlane's descendant, Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, annexed Kandahar in the 16th century. Babur's son, Humayun, lost it to the Shi'a Safavids of Persia. The Mughals gained he city in 1595 and resisted a Persian siege in 1605–1606. Humayun's son, Akbar, regained control of Kandahar in 1638 but lost the city permanently to the Safavid Persians during the 1649-53 Mughal–Safavid War.

Modern history[link]

Mirwais Hotak, known today as Afghanistan's George Washington,^[21] revolted against the Safavid rule and declared the Kandahar region an independent Afghan kingdom in 1709, which was later expanded by his son Mahmud to include Persia.

Mirwais Hotak, chief of the Ghilzai tribe, revolted in 1709 by killing Gurgin Khan, an ethnic Georgian and governor for the Shia Safavid Persians. After establishing the Hotaki dynasty in Kandahar, Mirwais and his army successfully defeated subsequent expeditions by Kay Khusraw and Rustam Khán. Mirwais resisted attempts by the Persian government who were seeking to convert the Afghans from Sunni to the Shia sect of Islam. He died of a natural death in November 1715 and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz, but after being suspected of giving Kandahar's sovereignty back to the Persians he was killed by his nephew Mahmud Hotaki.^[22][23]

In 1722, Mahmud led an army of Afghans to the Safavid capital Isfahan and proclaimed himself King of Persia. The Hotaki dynasty was eventually removed from power by a new ruler, Nader Shah Afshar of Mashad in Khorasan. In 1738, Nader Shah invaded Afghanistan and destroyed the now Old Kandahar which was held by Hussain Hotaki and his Ghilzai tribes.^[24] In the meantime, Nader Shah freed Ahmad Khan (later Ahmad Shah Durrani) and his brother Zulfikar who were held prisoners by the Hotaki ruler. Before leaving southern Afghanistan for Delhi in India, Nader Shah laid out the foundation for a new town to be built next to the destroyed ancient city, naming it "Naderabad". His rule ended in June 1747 after being murdered by his Persian guards.^[25]

British and allied forces at Kandahar after the 1880 Battle of Kandahar, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The large defensive wall around the city was finally removed in the early 1930s by the order of King Nader Khan, the father of King Zahir Shah.

Ahmad Shah Durrani, chief of the Durrani tribe, gained control of Kandahar and made it the capital of his new Afghan Empire in October 1747. Previously, Ahmad Shah served as a military commander of Nader Shah Afshar. His empire included present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Khorasan and Kohistan provinces of Iran, along with Punjab in India. In October 1772, Ahmad Shah retired and died from a natural cause.^[26] A new city was laid out by Ahmad Shah and is dominated by his mausoleum, which is adjacent to the Friday Mosque in the center of the city. By 1776, his eldest son Timur Shah had transferred Afghanistan's main capital from Kandahar to Kabul, where the Durrani legacy continued.^[16]

In September 1826, Syed Ahmad Shaheed's followers arrived to Kandahar in search of volunteers to help them wage jihad against the Sikh invaders to what is now Pakistan. Led by Ranjit Singh, the Sikhs had captured several of Afghanistan's territories in the east, including what is now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir. More than 400 local Kandahar warriors assembled themselves for the jihad. Sayed Din Mohammad Kandharai was appointed as their leader.

British-led Indian forces from neighboring British India invaded the city in 1839, during the First Anglo-Afghan War, but withdrew in 1842. The British and Indian forces returned in 1878 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. They emerged from the city in July 1880 to confront the forces of Ayub Khan, but were defeated at the Battle of Maiwand. They were again forced to withdraw a few years later, despite winning the Battle of Kandahar.

Kandahar remained peaceful for the next 100 years, except during 1929 when loyalists of Habibullah Kalakani (Bache Saqqaw) placed the fortified city on lock-down and began torturing its population. Nobody was allowed to enter or leave from within the city's tall defensive walls, and as a result of this many people suffered after running out of food supplies. This lasted until October 1929 when Nadir Khan and his Afghan army came to eliminate Kalakani, known as the Tajik bandit from the village of Kalakan in northern Kabul Province.

During Zahir Shah's rule, the city slowly began expanding by adding modern style streets and housing schemes. In the 1960s, during the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, Kandahar International Airport was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers next to the city. The U.S. also completed several other major projects in Kandahar and in other parts of southern Afghanistan. In the meantime, Soviet engineers were busy building major infrastructures in other parts of the country, such as Bagram Airfield and Kabul International Airport.

During the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan, Kandahar was tightly under pro-Communist government control and witnessed heavy fighting. Soviet-backed government troops surrounded the city and subjected it to heavy bombardment in which many civilians lost lives.^[27] Kandahar International Airport was used by the Soviet Army during their ten-year troop placement in the country. The city also became a battle ground for the US and Pakistani-backed mujahideen forces who waged a strong guerrilla warfare against the pro-Communist government of Afghanistan. After the Soviet withdrawal and the collapse of Najibullah's government in 1992, Kandahar fell to local mujahideen commander, Gul Agha Sherzai.

U.S. Army troops in 2009 passing by the starting point of the Army Ten-Miler run at their base next to Kandahar International Airport.

Members of the honor guard for the Afghan National Police at the Recruit Training Camp in Kandahar Province in February 2009.

In August 1994 the Taliban captured Kandahar and soon after the city was turned into their capital. The Taliban began cleaning the city from warlords and criminals who were sometimes also involved in bacha bazi. In December 1999, a hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 plane by Pakistani militants loyal to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen landed at Kandahar International Airport and kept the passengers hostage as part of a demand to release 3 Pakistani militants from prison in India.

In October 2001, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the United States Navy began hitting targets inside the city by precision-guided cruise missiles that were fired from the Persian Gulf. These targets were the airport and buildings that were occupied by the Taliban, including Arab families who had arrived several years earlier and were residing in the area.^[28] About a month later, the Taliban began surrendering in mass numbers to a private militia that had been formed by Gul Agha Sherzai and Hamid Karzai.^[29] Kandahar once again fell into the hands of Sherzai, who had control over the area before the rise of the Taliban. He was transferred in 2003 and replaced by Yousef Pashtun until Asadullah Khalid took the post in 2005. The current Governor of the province is Toryalai Wesa. He was appointed by President Hamid Karzai in December 2008 after Rahmatullah Raufi's four month rule.

As of 2002, Kandahar International Airport is used by members of the United States armed forces and NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). NATO began training the newly-formed Afghan National Police and are now given the security responsibility of the city. The military of Afghanistan, backed by NATO forces, has gradually expanded its authority and presence throughout most of the country. The 205th Corps of the Afghan National Army is based at Kandahar and provides military assistance to the south of the country. The Canadian Forces maintain their military command headquarters at Kandahar, heading the Regional Command South of the NATO led International Security Assistance Force in Kandahar Province. The Taliban also have supporters inside the city reporting on events.^[30]

U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Toryalai Wesa, the Governor of Kanahar Province.

NATO forces expanded the Afghan police force for the prevention of a Taliban comeback in Kandahar, the militants' "spiritual birthplace" and a strategic key to ward off the Taliban insurgency, as a part of a larger effort that also aimed to deliver services such as electricity and clean drinking water that the Taliban could not provide – encouraging support for the government in a city that was once the Taliban's headquarters. The most significant battle between NATO troops and the Taliban lasted throughout the summer of 2006, culminating in Operation Medusa. The Taliban failed to defeat the Western troops in open warfare, which marked a turn in their tactics towards IED emplacement.^[31] In June 2008, it was reported that over 1,000 inmates had escaped from Kandahar detention facility (Sarposa Prison). In Spring 2010, the province and the city of Kandahar became a target of American operations following Operation Moshtarak in the neighboring Helmand province.^[32] In March 2010, U.S. and NATO commanders released details of plans for the biggest offensive of the war against the Taliban insurgency.^[33]

In May 2010 Kandahar International Airport became subject of a combined rocket and ground attack by insurgents, following similar attacks on Kabul and Bagram in the preceding weeks. Although this attack did not lead to many casualties on the side of NATO forces, it did show that the militants are still capable of launching multiple, coordinated operations in Afghanistan. In June 2010, a shura was held by Afghan President Hamid Karzai with tribal and religious leaders of the Kandahar region. The meeting highlighted the need for support of NATO-led forces in order to stabilize parts of the province.

By 2011, Kandahar became known as the assassination city of Afghanistan after witnessing many target killings. In July Ahmed Wali Karzai, brother of President Hamid Karzai, was shot by his long time head of security. Soon after the Quetta Shura of the Taliban claimed responsibility. The next day an Islamic cleric (mulla) of the famous Red Mosque in the Shahr-e Naw area of the city and a number of other people were killed by a Taliban suicide bomber who had hidden explosives inside his turban. On 27 July 2011, the mayor of the city, Ghulam Haider Hamidi, was assassinated by another Taliban militant who had hidden explosives in his turban. Two deputy mayors had been killed in 2010,^[34] while many tribal elders and Islamic clerics have also been assassinated in the last several years. NATO commanders often blame Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy network as the masterminds behind the Taliban-led insurgency.^[4] This form of terrorism is the idea of ISI to defend its sovereignty. The ISI is using the insurgents in the name of Islamic jihad to counter the growing influence of its rival India in Afghanistan and the Afghan claim regarding the disputed Durand Line border.^[35] The overwhelming majority of the victims in the attacks are ordinary Afghan civilians.^[36]

Climate[link]

Kandahar has a continental warm arid climate (Köppen BSh),^[37] characterised by little precipitation and high variation between summer and winter temperatures. Summers start in mid-May, last until late-September, and are extremely dry. Temperatures peak in July with a 24-hour daily average of around 31.9 °C (89.4 °F). They are followed by dry autumns from early-October to late-November, with days still averaging in the 20s °C (above 68 °F) into November, though nights are sharply cooler. Winter begins in December and sees most of its precipitation in the form of rain. Temperatures average 5.1 °C (41.2 °F) in January, although lows can drop well below freezing. They end in early-March and are followed by a pleasant spring till late-April with temperatures generally in the upper 10s °C to lower 30s °C (65–88 °F) range. Sunny weather dominates year-round, especially in summer, when rainfall is extremely rare. The annual mean temperature is 18.6 °C (65.5 °F).

Transport[link]

Night view of Kandahar International Airport in 2007.

Kandahar International Airport serves as southern Afghanistan's main airport for domestic and international flights. It is also used as a major military base as well as shipping and receiving of supplies for the NATO armies. The entire area in and around the airport is heavily guarded but a section is designated for civilian passengers. Most international flights are with Dubai, Germany, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan.

A railroad track from the Pakistani town of Chaman to Kandahar is under way, which will connect Afghan Railways with Pakistan Railways. The feasibility study was completed in 2006, allowing for the next step to lay-down the rail track.^[39]

Kandahar is connected to Kabul by the Kabul-Kandahar Highway and to Herat by the Kandahar-Herat Highway. There is a bus station located at the start of the Kabul-Kandahar Highway, where a number of privately-owned older model Mercedes-Benz coach buses are available to take passengers to most major cities of the country. Kandahar is also connected by road to Quetta in neighboring Pakistan. Due to the ongoing war the route to Kabul has become increasingly dangerous as insurgent attacks on convoys and destruction of bridges make it an unreliable link between the two cities.^[40][41]

Commuters of the city use the public bus system (Milli Bus), and taxicabs and rickshaws are common. Private vehicle use is increasing, partially due to road and highway improvements. Large dealerships are importing cars from Dubai, UAE.^[42]

Education[link]

Before the 1978 Communist takeover of Afghanistan, majority of the city's population were enrolled in schools. Nearly all of the elite class of the city fled to neighboring Pakistan during the early 1980s, and from there they began immigrating to North America, the European Union, Australia and other parts of the world.

The city currently has some public schools for both boys and girls. The two well-known schools are Ahmad Shah Baba Lycée and Zarghoona Anna Lycée, and the main university is and Kandahar University.

Communications[link]

Telecommunication services in the city are provided by Afghan Wireless, Roshan, Etisalat, MTN Group and Afghan Telecom. In November 2006, the Afghan Ministry of Communications signed a $64.5 million agreement with ZTE for the establishment of a countrywide fiber optical cable network. This was intended to improve telephone, internet, television and radio broadcast services not just in Kandahar but throughout the country.

Besides foreign channels, Afghanistan's local television channels include:

• Ariana TV
• Ariana Afghanistan TV
• Lamar TV
• Shamshad TV
• Tolo TV
• Hewad TV

Places of interest[link]

An 1881 photo showing the ruined Old Kandahar citadel of Shah Hussain Hotaki that was destroyed by the Afsharid forces of Nader Shah in 1738. This destroyed fortress is still standing today.

The tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani is located in the city center, which also houses Durrani's brass helmet and other personal items. In front of Durrani's mausoleum is the Shrine of the Cloak, containing one of the most valued relics in the Islamic world, which was given by the Emir of Bokhara (Murad Beg) to Ahmad Shah Durrani. The Sacred Cloak is kept locked away, taken out only at times of great crisis. Mullah Omar took it out in November 1996 and displayed it to a crowd of ulema of religious scholars to have himself declared Amir al-Mu'minin (Commander of the Faithful). Prior to that it was taken out when the city was struck by a cholera epidemic in the 1930s.^[43]

The village of Sher Surkh is located southeast of the city, in the suburbs of the old city of Nadirabad. Kandahar Museum is located at the western end of the third block of buildings lining the main road east of Eidgah Durwaza (gate). It has many paintings by the now famous Ghiyassuddin, painted while he was a young teacher in Kandahar. He is acknowledged among Afghanistan’s leading artists.

Just to the north of the city, off its northeast corner at the end of buria (matting) bazaar, there is a shrine dedicated to a saint who lived in Kandahar more than 300 years ago. The grave of Hazratji Baba, 23 feet (7.0 m) long to signify his greatness, but otherwise covered solely by rock chips, is undecorated save for tall pennants at its head. A monument to Islamic martyrs stands in the center of Kandahar's main square, called Da Shahidanu Chawk, which was built in the 1940s.

The Chilzina is a rock-cut chamber above the plain at the end of the rugged chain of mountains forming the western defence of Kandahar’s Old City. Forty steps, about, lead to the chamber which is guarded by two chained lions, defaced, and inscribed with an account of Moghul conquest. The rugged cliffs from which the Chilzina was hewn form the natural western bastion of the Old City of Kandahar which was destroyed in 1738 by Nadir Shah Afshar of Persia.

A short distance from Chilzina, going west on the main highway, a bright blue dome appears on the right. This is the mausoleum of Mirwais Hotak, the Ghilzai chieftain who declared Kandahar's independence from the Persians in 1709. The shrine of Baba Wali, its terraces shaded by pomegranate groves beside the Arghandab River, is also very popular for picnics and afternoon outings.^[16] Close to Baba Wali's shrine is a military base established by the United States armed forces in about 2007.

Development and modernization[link]

The original model plan of the Aino Mena neighborhood, which began in 2003 by Mahmud Karzai and associates.

Decades of war left Kandahar and the rest of the country destroyed and depopulated, but in recent years billions of dollars began pouring in for construction purposes and millions of expats have returned to Afghanistan. New neighborhoods have been established around the city, and a number of modern-style buildings have been constructed. Some residents of the city have access to clean drinking water and electricity, and the government is working to extend these services to every home.^[44] The city relies on electricity from the Kajaki hydroelectricity plant in neighboring Helmand, which is being upgraded or expanded. About 20 miles north of the city is the Dahla Dam, the second largest dam in Afghanistan.

The Aino Mena is a new settlement project for up to two million people on the northern edge of the city. Originally called the Kandahar Valley and started by Mahmud Karzai, it was announced that the housing project covers up to 20,000 single-family homes and associated infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer systems, and community buildings, including schools.^[45] It recently won 2 awards, the Residential Project and Sustainable Project of the Year at the Middle East Architect Awards.^[46] Many of the high ranking government employees and civil servants as well as wealthy businessmen live in this area, which is a more secured community in Kandahar. Work on the next $100 million scheme was innitiated in 2011. Also, construction of Hamidi Township in the Morchi Kotal area of the city began in August 2011. It is named after Ghulam Haider Hamidi, the mayor of Kandahar who was assassinated by the Taliban militants in late July 2011.^[47] Situated along the Kandahar-Uruzgan Highway in the northeast of the city, the new township will have 2,000 residential and commercial plots. Including new roads, schools, commercial markets, clinics, canals and other facilities.^[48]

About 6 miles (10 km) east of Kandahar, a huge industrial park is under construction with modern facilities. The park will have professional management for the daily maintenance of public roads, internal streets, common areas, parking areas, 24 hours perimeter security, access control for vehicles and persons.^[49]

The mausoleum of Baba Wali next to the Arghandab Valley, in the northern outskirts of the city.

The mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani in the center of the city, which also serves as the Friday Mosque and contains a sacred cloak that used to be worn by Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

Al-Jadeed indoor shopping center in the Shahre Naw section of the city.

Local football players at Ahmad Shah Baba playground.

• Airports
  • Kandahar International Airport

• Neighborhoods
  • Aino Mena (under development since 2003)
  • Hamidi Mena (under development since 2011)
  • Shahre Naw (meaning New City)
  • Dand
  • Karz
  • Mirwais Mena
  • Daman
  • Sarpuza
  • Malajat
  • Old Kandahar (Zoar Shar)
  • Arghandab Valley

• Cultural sites and parks
  • Kandahar Park [2]
  • Baba Saab
  • Kokaran Park
  • Baghi Pul Park [3]
  • Chilzina View (Moghul Emperor Babur's inscription site)
  • Kandahar Museum

• Stadiums
  • Kandahar International Cricket Stadium (under construction [4])
  • Kandahar Stadium [5]

• Mosques and Shrines
  • Friday Mosque of Kandahar
  • Shrine of the Cloak
  • Mosque of the Hair of the Prophet
  • Mosque at Kandahar University (Eidgah Jaami Jumat)
  • Red Mosque

• Mausoleums
  • Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani
  • Mausoleum of Mirwais Hotak
  • Mausoleum of Baba Wali

• Shopping
  • Al-Jadeed indoor shopping center [6]
  • Herat Bazaar
  • Kabul Bazaar
  • Shah Bazaar
  • Shkar Pur Bazaar

• Restaurants
  • Lamar Restaurant
  • Mumtaz Restaurant
  • Kandahar Coffee Shop

• Hotels and guest houses
  • Continental Guest House
  • Armani Hotel

• Hospitals
  • Afghan National Army Regional Hospital
  • Mirwais Hospital

• Banks
  • AIB Bank
  • Kabul Bank
  • Azizi Bank

Demography and culture[link]

A gathering of tribal and religious leaders following a shura held by Afghan President Hamid Karzai in June 2010 to start a dialogue for peace with the Taliban.

The population of Kandahar numbers approximately 512,000.^[1] The Pashtuns make up the overwhelming majority population of the city and province but exact figures are not available. According to a 2003 National Geographic suggested figures, Pashtuns were put at ca. 70%, Tajiks 20%, Hazaras 6%, Baloch 2%, and Uzbeks 2%.^[50]

Pashto serves as the main language in the city and the region. A 2006 provincial data prepared by Afghanistan's Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development and United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) states:

The major ethnic group living in Khandahar province is Pashtoons. This includes major tribes such as Barakzai, Popalzai, Alokozai, Noorzai and Alezai. Pashtu is spoken by more than 98% of population and in more than 98% of villages. Dari is spoken in six villages by 4000 people and Balochi is spoken by 8000 people in two villages. 19000 people in nine villages speak some other unspecified language.

The Pashtun culture is dominant in the region.

Notable people from Kandahar[link]

• Nur Jahan – empress of the Mughal Empire
• Mirwais Hotak – founder of the Hotaki dynasty
• Abdul Aziz Hotak – ruler of the Hotaki dynasty
• Mahmud Hotaki – ruler of the Hotaki dynasty and Shah of Persia
• Ashraf Hotaki – Shah of Persia
• Hussain Hotaki – ruler of the Hotaki dynasty
• Ahmad Shah Durrani – founder of the Durrani Empire/founder of the modern state of Afghanistan
• Dost Mohammad Khan - founder of the Barakzai dynasty/Emire of Afghanistan
• Sher Ali Khan - Emir of Afghanistan
• Abdur Rahman Khan - Emir of Afghanistan
• Muhammad Zahir Shah – the last king of Afghanistan
• Ubaidullah Jan - Pashto music king of southern Afghanistan
• Nashenas - Afghan musician
• Abdul Hai Habibi – professor at Kabul University and author of many books
• Hamid Karzai – head and president of Afghanistan since late 2001
• Gul Agha Sherzai – served as the governor of Kandahar province followed by as governors of Nangarhar province
• Said Tayeb Jawad – former Afghanistan Ambassador to the United States
• Ghulam Haider Hamidi - Mayor of Kandahar who was killed in July 2011

See also[link]

• Old Kandahar
• Arachosia
• Alexandria Arachosia
• Kandahar Province
• Kandahar escape

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

• Dupree, Nancy Hatch (1977) [1st Edition: 1970]. An Historical Guide to Afghanistan (2nd Edition, Revised and Enlarged ed.). Afghan Tourist Organization. 
• Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West from the Weilue 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE. Draft annotated English translation.
• Hill, John E. (2009) Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4392-2134-1.
• Thapar, Romila (1963): Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas. Oxford University Press. 3rd impression, New Delhi, 1980.
• Frye, Richard N. (1963). The Heritage of Persia. World Publishing company, Cleveland, Ohio. Mentor Book edition, 1966.
• Toynbee, Arnold J. (1961). Between Oxus and Jumna. London. Oxford University Press.
• Willem Vogelsang (1985). "Early historical Arachosia in South-east Afghanistan; Meeting-place between East and West." Iranica antiqua, 20 (1985), pp. 55–99.
• Wood, Michael (1997). In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great: A Journey from Greece to Asia. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23192-9

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kandahar

• Kandahar travel guide from Wikitravel
• Photos of Kandahar on Panoramio
• Map of Kandahar, from Afghanistan Information Management Services
• The Taliban's Campaign for Kandahar