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86 MAJOR PROVINCES KABUL : This province occupies the central plateau, and is for the most part mountainous, lying between 5,000 to 6,000 feet above sea-level. Its chief districts are : Koh Daman or Samt-i-Shamali, Lohgar, Verdak, Ghorband,* Hazarajat, Bamian, Kabul Proper, Panjsher, Tagab and Nijrab. Of these, Koh Daman (Capisia) is the most beautiful of all. It lies north of Kabul, from which it is separated by a low creeping ridge not far from the town. At the upper extremity of this valley rise the snowy peaks of the Hindukush, while those of the Paghaman range overlook it from the west. To the east it is bounded by a lower range crossing the bottom of the valley. So enclosed, Koh Daman has a length of 40 miles and a medium breadth of 10 miles. The western side of the valley is much higher than the eastern, along which the drainage of the opposite mountain flows. The sides of the Paghman mountains are split by numerous ravines, down which come tumbling rills of the clearest and purest water. The slopes of these rugged channels are thickly planted with mulberry, and every suitable spot is clad with fruit trees or vines. Koh Daman (the Skirts of Hills) is indeed one of the gardens of Afghanistan. There, one may wander in spring amidst the curves and folds of an undulating land, neither hill nor plain, with the scent of the flowering-willow and sinjit in the air, and the darkness of a spring growth of flower and grass bordering narrow runlets and irrigation channels, a blue sky above, and a varied carpet beneath, while the song of the merry labourer rises from the field and orchards. Piled up on steep and unbroken banks *Recently a new Province named "Parwan" has been created which includes the districts of Charikar, Jabalu-Seradj and Ghorband.