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(2) Arghandi to Maidan (12 miles). The road is generally level but there are some sharp turns. Maidan is a very fertile and beautiful tract of land. It is low and level and is surrounded on two sides by high snow-covered mountains. It is intersected by numerous streams mostly cut from the river Kabul.
(3) Maidan to Sheikhabad (17 miles). The road is generally level and offers no particular difficulty. After crossing a small river Sheikhabad is reached, which is halfway between Ghazni and Kabul. Here begins the country of Wardak which abounds in beautiful valleys.
(4) Sheikhabad to Takyah (14 miles). A few easy ascents and descents but on the whole the road presents no special difficulty.
(5) Takyah to Shishgao (16 miles). There is a gradual ascent until Shishgao (8,500 feet above sea-level) is reached. The country in the vicinity is generally fertile but there is a great shortage of water. A few streams intersect the valley. Trees are few and far between. Shishgao is extremely cold in winter and blizzards are very common.
(6) Shishgao to Ghazni (17 miles). There is again a steady ascent till a pass is reached which is some 9,000 feet above sea-level. During winter the pass is often blocked with snow, and communication between Kabul and Ghazni is interrupted for a few days.
Ghazni: The capital of the Ghaznavides and the principal point between Kabul and Kandahar occupies an important commercial as well as strategical position, since it commands the roads passing through the Gomal, Tochi and Peiwar passes.
Roughly two thirds of characters agree with a modern printed edition of the same text. Much of the disagreement is editorial, not misreading. Treat the transcription as a finding aid and read the page image before quoting. How this was measured.