Lemar - Aftaab - Oct. - Dec. 1997

Every issue we take a journey to a different region in Afghanistan. This issue we selected the northeastern province of Laghman.

By Daud Saba

On the northern banks of the Kabul river which run parallel to the Kabul-Jalalabad-Peshawar highway is located an evergreen region: Laghman. Mehterlam is the capital city in the province of Laghman. The town is linked with the main Kabul-Jalalabad highway through an 18 km stretch of a paved road which gives it a better geographical situation comparing to other cities of Eastern Afghanistan.

The main bazaar of Mehterlam is located at the junction of Ali Nagar; the Ali Nagar replaced the old Tirkery bazaar which is 2 km from Mehterlam on a hillside. In 19th century Tirkery was a walled city and the seat of the local sardaar(Lord).

In upper Laghman there is a town named Mandror which faces the ancient, walled city of Charbagh; the city of Charbagh was famous for its armament productions in 19th century, and it is the only town in the region which has its ancient structure and bazaar. In Sorkhrod valley there are smaller bazaars. Generally all the bazaars are crowded during winters because of the mild temperatures.

In 19th century most of the bazaars in Laghman were run by Hindus. These bazaars were the main routes for travelers and merchants passing between India and Kabul through the Khyber Pass. As a result, many caravansaries were built along these ancient road.

Due to the recent war, there are no statistics on the number of residents in the province. The people of Laghman are mostly farmers engaged in rice cultivation; some grow corn and different type of fruits. They enjoy the temperate climate of the winter but move to colder valleys in the summers when the temperature rises above 40 degree Celsius. Laghmanis are kind and hospitable; though they are mostly Pashtoon, other ethnic groups such as Tajiks and Nuristanies also reside in the province.

Laghman is one of the evergreen provinces of Afghanistan. Unfortunately due to wrong plans of the former governments and lack of budgets, Laghman did not have the prosperity of some of the other provinces of Afghanistan and was left behind its neighboring province of Nangahar. The beautiful and scenic surrounding valleys are the natural attractions of this province. These valleys are covered with vegetation and have a rich wild life including the most endangered specie of cat on earth the Caspian Tiger. An added treasure to Laghman is the many precious stones: emerald, aquamarine, and tourmaline.