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212 The Kandaharis are strikingly handsome-tall, strong and well-built, and are among the finest specimens of the human race. In winter they are peculiarly picturesque, wearing their Kosai, long heavy coats of white coarse felt richly decorated with gold and coloured embroidery, and curious cut-out lattice work at the end of the sleeves, which hang loosely to the ground. It would be worthwhile to make a close study of the traditional designs of these embroideries, which certainly go back to a very remote antiquity; solar emblems in the form of a cross or of a disc are particulary frequent. Kandahar was the capital of Afghanistan during the palmy days of Ahmad Shah Durrani (1747—1773 A. D.), who had several times carried his arms victoriously into the plains of India, Persia and Bokhara. His mausoleum in Kandahar is an imposing structure. Its gilded dome is encompassed by beautiful minarets. It towers above the surrounding buildings and attracts the attention of travellers from a great distance. Beyond the town, in the direction of Grishk, the ruins of Old Kandahar, destroyed by Nadir Shah Afshar, are to be seen. Here a curious relic of the past called the "Chihil-Zeena" (Forty Steps) also attracts the attention of the visitor. A steep stair-case, roughly hewn into the face of a rock, leads to a little niche, called the Throne of Babur. Inside the niche there is a Persian inscription mentioning the name of that King and the date when he took Kandahar. It is a sort of victory memorial. At Kohkaran, not far from the city, on the road leading to Herat, lies the tomb of the great Ghilzai hero, Mir Vais Hotaki, who led the rebellion of his tribe against Persian rule and made Kandahar independent by massacring Gurgin, the Persian governor of the province (1709 A.D.). Later on (in 1722)