Life in Kabul under Talibans S8 EP.05 | Pakistan to Japan Motorcycle Tour
Assalam O Alaikum everyone and welcome back to the channel from Kabul. We stayed for the last couple of days at Sher Shah's place. However, we have changed our hotel today. I mean we are staying in a hotel now.
Because someone told Sher Shah that Taliban have mandated that visitors must stay at a hotel. Rather than staying with locals. They must have their own reasons. So we have come to stay at Khyber Hotel. The one behind me. You might be able to see the name here.
The hotel I was previously staying at was called Golden Star. But it was not that good and I paid 3000 Afghani. That is around 40 to 43 USD. I have reserved this for 1500 Afghani.
That's hardly 21 to 22 USD. But this room is quite good and clean. The previous hotel wasn't very clean. The location is almost the same. They are very close to each other. Today our plan is to explore the city.
We have to take permission as well. Let's take the permission first and then explore the city. Okay. Let's go. Look at the traffic of Kabul.
Lots of cars here. Finally, all the permission requirements to travel in Afghanistan have been met. You need a permit to visit each district in Afghanistan. You can obtain authorization from the same district's ministry of tourism and culture. You need this permission to stay there for a night or to visit the district. But if you are just passing by, then you don't need it.
The best thing is to get permission for all districts in Kabul. There are two offices here. First, you have to go to one office and get some documentation done from there. Then you have to visit the second office from where you get the final permission. I will mention the Google coordinates of both the locations in the description of this video. So if someone is coming, it will be easier for him.
The second office is right in front of the famous Chaman Hazuri. It's a ground that you might have seen in Hollywood movies. When the former Taliban government wanted to punish someone, such as decapitation or chopping a hand off... That would happen here. I have also seen this place in Hollywood movies. I have traveled all over the world.
I can honestly say that the traffic in Afghanistan is the most dangerous. In Kabul, no one cares about driving safely. Even though there are not many cars, still there is a lot of traffic.
We have now come to the Cinema Chowk. Ariana Cinema here is an old historical cinema. This is the main market next to the Cinema Chowk. So I thought to have a peep. The cinema is closed now.
It was the first historical cinema here. Cinema, music and all the other forms of entertainment are banned now. People still play music in their cars at low volume. And they tend to turn it off near check posts. This is the market over there.
They sell washing machines, solar panels, AC, etc. And also laptops, TVs, etc. We will try to show you the markets here. We will explore some more historical places. There is a lot of rush here. The early hours are very busy at the market.
They close around 6, 7, 7.30 or 8 pm. It's 12:00 pm. Thank God. How are you? I am fine. You are making a vlog. What is your name? My name is Usman.
Thank you very much. Usman recognized me. I am a follower of yours.
Are you from Kabul? I am from Peshawar, Pakistan. Are you here to visit Kabul? No, I am here for business. What do you do? I am a Biomedical Engineer. Thank you very much.
I wish you a very warm welcome. How was the place and people? It's been a couple of days now. The people are very hospitable and friendly. They respect us wherever we go. The surroundings are very beautiful.
We have visited a few places. The scenery is very beautiful. Thank you very much. I just want your blessings.
Thank you so much. If you weren't wearing a pant shirt, things would have been different. I have noticed that.
No one is wearing pant shirt. It is very rare. 5 out of 100 people wear pant shirt.
It was the opposite before. More people would wear pant shirt; rather than traditional clothes. Most of the educated people such as doctors would wear them. Now that has changed drastically. Most of them have fled away.
Most people prefer to wear traditional clothes now. Shalwar Qameez People collaborate with each other to build these shops. Which are then purchased and rented out. Previously it was more like illegal possession. With no rent or protection. The market in front of you with 'Gold Center' written on it is a trade market.
Foreign remittances are received here. We use Sarafi system here. People here don't use services like Money Gram or Western Union. We are walking towards the dry fruit market.
All the market places here are crowded. After a short stroll through the market, we are really exhausted. This is not a single market . It rather has several branches. We came across the cloth market in the beginning.
then fruits, vegetables, meat. There're money exchangers on the left side. On the right is the gold market. And the dry fruit market is waiting for us up ahead. You'll find everything in a single location. Let's have some orange juice.
Then see what else the market has to offer. Assalam O Alaikum, how are you? Thank God, how are you? Finally you came. Yes, I came to Afghanistan.
What is your name? Zabiullah Thank you very much. When did you come? It's been 3 days. How was Kabul? Too good. As you know, dry fruits of Afghanistan are famous all over the world. There are a lot of things here except two. One is cashew which is imported from India.
And pistachio which is imported from Iran. Apart from that, everything is available locally, like mulberries, walnuts, figs. Here you can see raisins. As they have a lot of grapes here. There is a fruit season every month or two. This here is the melon seed.
In Pakistan, we don't eat melon seeds. But here people eat it. These are almonds. There are a lot of things here. But the quality is very good.
Since last 3-4 days when I visit someone's house, it's a common tradition that dry fruits are served with green tea, before or after the meal. And the quality is very good. I may take some of it for myself. It keeps you energized during the journey.
We are buying some dry fruits so that we can have them on the way. It's a rather small and congested shop. Upstairs? This is Kabul's most famous 'Kabuli Pulao'. As I told you, it's a very crowded congested place. Sher Shah told me that if we get a little late, we won't get it.
It gets sold very quickly. I don't know how they made it. Sher Shah told me a little. Please share with all of us. Actually, it is made with olive and sesame oil. Oil is extracted from Sesame seeds, in which it is cooked.
It is very famous. Meat of several varieties can be used for cooking it. Is this lamb meat? No, it's beef. What we have ordered is 'Mulang'.
A single person might feel dizzy from eating this. That's how oily it is. But a single person can't eat it all. For me, it's too much. It's a huge dish. However, the taste is really good. As Kabuli Pulao is prepared with fewer spices.
Despite that, it's very delicious. This single serving is enough for a local. After workout or job during winters, one may go for a second one. Both of us will try to finish this. Please show this bone. Oh, my God! I had no idea about it.
Have a look. That's all meat. This side is all bone. Let's separate the meat from the bone. This meat is very tender and delicious. Need a spoon? It looks like a partha but it is known as Bolani.
People are having it with sauce. It is eaten with buttermilk which costs 10 rupees. We are at the most historical place of Kabul. Gardens of Babur.
As you know, Babur was the first leader of Mughal Empire. From Kabul in Afghanistan to India, the Mughal Empire originated from Babur. Every Mughal Emperor desired to build a monument during his lifetime. That he could be remembered about. and they buried there as well. Babur built this place.
But he died in Agra in 1530. Initially, he was buried there. But after 10 years, in 1540, his son Jahangir shifted his grave here, The grave you can see behind me is Babur's grave.
The graves of his son and grandson are also here. This region almost lies in the heart of Kabul. It's a beautiful and historical garden. The mountains are devoid of trees.
As it's a hilly area, the view from the top is breathtaking. Every Mughal Emperor built something in his era. As Shah Jahan went to Balkh region of Afghanistan, for battle against an Uzbek leader. Shah Jahan Mosque was built here when he defeated him.
This garden is bordered by huge walls. This too was built by Jahangir. This is the holy site of Shia Muslims in Kabul, Sakhi Shrine. Taliban are mainly Sunnis. But there's a large population of Shia Muslims as well.
There were many issues in the past. Numerous bombings resulted in many casualties. But the security is improving with the passage of time.
All the security outside was provided by Taliban. They stopped me 4-5 times. They checked all my documents, passport and visa, before letting me in.
It's Muharram and it's crowded. There is safety as well as religious freedom for everyone. Given that there had been terrible experiences in the past in Muharram. Taliban have been trying hard to bring the situation under control. It's a very beautiful shrine resembling that of Iran because of the similarity in the architecture.
Its very vibrant from the inside as well. As mountains as its background and homes are situated on the slopes. It looks really amazing.
Today is my third day in Kabul. I've had a great time here every evening. The weather is so pleasant here in the evening.
The weather gets really awesome. It's cloudy here. There's a chill in the breeze.. This place is just mesmerizing. It's called Wazir Akbar Khan Hilltop.
People have brought their kids along. They are enjoying. There are just men as women aren't allowed here. You can see behind me, a very big Afghan flag.
The flag has a story of its own. Before Taliban, the Afghan flag was black, red and green. But Taliban replaced this flag. They have a white flag with a Kalima inscribed on it.
Since Taliban government is not accepted by many governments, that's why you'll mostly see the old Afghan flag. Even in sports events. I see people here with two flags. Both the old one and the new one. But the best thing I found here is that...
as the media portrays the Afghans to be rude and rigid people. They might thrash you when you commit a mistake. The media portrays the Afghan people to be very strict. But if you talk to them, they are really friendly and respectful. My experience here has been very good with the locals. We are here for dinner now.
And we have been joined by some more people. One of them is Asif. He sent a message yesterday and we have finally met today. Thank you very much. This is Ahmad Jan.
You already know Sher Shah. And this is Jaleel. Jaleel and Ahmad Jan speak Urdu a little bit. But they do understand it.
We have a lot of food in front of us. Why don't you tell us about the food, Asif? This is mutton shank. This is Chicken Handi. This is Kabuli Pulao. And this is Mutton Ribs.
This is Chickpeas. And this is a very special Afghani Buttermilk. We also have naan. Please go ahead and start. Bismillah.
Let's start with Mutton. Bismillah Have the whole chunk of mutton. Are you sure? Ma Sha Allah Do I have to add lemon to it? You can add it.
It's up to you. Since they have served it with lemon, we'll go ahead and use it. I hope you like it.
The food here is very good. Almost daily I had Shinwari and Tikka. But today it's different. You also have some. I am eating.
You are our guest. I am already eating. Now he is speaking Urdu. He understood that you are a guest.
Thank you. We are in front of the hotel after dinner. I had a wonderful day in Kabul today. The main reason is Sher Shah.
He showed me Kabul for the last 2-3 days. Introduced me to his family. I got chance to meet a lot of people and explore the culture. Thank you very much.
We always welcome you and people like you in Afghanistan. We will try to serve them as much as we can. So that they don't get upset and be happy. We don't have that in our culture. When a guest visits us, we respect him. Especially in our area.
Thank you very much for that. I hope you liked our Kabul vlog. Despite the security and safety concerns, I will travel solo now.
You will then have an idea about the situation here nowadays. Here are the other fellows. Thank you very much for the dinner, Asif. Ahmad Jalil, thank you.
It will always be a pleasure to host you. Thank you very much. Remember in prayers. Don't forget to Like, Subscribe and Share. Allah Hafiz
2024-09-14 21:20
