Page 257

206 Badakhshan is also very famous for its delicious fruits, especially apples and pears. Faizabad, the capital city of the district, lies some 120 miles north of Khanabad and is approached by a motor-road. Further east the Alpine territory of Wakhan is situated. Owing to the difficult nature of the country, Wakhan is nearly an isolated part of Afghanistan. It consists of two upland valleys which are watered by the Panja. The valleys are hemmed in on either side by lofty mountains. Those to the south form the northern section of the Hindu Kush, and are here crossed by very difficult passes, the easiest of which is the Broghil (12,460 ft.) leading to Chitral and Gilgit. The chief resources of people are derived from the flocks of Tibetan Yak. Wakhan is too elevated and sterile for tillage. The lowest hamlet in this district is at an elevation of 8,000 ft; the highest is no less than 11,000 ft. above sea-level. In some of the lower districts peas and barley are cultivated to a very limited extent. In April the seed is planted and in July the harvest is reaped. (5) Kabul to Kandahar (315 miles); (a) Kabul to Ghazni: 90 miles); (b) Ghazni to Mukur : 68 miles; (c) Mukur to Kalat-i-Ghilzai : 73 miles; (d) Kalat-i-Ghilzai to Kandahar : 84 miles. Kabul to Ghazni (90 miles) : (1) The first stage is Arghandi, which lies 14 miles west of Kabul. The road for the first six or seven miles runs through the highly cultivated valley of Chardeh. Beyond Mehtab Qala there is a gradual ascent over a rough stony road to a point within three miles of Arghandi, where there is a gradual descent. Arghandi is higher than Kabul by 628 feet.