5 Beautiful Things About Afghanistan

2. The Countryside

Ah! How beautiful is Kabul encircled by her arid mountains

And Rose, of the trails of thorns she envies

Her gusts of powdered soil, slightly sting my eyes

But I love her, for knowing and loving are born of this same dust

-Saib-e-Tabrizi, 17th century poet

Kabul is surrounded by mountains. At night as you drive through the streets, the houses on the mountainside glimmer like stars.

When you leave the city, as we did one day on our way to Istalif, traffic and dust give way to bare countryside, which in turn is exchanged for green fields and hills and distant peaks. While we drove down the highway, I couldn’t help thinking of Italy in the winter–the slightly desaturated greens mixed with browns.

By the time we’d reached the village, the green had become more intense. Little rivers and creeks split the dusty ground. We headed further into the valleys, at first in our clunky city car, and then on foot guided by a group of Afghan boys who had abandoned their outside class to come talk with the Americans.

We clamored over boulders and through green groves of trees, following the path to a guest house. This green Afghanistan is one I rarely see in the news. It is lush with beauty, somehow more precious for its rarity.

Alyssa Hollingsworth / Own Work