the Hindu Kush. It's a long, long
walk home. This was a slave route
for centuries. "Hind Kush" means
'Hindu killer'
a headache. Eventually they built
massive open-sided 'tunnels' (the black bands in the photo) to protect against frequent
avalanches of snow and scree. The
photo is taken from half a mile
away, before the road switches
back through a giant underground
tunnel.
the Hindu Kush.
Internet, electricity, uh, water ..
are not on offer. Anyone for a
holiday away from it all?
Central Asian history has come
through this narrow pass where
the awesome Hindu Kush range
meets the plains of Central Asia.
And so with today's road. The
hills are littered with crumbling
fortresses.
Kush, on the road to Mazar-e
Sharif and Samarkand. All the
houses had round, domed roofs
of baked mud. Note the heat haze.
A few minutes later we were in
a sandstorm. Not a fun place.
Mazar-e Sharif. You can't
really sense its impact from
the photograph. This huge
monument of sky-blue tiles
is set in an ocean of
greenery. It is a focus of devotion for hundreds of miles around.