Kabul at last

Gus, wake up, look.

The plane descends and once my eyes make it past the rippling folds in the white clothes of the afghani by the window, I can see surprising greenery. I really want to see more but my eyelids have a will of their own, and so I see a time lapse snapshot of the land we're flying into. Blink. The greenery gives way to brown mountains with sharp edges. Blink. The mountain slopes are furry with mud houses. Blink. There are fighter jets and helicpters bearing the marks of the UN and the army. They all have canvas sheets over their windows to protect them from dust storms. Blink. Goodbye sir, thanks for flying Ariana.

We step out onto the stairs and the heat is immediate. I pause a moment and look around. Despite having transformed from smart to dishevelled over the course of countless waiting lounges and hours of travel, I feel iconic as I squint in the morning sun.

The city is swimming in a haze of dust, there's not enough industry yet for it to be pollution.

Like D.F. Kabul is a high altitude capital cupped by surrounding mountains. Like D.F, as the city expands, the mountains become populated. Kabul was designed to house 1.5 million, now there are 4 million inhabitants.

We climb a hill near the British embassy called Wazir-Akbar Khan. Here the rich are expanding into the hillside. The Tajikistan embassy has a solid wall built already though inside there is only a foundation and upright steel rods. A house with wraparound balconies and flower topped columns is a local military commander’s. A few houses built and designed like palaces in cramped spaces announce in English that they are for rent. The already rich are making a fortune renting out their houses to foreigners. A government worker gets $5o dollars a month. These houses go for $6,000.

At the top of the hill a child has clambered up a thirty foot billboard advertising nothing but rust. Behind him, at the highest point is a concrete diving platform a triple flip off which would lead to paralysis if not death. The pool was built by the Soviets, but there was only ever water in it for a few days. It has stood empty since the mujahadeen repelled the invaders in 1989.